Mike Berry was born 24 Sep 1942 in Northampton, England, but he grew up in London.  He formed his own Skiffle group in the 1950s, which brought him into contact with record producer Joe Meek who became his manager.  Berry had three hits in the 1960s, but this was the only one to reach the Top 10.  In the 1970s he recorded in the Netherlands, and had a few hits on the Dutch charts.  Also in the 1970s he was developing a career as an actor, and landed a role in the TV series "Worzel Gummidge", playing the father of the two starring children.  In the 1980s he joined the cast of British TV sitcom "Are You Being Served?", playing the part of Mr Spooner.
# On this recording, Berry was backed by one of Joe Meek's groups, The Outlaws.

Bass-player Jet Harris and drummer Tony Meehan were both founding members of instrumental group The Shadows (originally The Drifrters).  They had both left the group in 1962 for various reasons, and were both signed up to Decca Records.  Harris had a couple of solo hits (see year 1962, song 43) before joining his former colleague for a trio of Top 10 UK hits.  Jet Harris (6 July 1939 - 18 Mar 2011) was born in north London, England.  He remained a musician until 1967, when heavy drinking got the better of him.  However, he sought help in the 1980s, and returned to playing with various bands as a guest performer.  In the 2000s he toured the UK with the Rapiers, who were a Shadows tribute band.  He died from cancer in 2011 at age 71.  Tony Meehan (2 Mar 1943 - 28 Nov 2005) was born in north London, England.  He was just 10 when he became interested in playing drums, and by 13, he was playing in a band at Willesden, London.  He also played with Jet Harris in The Vipers, a Skiffle group which pre-dated the Shadows.  After the hits with Harris, Meehan became a record producer, working through to the early 1980s.  He quit the music industry in the 1990s for a major career change as a psychologist, and worked in London at a local college lecturing in psychology until his death.  He died as a result of a fall down the stairs of his London apartment, at the age of 62.
# Jerry Lordan had previously written hits for The Shadows, including their first chart-topper, "Apache".

The Tornados were an instrumental group put together by legendary record producer Joe Meek.  They acted as a backing band for various vocalists being recorded by Joe Meek, and also acted as Billy Fury's backing group.  They had a few hits of their own, including the Number One hit "Telstar", which also reached the top of the American charts (see year 1962, song 67).  The group featured Heinz on bass guitar, and he went on the have a few solo hits as a vocalist in 1963-4.  The 'organ' instrument was a Clavioline (an early form of synthesizer), played by Roger LaVern (11 Nov 1938 - 15 Jun 2013).
# This was their follow-up to "Telstar", which proved to be their only other Top 10 hit.

Del Shannon (30 Dec 1934 - 8 Feb 1990) was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.  After army service in the mid-1950s he joined a band which played in local venues.  The lead singer was sacked in 1958 and Shannon took over vocal duties.  A record contract followed, and in early 1961 Shannon recorded "Runaway" which was a chart topper on both sides of the Atlantic.  Shannon went on to have seven Top 10 hits in the UK by 1963, and after some smaller chart entries, he had one final Top 10 hit in 1965.  His hits tailed off after that, so he moved into music production with Liberty Records.  He made a few albums in the 1970s and 1980s but sales figures were not great.  Suffering from depression, Shannon committed suicide on 8th February 1990.
# This was his sixth Top 10 hit, with another to come in the spring of 1963.

The Four Seasons is a vocal group, characterised by the falsetto voice of Frankie Valli (born 3 May 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, USA). The group started as the Four Lovers, but they failed to make a breakthrough in the pop charts.  In 1960, they changed their name to the Four Seasons, and began working with record producer Bob Crewe, with Frankie Valli as the lead singer.  The rest of the band was Bob Gaudio on keyboards and tenor vocals (also their songwriter), Tommy DeVito on lead guitar and baritone vocals, and Nick Massi on electric bass and bass vocals.  Their first hit on both sides of the Atlantic was "Sherry", which was an American chart-topper.  Other similar recordings followed and they managed to hit the charts through to 1966 despite the prominence of the British beat groups.  They also had hits during the 1970s, including some solo recordings by Frankie Valli.  The band is still performing (as of 2016), but with Valli as the only original member.
# This song was the follow-up to their debut hit "Sherry" which reached number eight in October 1962.  Although "Big Girls Don't Cry" reached a modest number 13 in the UK, it went to Number One in the USA, as did the next release "Walk Like A Man".

Chris Montez was born on 17 Jan 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.  He enjoyed music from a young age, especially Latino-flavored music which was performed in his local community.  He formed a band in high school and started writing his own songs.  He had a local hit, then reached the UK and USA charts in autumn 1962, with "Let's Dance" (year 1962, song 80 in these lists).  However, after "Some Kinda Fun", it was 1966 before he returned to the British charts with the more mellow sounding "The More I See You".  He has continued to record and perform, and has recorded in Spanish for the Latin American market.  He was touring the USA again in 2016 at age 73.

