Doing a quick bit of research, the word 'lonesome' was used mostly in the 1920s and saw a slight resurgence in the early 60s with the Everly Brother's using the word in 'Walk Right Back', Jess Conrad using it in 'Mystery Girl' and Elvis of course. After being largely absent from the English language bar the odd 'I'm on my lonesome' being uttered more colloquially than unironically, 2025's top-trending pop artist Sabrina Carpenter released a song called 'Lonesome' in 2022.

'Are You Lonesome Tonight' was the 34th single Elvis had released in the UK and his 6th number one. On the back of the success of this single, two extremely similar songs were released, hoping to cash in. Cliff Richard's 'When the Girl in your Arms is the Girl in your Heart' and Jim Reeves' 'You're the Only Good Thing'. They reached numbers 3 and 17 respectively.

My enjoyment of this song is tempered somewhat due to the live version he did in which he sings 'do you gaze at your bald spot and wish you had hair' and then can't stop laughing for the rest of the song. Now I can't hear the original without that in my head. I'm also not a fan of the spoken word part in the middle. You can't argue with the numbers however.

It's unclear if Bobby is singing this to a Babysitter he's just hired or not but it's another of those songs in the 1961 chart that has a 'cold open'. That is, one that starts with free tempo before the main song kicks in. (See also 'Runaround Sue' and 'Walking Back to Happiness')

1961 was Bobby's year, reflected in the fact I've chosen three of his 1961 efforts in my countdown. Five top ten hits in the same calendar year wasn't bad for the one-time Buddy Holly stand-in, sitting perfectly in that gap between the birth of Rock & Roll and the British invasion. He first dipped his toe in the water of pop music by forming a band called 'The Shadows' who were called to play at the Winter Dance Party package tour as a replacement for the original billed artists (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper who had recently died in a plane crash). The three-piece had little to no success but Vee's record company pushed him on as a solo artist and they were right to do so.

'Take Good Care of my Baby' reached number 3 in October.

This number 30 peaking single is one of those you'd expect the cool teacher (armed with the guitar he always brings to school) would sing to you at Primary School just before home time. These sorts of songs can only really be given legs by someone with off-the-scale charisma and Brook Benton has it in ten litre buckets.

Brook came from the Gospel Circuit, co-writing and singing hundreds of demos for other artists before signing to Mercury as a solo artist in his own right. Teaming up with Dinah Washington, he recorded 'Baby (You've got what it takes)' and 'A Rockin' Good Way' to some success.

What a lovely voice!

I always thought this was a Country song, and I suppose it is to some extent. 'Hello Mary Lou' was written by Gene Pitney (first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960).

It reached number 2 in the UK when Ricky released it, well before anything Gene Pitney himself had recorded even sniffed the top ten. It wasn't until 1964 that Pitney rose that high in the chart; a number 2 hit in 1964 with 'I'm Gonna be Strong'.

'Mary Lou' has both the 'sing-a-long' quality songs like this need and the jaunty rhythm which gets you tapping your foot despite the slightly empty instrumentation. A wonderful single.

This was another Drifters song which was released with Ben E. King on lead vocals after he'd left the group (the first was 1960's 'Save the Last Dance for Me'). It only reached number 28 and saw the beginning of a barren spell of 11 years without a top 10 hit for the group.

This is a bit of a fusion of styles, especially the early-60s strings, the bright backing vocals and the 'na-na-na-na-late at night' riff which is incongruous with the rest of the chart at the time. It's pleasant and just has enough about it to stop it melting in with the other featureless ballads of the year.

I'm at a point in my journey through the 60s where I'm getting excited to hear the next songs by some new artists I've discovered, especially Brenda Lee, (just as I would have back then I imagine). What a singer; her delivery is expert and she never wastes a note. 'Dum Dum' is a little on the nose but it's still very enjoyable.

This only reached number 22 in July and her follow up 'Fool Number One' scraped into the top 40 at number 38. She returned to form in 1962 however with three more top ten hits.

