Sixty

[Ron Bulman]

The Packers beat the Giants in Yankee stadium.  He might have watched the fledgling AFL championship won by HL Hunt's son Lamar's Dallas Texans.  

 

 

The number two song on the 1963 billboard charts is interesting as it's by Trini Lopez, as well as it's lyrics.  "Pete Seeger and Lee Hays wrote the song in 1949, and performed it for the first time at at St. Nicholas Arena in New York at a testimonial dinner for the leaders of the Communist Party of the United States".  It was a top ten hit in 1962 by Peter, Paul and Mary.  I feel sure JFK heard this one. 

 

Pete Seeger and Lee Hays wrote the song in 1949, and performed it for the first time at at St. Nicholas Arena in New York at a testimonial dinner for the leaders of the Communist Party of the United States.

[Ron Bulman]

Rounding out the rest of the top five in 1963 on AM radio was Hey Paula at # 3, which I don't remember.  Then Be My Baby by the Ronettes at # 4, which I do remember from FM classic radio in the 70's - 80's.

 

[Ron Bulman]

Top 20, # 14.

 

[Ron Bulman]

Back to song's JFK might have heard in 1963.  I have no idea if he listened to pop/top 20 music at all.  He was a busy man.  Maybe not to his tastes.  Then again he seemed to be attuned to the public in many ways.  I guess for years he liked Sinatra.  

Anyway, to round out the top 20 in 1963 for me at least, at number 16, another song I don't specifically remember from then.  But it was popular in the 80's on a Dallas station featuring 50's-60's songs.  It caught my attention then.  Plus, I knew a young lady who liked it.  Unfortunately.

 

[Ron Bulman]

Moving on from the to 20.  I remember hearing Blue Velvet, # 21, and I have somewhere on a CD Elvis Presley's # 25 Bossa Nova Baby.  I remember # 26, Blue Bayou by Roy Orbison, done later by Linda Ronstadt.    As well as # 27 Walk Like a Man, but not by the Four Seasons.

I likely heard # 29 in 1963 as my dad listened to country.  It surprised me Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire made it that high on the pop charts at the time.  It is a classic though.  As was My Boyfriend's Back at # 43.

Everybody has heard # 46.  Again I wonder if JFK might have.  I've read he visited the Pacific multiple times, including possibly Malibu, mentioned in the song.  Maybe it would have struck a chord with him?

 

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ron Bulman

[Ron Bulman]

I left a couple of maybe important ones out from the top 50.  I think number 30, From Me To You by the Beatles may have been their first top 50 charted song in the US.

And at number 22 this one by the Ventures still gets my blood pumping a little faster.  Maybe the ultimate drum off in this version.

 

[Pete Mellor]

Ron, I think I have read that the White House turntable was spinning a version of this 1960 Broadway hit.

 

[W. Niederhut]

Ron,

I remember all of these old hits from 1963.

As for the original Broadway production of Camelot, Richard Burton did a credible job as King Arthur, but the real show-stopper was the previously unknown French Canadian singer Robert Goulet in the role of Sir Lancelot.

Goulet rocketed to fame for his signature performance in the Broadway recording of Lerner & Loewe's song, If Ever I Would Leave You.

In fact, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, themselves, chose to cast the unknown Canadian with Richard Burton and Julie Andrews.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[W. Niederhut]

On 4/23/2023 at 10:04 PM, Ron Bulman said:

The Packers beat the Giants in Yankee stadium.  He might have watched the fledgling AFL championship won by HL Hunt's son Lamar's Dallas Texans.  

Seeger and Lee Hays wrote the song in 1949, and performed it for the first time at at St. Nicholas Arena in New York at a testimonial dinner for the leaders of the Communist Party of the United States.

Interesting Americana here, Ron.

There were some legendary football players in this 1962 AFL Championship game, including George Blanda, Len Dawson, and Billy Cannon.

Dawson played for Hank Stram's KC Chiefs in the first Super Bowl back in the day, (after the Dallas Texans had moved to Kansas City in 1963.)

