In my opinion, 1961 was a more interesting year for pop music than 1960 was. Dick Dale charted with "Let's Go Trippin" (Full disclosure: I'm going to see him next weekend at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. Dale's son Jimmy is playing with him now).
Here are some songs from that year that I've collected:
Stand By Me ~ Ben E. King
Runaway ~ Del Shannon
Let's Go Trippin' ~ Dick Dale
Runaround Sue ~ Dion & the Belmonts
Back Door Man ~ Howlin' Wolf
Big Bad John ~ Jimmy Dean
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow ~ The Shirelles
Baby Elephant Walk ~ Lawrence Welk
Walkin' After Midnight ~ Patsy Cline
I Fall to Pieces ~ Patsy Cline
Crazy ~ Patsy Cline
Of these, I'd have to say that anything by Patsy Cline is a favorite, with "Crazy" being my favorite. What is your favorite song from 1961?
Stand By Me
ReplyDeleteStand by Me.
ReplyDeleteThe Patsy Cline numbers.
And Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. Though the Carole King version of her own song on Tapestry.
Stand By Me is a classic. It has that 50's feel to it and the recording is unusually clear for a pop song from that era.
ReplyDeleteI like the 1960-1963 era (pre-invasion). The first wave of Rock n' Roll had died in 1959. The little nascent surf and folk genres appeared and briefly flourished before melding into the pot.
I think I've stacked my chips on Runaway!
ReplyDelete"Crying" - Roy Orbison
ReplyDelete"Marie's the Name Of His Latest Flame"/"Little Sister" - Elvis Presley
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - The Tokens (I still don't know what a Weemawep is)
"The Wanderer" - Dion
Michael: Good call on "The Wanderer" I have it in my iTunes, but mislabelled as 1962.
ReplyDeleteI don't own the others.
Runaway.
ReplyDelete