This record preceded 'Dum Dum', reaching number 12 in January (it should have been released at Halloween really). I'm a little confused as to what 'Jumping the Broomstick' actually is, apparently it's about 'tying a knot'. It must be something she learned in the Brownies. And apparently, her father don't like it, her brother don't like it, her sister don't like it and her mother don't like it. She could equally be talking about celery.

She sings 'well' at the start of the song which Lulu copied three years later, the little stealer. This track is quite reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis, just a lot less manic.

Peggy Lee came from the Benny Goodman stable. She'd starred in the remake of the Al Jolson film 'The Jazz Singer' opposite Danny Thomas and was nominated for an academy award. She provided vocals for several characters in the Disney movie 'Lady and the Tramp' - suing them when she wasn't paid any royalties on release of the VHS in 1987. She was eventually awarded £2.3m.

She'd hit number 5 twice in the late 50s with 'Mr Wonderful' and her version of 'Fever'. 'Til there was You' reached number 30 and was her last flirtation with the pop charts. It's very 'Casablanca' but she sings it a lot less cliched than you're probably used to hearing it. It's just every kind of lovely.

'Take Five' is the biggest selling Jazz song of all time. Even if Jazz isn't your thing, you must have enjoyed listening to this at some point in your life. It's the highest charting tune written in the time signature of 5/4 (five beats to the bar). The only other one I know of is 'Seven Days' by Sting which is much more of a jarring and pretentious way of using it. (The 'Mission Impossible' and 'Halloween' theme tunes are also in 5/4 because the time signature creates a sense of foreboding and drama).

Ironically, 'Take Five' only got to number 6. The group followed up with a couple of minor hits in 1962 before disappearing from the rundown forever.

Written by Rodgers & Hart in 1934, the Marcels injected it with a bit of pizzazz and took it all the way to number 1 in both the UK and the US. The addition of the 'Bomp-baba-bomp' came from another song in their repertoire and suited it perfectly.

The backing and lead vocal knit together masterfully and the clickity-clack of the drum pushes the song ever onwards until that final 'Bluuuuuue Mooooon'. It just brings a smile to your chops and makes you gladly part with your six shillings and eight p'nce.

I don't want to like this but I can't help it. It's unusual and has an off-kilter chorus which makes you want to hear it again. I don't know who wrote the lyrics but apparently the mystery girl was 'underneath the window' (like a radiator?). 'walking in the sidewalk' (not 'on' the sidewalk, 'in') and 'Swingin' in the sunshine' (presumably she then had a go on the climbing frame and the roundabout).

According to Wikipedia, 'Conrad has appeared in a number of documentaries and television programmes, often offering stories of violent encounters with other famous people.' Seems he's a little bit feisty. If you're ever standing in a car park outside a music venue, it's likely Jess Conrad has had a fight in it at some point.

He scored a sum total of two hits, 'Mystery Girl' which reached number 18 and 'Cherry Pie', a number 39 in 1960. Not only is his girl a mystery but so is his enduring popularity which saw him appear on countless TV shows and movies right through to 2023, where, at the age of 87, he played the lead in the film 'Somebody's Daughter' written by Zara Phillips.

Second of four songs about 'Tears' in the list, this has a 'Singin' the Blues' type vibe about it. It's a shame about the harsh production because it's a great performance, just a little harsh - thank goodness for the graphic equaliser.

Not quite in the same league as 'Stupid Cupid' but hits in all the right places to be enjoyable. Connie reached number 12 with this for her fifteenth top twenty hit in just three years!

Bobby skips back into the list with this jaunty little ditty. He does his own double tracked backing vocal, which gives the vocal a lovely chorus-feel. It's a very bouncy song, bouncier than 'Rubber Ball' in fact, and that's got the word 'bouncy' in it.

This was his third hit, reaching number 10 in August giving co-writer Carole King a reason to slide 'Take Good Care of My Baby' his way too (which she also co-wrote).

