Throwing back to the week of December 14, 1965, we find The Byrds holding on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ At #2, a week before ascending to #1, were English rockers The Dave Clark Five with ‘Over and Over.’
This song was written and first recorded by Robert James Byrd, known professionally as Bobby Day, in 1958. The song reached #41 for Day as the B-side to his #2 hit ‘Rockin’ Robin.’
Topping the Billboard Hot 100 the week of Nov. 30, 1965, was The Byrds’ folk rock reimagining of Pete Seeger’s ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ Seeger took almost the entirety of the lyric from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. He did add the “turn turn turn” part, and for that claimed 5% of the royalties.
He earned another 50% for writing the musical arrangement, and donated the remaining 45% to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, a group “dedicated to ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories and achieving a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Pete Seeger was a woke king.
The week of November 16, 1965, found The Supremes atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘I Hear a Symphony,’ one of 12 #1 hits for the legendary girl group.
At #2 that week was Len Barry’s ‘1-2-3,’ a song that ended up embroiled in a copyright claim by those very same Supremes. Motown sued Barry and his co-writers, claiming that ‘1-2-3’ bore a strong resemblance to The Supremes’ ‘Ask Any Girl.‘ After two years in the courts, Motown’s Holland–Dozier–Holland writing team was awarded 15% of the royalties from this song.
Topping the Billboard Hot 100 the week of November 2, 1965, was The Rolling Stones’ second #1 single, ‘Get Off of My Cloud.’ Their first U.S. #1 came a few months earlier with ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.’
‘Get Off of My Cloud’ hadn’t even been written when ‘Satisfaction’ reached #1 in June. In fact, this song was a reaction to the success of the earlier track and to the parade of record execs banging down the band’s door asking for another hit.
The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ still claimed the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 the week of October 19, 1965. Just behind it was ‘Treat Her Right,’ the debut single by Roy Head and the Traits.
Written by Head and bassist Gene Kurtz, this two-minute blast of blue-eyed soul was an instant hit, missing out on #1 only because it was up against The Beatles’ classic. ‘Treat Her Right’ went on to be covered by a laundry list of performers, including Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Otis Redding, Jimmy Page, and Mae West.
Meet Me In Montauk 