Tag Archives: tb60s

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Song of the Day #6,314: ‘Treat Her Right’ – Roy Head and the Traits

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.

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Song of the Day #6,300: ‘Yesterday’ – The Beatles

The #1 song on the Hot 100 the week of October 5, 1965, was a little tune called ‘Yesterday’ by a little band known as The Beatles. The track was not released as a single in the UK because the band felt it was more of a Paul McCartney tune than a proper Beatles release, but in the U.S. it topped the charts for four weeks.

Considering I wrote 40 Beatles Weekend posts back in 2009/10, I was sure I had already featured ‘Yesterday.’ But alas, I made it to Song of the Day #6,300 without posting one of the most beloved, famous, and oft-covered songs of all time.

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Song of the Day #6,286: ‘Hang On Sloopy’ – The McCoys

Barry McGuire’s ‘Eve of Destruction‘ returned to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 21, 1965. At #2 was The McCoys’ recording of ‘Hang On Sloopy,’ a song that would reach the top spot the following week.

This song was originally released a year earlier as ‘My Girl Sloopy’ by the R&B group The Vibrations. It was written by Bert Berns and Wes Farrell. Berns is also a co-writer of ‘Twist and Shout,’ and you can hear echoes of that song in this one.

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Song of the Day #6,272: ‘Eve of Destruction’ – Barry McGuire

The week of September 7, 1965, saw a couple of all-time classics atop the Billboard Hot 100 in The Beatles’ ‘Help!’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone.’

In the #3 spot was the protest song ‘Eve of Destruction,’ written by P.F. Sloan and performed by Barry McGuire. This was the only Top 40 hit of McGuire’s career and one of only three singles he landed on the Hot 100. This song was a giant killer — two weeks later it leap-frogged Dylan’s masterpiece and unseated The Beatles to secure #1.

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Song of the Day #6,258: ‘Unchained Melody’ – The Righteous Brothers

The week of August 24, 1965, found a trio of major hits atop the Billboard Hot 100: Sonny & Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe,’ The Beatles’ ‘Help!,’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls.’

In the #4 spot that week, its peak position on the chart, was The Righteous Brothers’ ‘Unchained Melody.’ I was sure I had featured this song on the blog before, but it turns out I have posted other versions (five, to be exact) but never the most famous one.

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