There's more than a little Buddy Holly in this - probably because it was written by two of his Crickets. Their version, released in 1960, only reached number 26 until firstly, Bobby Vee got his hands on it and then, Leo Sayer. Vee could only reach number 61 Stateside but here in the UK, where taste is obviously more refined, it became his second number 4 hit in a row (the first being 'Rubber Ball').

Incidentally, Leo took it to number 2 in 1980 behind 'Odyssey's' 'Use it up, Wear it out'.

Del's output was largely songs about loss, rejection and abandonment. He was his own songwriter too so even when the British invaded, he stayed relevant for a time (right into 1965) where other Rock and Rollers got swamped in the new sound. It's clear that he had a grasp of how to bundle chords together in a more interesting way than the Blues-loving rock groups had been doing and this set him apart.

'So Long Baby' is sufficiently raw and energetic to stand out, regardless of the fact it followed on the back of his first two singles which both went top 10. This did likewise, reaching number 10 in December.

Ben E.'s decision to leave the Drifters and pursue a solo career wasn't his best. He only released three singles, 'First Taste of Love' (27), 'Amor Amor' (38) and this track, which reached number 27. He wasn't heard of in the chart again until 1987 when 'Stand by Me' was included on the soundtrack to the movie of the same name and hit number 1.

John Lennon released an ill-advised version in 1975 (reaching number 30), much better is Stephen Wilson Jr.'s version which was released in 2024. Kenny Lynch didn't do a bad job, but could only reach number 39 in 1964.

When I first heard this I thought it was awful. In compiling these countdowns, I've vowed never to turn a song off and listen to everything all the way through - just in case... and well, I listened to this all the way through and couldn't wait for it to be over. However, I then went to make a coffee and found myself whistling it in the kitchen. Damn!

It's actually quite jolly and catchy for an ex-boxer. Mike Preston was a Londoner and after having a hit with the Fleetwoods' 'Mr. Blue', appeared in the movie 'Climb up the Wall' with Russ Conway. 'Marry Me' was his last of three hits, reaching number 14 in March.

I mentioned 'Death Discs' here in my 1960 singles countdown. This is another, which recounts the haunting of a man by his girlfriend who has departed to the spirit world. This is brought to life by the echo on the vocal performed to perfection by Lissa Gray (or 'The Gray Lady' as she was no doubt called during the recording and if she wasn't, she should have been.) It was probably a bit too haunting because they changed the line 'the girl I loved who died a year ago' to 'the girl I loved and lost a year ago' but it still led to the BBC banning it because they're a bunch of total melts.

You could tentatively call John a 'singer' but really, his songs owed a lot to the production which was littered with ghostly female vocals, variable-speed pianos, swirling wind, melodrama and wild-west style galloping rhythms.

John Leyton played 'Johnny Saint-Cyr' in a TV show called 'Harpers West One' (acting is where he found his calling in later years) in which he performed 'Johnny Remember Me' - this catapulted it up the chart with little effort. Despite that, this song is so jarring and different, it would no doubt had done so without the exposure.

Another jolly instrumental to go with 'Take Five' and no doubt a favourite at the dance clubs. There's a moment in the middle that makes you want to shout "BATMAN" - have a listen, you'll see what I mean. Floyd was a pioneer of what they called 'slip notes' - more commonly, 'grace notes' where he'd play the correct chord with the right hand in the root but quickly include a discordant semi-tone. If you don't know what this means, listen to the track, the style is all over it. It's what makes it so fascinating. Such was his talent, he was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This got to number 1 for a week but hung around in the top ten for five weeks.

I'm always annoyed these days when I hear someone 'using' a song I love from the 80s in their 'modern' style. 'What do they know of its heritage', I hear myself say. Then I realise, it's bringing something brilliant to the attention of a new audience and then I calm right down. Bobby Darin took a song originally by Jazz legend Nat King Cole in 1948 and spun it in a vey enjoyable 'up-to-date' way. Many other artists have recorded versions of this including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, George Benson, Peggy Lee, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Aaron Neville, Tony Bennett and ... Rick Astley.

