Tag Archives: tb60s

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Song of the Day #5,657: ‘There! I’ve Said it Again’ – Bobby Vinton

My final song of 2023 is the first song to reach #1 in 1964. Today we throw back to the week of December 27, 1963, when Bobby Vinton’s ‘There! I’ve Said it Again’ sat at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, just behind ‘Dominique‘ by The Singing Nun, a week before it hit the top spot.

This was Vinton’s third #1 on the chart, following ‘Roses Are Red (My Love)‘ in July of 1962 and ‘Blue Velvet‘ in October of 1963. He would top the chart one more time, with 1964’s ‘Mr. Lonely.’

Bobby Vinton was the Drake of the early 60s.

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Song of the Day #5,635: ‘I’m Leaving It Up To You’ – Dale & Grace

Throwing back to the week of December 7, 1963, we find The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire) at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Dominique.’

I wrote about ‘Dominique’ recently when covering the nine songs not in the English language to top this chart.

That brings us to the #2 song that week, which is ‘I’m Leaving It Up To You’ by the duo Dale & Grace.

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Song of the Day #5,614: ‘Deep Purple’ – Nino Tempo & April Stevens

Throwing back to the week of November 16, 1963, we find Nino Temple and April Stevens atop the Billboard Hot 100 with their recording of ‘Deep Purple.’

The original version of this song was composed by pianist Peter DeRose in the 1920s. It was recorded as an instrumental by many artists in subsequent decades (here’s a version with DeRose himself on piano). In 1938, lyricist Mitchell Parish added words to the composition, and it was reimagined as a doo-wop track.

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Song of the Day #5,593: ‘Sugar Shack’ – Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs

Throwing back to the week of October 26, 1963, we find Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs in the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with their song ‘Sugar Shack.’

‘Sugar Shack’ spent five weeks at #1 that fall, and ended up as Billboard’s Song of the Year for 1963. It dominated the charts while The Beatles’ ‘She Loves You‘ was struggling to get played on American radio.

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Song of the Day #5,572: ‘Blue Velvet’ – Bobby Vinton

Throwing back to the week of October 7, 1963, we find Bobby Vinton in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with his recording of ‘Blue Velvet.’

This classic song was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and was first recorded by Tony Bennett a year later. Bennett’s version reached #16 on the chart that pre-dated the Hot 100 (charmingly named “Records Most Played by Disc Jockeys”). The song was covered by The Clovers and The Statues, among others, in subsequent years.

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