Blanda went on to play for Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders (kicker and back up QB) until he was in his late 40s.

Billy Cannon was a Heisman Trophy winner at LSU, where he led the Tigers to a National Championship.

I think Cannon also ended his pro career playing for Al Davis and the Raiders.

(Incidentally, I first attended an AFL game at Mile Hi Stadium in 1964, between the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers, but I was an avid Baltimore Colts fan in those days.  The Broncos were perennial bottom feeders in the AFL until 1977.)

Edited May 8, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[Ron Bulman]

1 hour ago, W. Niederhut said:

Interesting Americana here, Ron.

There were some legendary football players in this 1962 AFL Championship game, including George Blanda, Len Dawson, and Billy Cannon.

Dawson played for Hank Stram's KC Chiefs in the first Super Bowl back in the day, (after the Dallas Texans had moved to Kansas City in 1963.)

Blanda went on to play for Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders (kicker and back up QB) until he was in his late 40s.

Billy Cannon was a Heisman Trophy winner at LSU, where he led the Tigers to a National Championship.

I think Cannon also ended his pro career playing for Al Davis and the Raiders.

(Incidentally, I first attended an AFL game at Mile Hi Stadium in 1964, between the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers, but I was an avid Baltimore Colts fan in those days.  The Broncos were perennial bottom feeders in the AFL until 1977.)

As we had lived in Denver twice in my pre teens (where we lived when JFK was assassinated) one of my early football hero's was Floyd Little.  I remember watching Superman in the 70's with the Raiders.  1970, age 45 (?), 5 come from behind wins in the last 1-2-3 minutes, in a row.  He was the Brady of his time, a different time in football as well, and he could Kick!  He won the AFL championship with the Houston Oilers in 60 and 61.  JFK may have read about him, or even seen him, he was with the Chicago Bears in the 50's.

(51) #6 George Blanda | Top 10 Raiders All Time | NFL Films - YouTube

 

[Ron Bulman]

Moving past the top 50 on Billboard's chart number 52 deserves special attention.  As it was on tv in March 1963 I once again wonder if JFK might have caught a variety show in the evening during the week with Jackie.  Or heard it on a radio somewhere.

 

[Ron Bulman]

Oops.  I have a confession to make in the interest of Truth and Honesty.  I screwed up royally regarding the source of the songs posted above as I've credited them to Billboard.  I think I googled top 100 1963 songs came across this, didn't pay attention and ran with it.  Poor research.  A lot of good music.

Top 100 Pop Song Chart for 1963 (playback.fm)

The Billboard top 100 is way different.  Surfing In The USA by the Beach boys is number one.  Devil In Disguise by Elvis is number 58.  Blue Velvet rounds out the top 5.

The title, given the end of 1963 made me wonder about number two.  The End of the World by Skeeter Davis.  A country song, then at number two?  Did the title or words strike a nerve with the public?  It was recorded in June 1962, title song of a (Country) album released in March 1963.  About a gal loosing her guy.  Released in December 1963 as a single, it became the number two song of the year per Billboard rankings.  Quite an incredible climb of the charts in less than one month.

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963 - Wikipedia

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Ron Bulman

[W. Niederhut]

Ron,

    In thinking about these popular songs from 1963, we also need to remember the critically important role of the transistor radio at that time in history.

     The invention of the transistor radio revolutionized our exposure to pop music-- especially after the mass production of those affordable small Sony transistor radios in the early 60s.

     My mother had an older version of a Westinghouse transistor radio that was about the size of a cook book.  Then, by '63, my oldest sister bought a small Sony transistor radio that could fit in the palm of your hand.  We used to listen to the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and (by 1964) the Beatles, on that Sony transistor radio.

[James DiEugenio]

If we are going to get into culture affairs from the good old days, let us not forget one of the greatest films in English ever, and its a spectacle of all things.

This might be the best scene in it except for the ending. To put it mildly, they don't make them like this anymore: 1962.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by James DiEugenio

[David Von Pein]

Another good '63 tune from "The Ronettes":

"BABY, I LOVE YOU"