Imagine being Eden Ahbez (the songwriter) and looking at that list. You'd be livid about the Rick Astley one wouldn't you?

Bobby Darin's version reached number 24. Perversely, it reminds me of the theme tune to 80s quasi-soap 'Howard's Way', Sundays, BBC1, 8pm.

Hedgehog-haired Joe was a proponent of Skiffle, Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues and, on occasion, threw in a bit of pop rock too. He was widely revered as the 'musician's musician', coupled with his cheeky Cockney-chappie persona, the stuff he did was loads of fun. This track is quite unusual but only managed to reach number 33 before following his previous release (his debut single) 'Darktown Strutters Ball' out of the chart without breaking the top 30. His third release fared just as poorly, the number 37 peaking 'What a Crazy World we're Living in' but he finally struck gold with his fourth single, 'A Picture of You' which went all the way to number 2 in 1962 for two weeks, stuck behind 'Come Outside' by Mike Sarne and Wendy Richard (which, coincidentally, was also sung with a soft cockney accent).

For all the ills inflicted on the world via the internet, it's opened a door to the past that we're all very happy to walk through right now. Reading some comments on the YouTube video for 'Come Outside', there are so many people grateful to have the chance to hear that song again; thinking it had been swallowed up by time, never to be heard again. Like meeting up with an old friend.

Here comes Connie again and she is most welcome. This song starts like a million others but then she starts singing and you're just transfixed. I don't know enough about the time to make a solid argument for this but Connie duets with herself here in the 'style' of the Everly Brothers (like Bobby Vee did earlier in the list). I can't find anything concrete but I'd guess their success and unique sound influenced a lot of producers to attempt to replicate it.

This is such a bright song for one in a minor key - truly mixing the melancholic with the optimistic before you even know what she's singing. Genius really. To paraphrase the band 'Mansun', this song isn't just a 'vehicle for a lovely voice'. It reached number 3 in the UK and number 1 in the US.

"On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true"

Convince me the Carpenters' 'Close to You' wasn't copied from this song. I make no apologies for this countdown being Bobby Vee-heavy, it's just that his singles were that good. This was Bobby's fifth hit, reaching number 6 in December.

He was the third Bobby to have a hit in the 60s. Bobby Darin and Bobby Rydell preceded him and Bobby Angelo, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Fuller, Bobby Hebb and Bobby Goldsboro followed. Of those, only Bobby Darin ever saw the number 1 spot.

If you ever followed the BBC radio show 'I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue' when the original cast of Graeme Garden, Tim Brook-Taylor and Barry Cryer were making it genuinely one of the best listens of all time - you'll probably hear Barry Cryer shouting 'What you say?' in your mind's-ear every time you hear the original 'Hit the Road Jack'.

What a single this is. Ray Charles was a legend in his own time and it's not hard to see why at this end of the telescope, peering back into the early 60s. Musically, the bloke had it all. There was a saying going around a few years ago which went 'When Johnny Cash covers your song, it's not your song any more'. Well, have a listen to Ray's version of Eleanor Rigby and, to coin a despicable Gen-Z click-bait phrase, 'try not to say wow'.

'Hit the Road Jack' reached number 6 and it's 'Answer song' (a song written in response to a previous song, usually by another group or singer) 'Well, I Told You' by The Chantels reached number 29 in the US.

A wonderfully Tongue-in-Cheek track this which playfully sends up the nonsense-backing vocals found on numerous tracks past and future (and another using the 'cold open', this time, ironically). You know the sort, where, to fill a gap, possibly because the lyricist couldn't think of anything else, they sing 'Shang-a-lang-a-lang' or in Duran Duran's 'Hungry Like the Wolf', 'Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do DO DO'.

The Marcel's version of 'Blue Moon' does exactly this, although I get the impression they're not entirely taking the whole thing seriously? Also in 1961, the Edsel's had a song called 'Rama Lama Ding Dong' which is also referenced. There's a song at the end of the movie 'Grease' called 'We go together' which goes completely over the top with its nonsense.

