Tag Archives: tb60s

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Song of the Day #5,530: ‘Fingertips – Pt 2’ – Little Stevie Wonder

Throwing back to the week of August 24, 1963, we find a pre-teen Stevie Wonder (then billed as Little Stevie Wonder) atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Fingertips – Pt 2,’ the B-side of the first single from his album The 12 Year Old Genius – Recorded Live.

The full ‘Fingertips’ is an instrumental jazz track that was split across two sides for release. It was the second half of the performance, when Wonder was called back onstage for an encore after a rousing bit of harmonica playing, that rocketed up the charts, giving Wonder his first #1 hit.

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Song of the Day #5,509: ‘So Much in Love’ – The Tymes

Throwing back to the week of August 3, 1963, we find the R&B vocal group The Tymes in the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with their song ‘So Much in Love.’ This doo-wop treasure spent exactly one week at #1.

‘So Much in Love’ was The Tymes’ debut single. Their follow-up release, ‘Wonderful! Wonderful!,’ made it to #7 but they never reached the top ten in the U.S. again. It was a different story in the UK, where they went relatively unnoticed through the 60s but scored a #1 hit in 1975 with ‘Ms Grace.’

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Song of the Day #5,488: ‘Easier Said Than Done’ – The Essex

Throwing back to the week of July 13, 1963, we find the doo-wop group The Essex topping the Billboard Hot 100 with their song ‘Easier Said Than Done.’ I’ve never heard this particular song, but I’ve heard plenty like it, and it’s a sound I love.

The Essex is an interesting group, founded by two Marines while stationed in Okinawa, Japan. They recruited three other Marines back in the States, including lead singer Anita Humes, before dropping a member and performing as a quartet.

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Song of the Day #5,467: ‘Sukiyaki’ – Kyu Sakamoto

Today’s Throwback Weekend selection brings us to the week of June 22, 1963, when the Billboard Hot 100 was topped by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto’s song ‘Sukiyaki.’

This was the first song by an Asian artist to reach #1 on this chart and remained the only one for nearly six decades, until BTS did it with ‘Dynamite’ in 2020. It is one of only nine songs not in English to top the chart, and the only one in Japanese. Extra credit to anyone who can name three or more of the others (and more on that next week).

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Song of the Day #5,446: ‘It’s My Party’ – Lesley Gore

Today we throw back to the week of June 1, 1963, when Lesley Gore topped Billboard’s Hot 100 with ‘It’s My Party,’ the lead single from her debut album I’ll Cry if I Want To. The song spent two weeks at #1 and 13 total weeks on chart. Gore’s next three singles reached the top five, but this track was her last to reach #1.

‘It’s My Party’ was first recorded by British singer Helen Shapiro, but it wasn’t released until her album came out in October, months after Gore’s success with the song. Her version is a little slower and her voice is a little deeper, giving the illusion that you’re listening to the more popular version at a reduced speed.

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