It's the 'spoken word' part of this song that gives it away as a parody, and regardless of it being a piece of satire, it's a really good single in its own right. It reached number 21.

There is a heart-breaking take on this theme by The Carpenters called 'Yesterday Once More' where they reflect on the songs of their youth, saying that 'every Sha-la-la-la, every woah-oh-oh still shines'.

Chubby Checker was obsessed with 'The Twist'. Firsty he invited us to 'Do the Twist' in 1960, then, when we were wondering how to pass the subsequent summer evenings, he said, 'Let's Twist Again, like we did in August 1960'. Then, in 1962 he did some 'Slow Twistin', then bizarrely, despite 'Twisting' on at least three previous occasions, released a song with Bobby Rydell asking someone to 'Teach me to Twist', like he'd been doing the one thing he was obsessed with for three years, all wrong.

He then had a 'Dance Party' later in 1962 but it's not clear if the 'Twist' was one of the dances involved. He popped up again in 1988, accompanied by 'The Fat Boys' singing 'The Twist (Yo Twist)'. Very post modern, I must say.

Ernest Evans (his real name) got his stage name after doing an impression of Fats Domino; he then got out his thesaurus - Fats = Chubby, Dominoes = Checkers. It's not clear whether he used to go about the place checking people's chubbiness however.

'Lets Twist Again' (released in 1961) reached number 2 at the start of 1962 for two weeks, unable to dislodge Cliff Richard's 'Young Ones' from the top spot.

Another instrumental and a very twangy one at that. Really, if you look at its simplistic construction, it shouldn't be as much fun as it is. The secret, as with a lot of the Shadows' hits, was the sound they managed to get out of their guitars. There was percussion in the rhythm guitar as well as the lead and it made you want to pick up your own guitar and realise it's not as simple as it sounds.

It spent 19 weeks in the chart, peaking at number 6 and it's probably not about J Edgar Hoover.

This is a song which, once it's in your head, will never leave, even sixty years later. Dion DiMucci was a 'Doo Wop' singer who had a few hits with The Belmonts (Teenager in Love) before pursuing his solo career. He didn't have a lot of chart success but he did continue making records well into 2024.

That 'Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh' backing has crept up time and again over the years, most recently in a Justin Bieber song that I can't bring myself to try and remember the name of. 'Sue' only reached a criminally low number 11 in November. It's a song that makes you want to be a backing singer.

The chart is all about the hit song isn't it? However you manage to do it; doing a pop version of a Nursery Rhyme, by doing a funny dance (Gagnam Style) or by pretending you're Madonna (Lady Gaga). It all counts I suppose, but how many people in recent chart history could hold an entire song with just their voice? 'Cryin'' has minimal instrumentation, it's all about the voice (until the bombastic outro of course).

It was written by Orbison and Joe Melson (who also co-wrote 'Only the Lonely') for Roy's third album of the same name. The song is a 'Bolero', carrying on the tradition of pop stars borrowing from classical music. Examples include (but are not limited to) 'Hello Muddah Hello Faddah' by Allan Sherman which uses the motif from 'Dance of the Hours' by Ponchielli (as does Maureen Evans' 'Like I Do'), Judy Garland's 'I'm Always Chasing Rainbows' (Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu) and Procul Harum's 'Whiter Shade of Pale' which is taken from Bach's 'Air on a G String'.

I'm in disbelief looking at the chart placing of 'Cryin'' - number 25!? It was a number 2 hit in the US but it finally got its moment in the sun when covered by Don McLean - it hit number 1 in 1980.

Three versions of this song were released simultaneously in January 1961. The Avons saw their version rise to number 30 but it sounded like one of those blokes in a social club who gets up to do karaoke when he's five sheets to the wind and doesn't really know the song very well. Marty Wilde also released a version which got to a respectable number 9. His version is ok, but it lacks urgency and is far too languid. Bobby's version is bright and bubbly with just the right energy and that was enough to catapult it up to number 4 and make Bobby an international star.

Sporting one of the largest hairstyles of the time, Helen's chart career began as well as anyone's. She introduced herself with a number 2 smash, 'Don't Treat me Like a Child' in March 1961 and continued with two number 1's in a row - 'You Don't Know' hit the top in June and 'Walking Back to Happiness' sat proudly at the top in September for three weeks, selling over a million copies. (at one point, the song was selling 40,000 copies a day on its 19-week chart run).

She appeared in Richard Lesters' 1962 movie 'It's Trad, Dad' and was entirely awkward and out of her depth (which didn't initially lead to a transition until later in life when she appeared in Lionel Bart's 'Oliver' and the occasional UK Soap Opera) and, for trivia fans, she was in a group at school called 'Susie & the Hula Hoops' with Mark Feld (later known as the enigmatic Marc Bolan) and she was the first singer to have a hit with a Burt Bacharach song in the UK ('Keep Away From Other Girls").

This became the first song by an African American Girl Group to top the Billboard Hot 100. It reached number 4 in the UK and whilst co-penned by Carole King, it's 'answer song' (Not Just Tomorrow but Always) was arranged by her too.

The Shirelles were the first successful female vocal group of the rock era and set the template for the 'girl group sound'. This hit ensured that the door was wide open for others to follow such as The Ronettes and The Supremes.

The song was ranked 126 by Rolling Stone Magazine's '500 Greatest Songs of all Time'. It's good but I think that's pushing it a bit.

This puts me in mind of Stan Ridgeway's 'Camouflage' (which was probably inspired by this song). Jimmy Dean had his own brand of Sausage, not that that's relevant here, it's just odd, like Paul Newman having his own brand of Ranch Dressing. This is the Jimmy Dean who is referenced in Madonna's song 'Vogue'.

The song is about a big bloke called John who saves people from a mine collapse. It's probably best you imagine a world where this is the only song that exists in the 'John Universe' because there was a sequel by Dottie West called 'My Big John' from the point of view of the Cajun Queen. Then in 1962, another instalment in the story called 'The Cajun Queen' (who rescues John and brings him back to life so they can have 110 Grandchildren) and then the story concludes with 'Little Bitty Big John', about John's son, who learns of his father's heroism. It all got a big much in the end - but as a standalone tune, this is great.

It got to number 1 in the US and number 2 here in the UK.

Linda Scott sounds like someone who would be head of the PTA doesn't she? Not the best stage name. This song was taken from the musical 'Music in the Air'; originally a tune from 1932 made popular by the dance band leader Jack Denny. It was Linda's only placing in the UK chart (number 7) but she did have several others in the US.

It's a very sickly performance but nevertheless, still immensely catchy and great single.

You'd be hard pressed to find a vocal performance as pure and sonically perfect as this. Sam Cooke truly was the gold standard all other singers aspired to. The lyrics in this song are quite expertly weaved too; twee but exactly right to convey the mood and sentiment.

It reached number 7 in the UK and has been covered by luminaries such as The Supremes, Johnny Nash, The Spinners, Otis Redding and Amy Winehouse.

He jumped on Chubby Checker's twisting bandwagon in 1962, admitting that he'd been 'Twistin' the Night Away', and scoring a number 6 hit. Sadly, he never charted in the top 20 again in his lifetime, meeting an untimely end in controversial circumstances in a hotel in 1964.

I didn't realise that the 1981 version of this song by 'Tight Fit' was just an exact copy-paste of this. Every beat and embellishment is exactly the same.

Recording a song like this is a really bold thing to do, even in the early 60s, if you think about it. The Tokens (who once had Neil Sedaka as a member) were four blokes from Brooklyn and they're all in the same room going 'A-wheoooeoeo' and at no time does one of them go 'this is ridiculous'. You have to have some confidence to even consider recording a song like this never mind roll your Rs in falsetto in front of three other burly New Yorkers.

It was originally by South African musician Solomon Linda and the lyrics were in Zulu. English lyrics were then written for this version by George David Weiss, President of the songwriters Guild of America.

Whilst 'Tight Fit' (a comment on the lead singer's loin cloth no doubt) reached number 1 with their version in 1982, The Tokens could only manage a respectable number 11. Even today, the desire to sing 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' is only a Whim-away.

Nine weeks in the top four, three weeks at number one, only replaced when Elvis released his latest single, 'Wooden Heart' (which is awful by the way), this is another song for the ages. It's got such rounded edges, as if after they recorded it, someone went round it with a chamois and a can of linseed oil. The harmonies here are clever too - not just their signature intervals, they actually sing different melodies, which can't have been a picnic trying to work out in the studio.

It's another song which highlights the rise of the 'riff' in popular music, a song that hooks you as soon as it starts rather than slowly dragging you in. Music was definitely becoming more sophisticated and intricate, but not so complex you couldn't pick up a guitar yourself and have a cheeky play along.

From the first guitar roll, you know you're in for something very special here and how confident and assured does Del sound? This song had quite the chart run. Elvis' 'Surrender' had been number 1 for four weeks whilst Del's 'Runaway' sat patiently behind it in the number 2 spot for three of those. The singles eventually swapped places and Del sat atop the chart for three weeks himself before being replaced by the song at the top of my 1961 rundown (no spoilers).

What an organ solo too! Everything about this single is assured and precise. It's one of those songs that you can play at any time between 1961 and today without it ever sounding old or 'fuddy duddy' - it's still so energetic and bright, the only people who would turn their noses up would be music snobs and people who don't know what music is - and I 'wah-wah-wah-wah-wonder why'.

Penned by the legendary Burt Bacharach, this was originally by Gene McDaniels who scored a number 5 hit in the US (number 49 here). Now, I can't move on without mentioning Gene's other hit 'A Hundred Pounds of Clay'. I know times were different back then (see 'You're Sixteen, you're beautiful and you're mine' by the then 27-year-old Johnny Burnette, 'My Boomerang Won't Come Back' by Charlie Drake (I'll let you Google the lyrics yourself - and producer George Martin has the Beatles to thank for being able to drop this off his CV), another Johnny Burnette song 'Girls', after hearing which, someone needs to go check his internet history and Neil Sedaka's 'Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen' which turns out to be a little more sinister than the title suggests'). Anyway, back to 'A Hundred Pounds of Clay' which was a British hit for Craig Douglas, suggests that the supreme being (pick your favourite) took 100lb of clay (about 7 stone) and 'He created a woman and-a lots of lovin' for a man'. The BBC banned this one without a second sniff.

Whilst I'm on about troubling 1961 songs, have you heard 'Mother-in-Law' by Ernie-K-Doe? I'm not certain it's a tongue-in-cheek affair because he sings 'mother-in-law, If she'd leave us alone we would have a happy home, Sent from down below, Mother-in-law, Satan should be her name, to me they're 'bout the same'. I've checked and Ernie-K-Doe isn't a pseudonym for Bernard Manning.

Back to Frankie Vaughan (eventually) - you have to stop what you're doing and listen to this. It's fantastic! The growls and the falsetto and the over-the-top urgency. It of course hit number 1 in the UK for three weeks, eventually being dislodged by Danny Williams' 'Moon River'.

The best song of the year and already a contender for best song of the decade. It baffles me how amazing the production on this is. Surely producers weren't at this level yet? The only thing that dates the track is the choral backing vocal (which is very typical of the time), but take that away and this could have been recorded yesterday.

Impossible to think this was written in 1933 by Broadway theatre doyen 'Nacio Herb Brown' and 'introduced' to the world by Bing Crosby in the film 'Going Hollywood'. Perry Como and Mario Lanza both had a go in 1945 and 1951 respectively but didn't inject anywhere near as much electricity as the Everlys did.

The song also featured on the very first episode of the Muppet Show with Miss Piggy, four chickens, four frogs, and two male pigs with Kermit on lead vocals!