The Beatles were a pop group from Liverpool, England who became the most popular and well-known music group in the world during the 1960s.  They also conquered America, becoming the biggest band there.  At the time of this hit and for the remainder of their time, the members were John Lennon (9 Oct 1940 - 8 Dec 1980), Paul McCartney (born 18 Jun 1942), George Harrison (25 Feb 1943 - 29 Nov 2001), and Ringo Starr (born 7 Jul 1940).  All four were born and raised in Liverpool, England.  They began with live performances in Liverpool, then Hamburg in Germany.  Brian Epstein saw them, and offered to be their manager.  He arranged a record deal with EMI's Parlophone label, which had producer and arranger George Martin in charge.  During the following seven years, The Beatles and Martin crafted a string of new and innovative singles and albums that kept them at the top of the charts worldwide, and inspired countless other musicians.  They went on to have 21 consecutive Top 4 singles from 1963 to 1970, with 17 reaching Number One - eleven of those consecutive.  On the album front, they had eleven Number One original studio albums, the biggest being the 1967 concept album "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" which remained in the UK album chart for 149 weeks (nearly three years!).  Their success led to more groups from Liverpool hitting the charts, and the phrases Merseybeat and Beatlemania came into everyday use.  However, internal differences between band members led to the band's breakup in April 1970.  All four members went on to have successful solo careers.
# CONTROVERSY:  This recording was listed at Number One by the British music papers NME and Record Mirror.  However, official chart listings use the Record Retailer charts and they insisted it only reached number two, so that is the official historic chart placing.

Brenda Lee was born on 11 Dec 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  She began singing at a very young age, and by the time she was 10 she was singing on local radio and TV, and at various events.  In 1955 she made her first national TV appearance, and a recording contract followed in 1956.  Her early recordings did not sell very well, but after some minor hits in the USA, her career took off in 1960 with the song "Sweet Nuthins" (her first UK hit), which was a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic in the spring of that year.  She went on to have numerous hits - mostly in a Country-ballad style.  After the pop hits dried up at the end of the 1960s, she successfully moved into mainstream Country Music, and had 33 entries on the USA Country charts.  She is still occasionally recording and performing.
# This was Lee's 13th UK hit and her fifth Top 10 hit.  She had toured the UK for the first time in 1962, and toured again in 1963.  She also had a Top 10 album in 1963.

The Bachelors were an Irish easy-listening harmony trio.  The act comprised Conleth (Con) Cluskey (18 Nov 1941 - 8 Apr 2022), Declan (Dec) Cluskey (born 23 Dec 1942), and John Stokes (born 13 Aug 1940), all from Dublin, Ireland.  They began as The Harmonichords in 1957, and enjoyed much success in their native Ireland.  When they were offered a recording contract by Decca Records in 1960, they were also asked to change the name of the group to the Bachelors.  In this new guise they enjoyed considerable success during the 1960s, achieving 17 hit singles in the UK, eight of which made the Top 10.  They even reached the Top 10 in the USA.  This was all the more remarkable as they were very much a middle-of-the-road act, when the big names in pop and rock, such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many others were ruling the roost.  After the hits dried up, they continued successfully as a live act in cabaret and summertime seaside shows until 1984 when the two brothers split from John Stokes.  After the split Con and Dec continued as a duo, billed as Con & Dec - The Bachelors, and were still performing in 2016.  John Stokes has formed a new group called The Bachelors with John Stokes, who also continue to perform in local venues around the UK.
# The song was published in 1926 and used for the film "What Price Glory?" in the same year.  The song has been recorded by many singers and orchestras since then.  One of the most celebrated instrumental versions was by Mantovani & His Cascading Strings.  That version was a Top 10 hit in the USA during 1951, but pre-dated the UK charts, although it was played on radio frequently.

Frank Ifield was born on 30 Nov 1937 in Coventry, England.  After the war, he and his parents went to live near Sydney, Australia.  He enjoyed singing, and by his late teens he was a popular performer in Australia.  He decided to return to the UK in 1959.  His first hit came in 1960 (see year 1960, song 15), but 1961 was blank so far as hits were concerned.  But in 1962 he made a real chart breakthrough with his million-selling Number One hit, "I Remember You", which remained at Number One for seven weeks.  That record made him a star, and he became famous for his yodeling style of singing.  He had three further chart-toppers and a Top 10 hit by 1964 - all revivals of old songs.  After that the hits tailed off as musical trends changed in the mid-1960s.  He was still occasionally performing into the 21st century.
# This was Ifield's third consecutive Number One hit.
# The track was written as a Country Music song, and indeed was recorded by Country singer Tex Ritter in 1956, who reached number eight in the UK charts with it during that year.  Simultaneously it was recorded by American female singer Gogi Grant, and her version peaked at number nine in the UK, although it hit Number One in the USA.  Joining in, British crooner Jimmy Young recorded a version too, but that peaked at a lowly 27, also in 1956.

Eydie Gormé (16 Aug 1928 - 10 Aug 2013) was born in New York City, and was an easy-listening singer of swing-style music, although she broke into the pop charts with a few recordings.  She took up singing after graduating from high school in 1946.  She got her big break and her recording debut in 1950 with the Tommy Tucker Orchestra and subsequently sang in Tex Beneke's band.  In 1951 she made several radio recordings (now available on CD).  In 1952 she decided to go solo, and recorded for the Coral label.  During that time, she was featured on the radio program "Cita Con Eydie" ("A Date with Eydie").  In 1953, Gormé made her first television appearance, and met her future husband, singer Steve Lawrence, when they were both booked for The Tonight Show.  Deciding to join forces, they starred together in The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé Show in 1958.  They worked and recorded together and separately over the next several decades.
# The Bossa Nova is a style of music from Brazil, which had a popular dance created for it in the early 1960s.  As a musical style, it remains popular among easy-listening jazz musicians (smooth jazz) who still often perform music to a Bossa Nova beat.  Bossa Nova translates as "New Trend".

Bobby Vee (30 Apr 1943 - 24 Oct 2016) was born in North Dakota, USA.  His father was a musician, as were his two older brothers.  He was in a high school band in 1959, and following the death of Buddy Holly that year, Vee was asked to replace Holly on the remainder of the tour.  This obviously brought him to the attention of record companies, and he signed a deal with Liberty Records later in 1959.  He had a couple of USA-only hits in 1960, but it was his recording of "Rubber Ball" that made him an international star.  He achieved a total of seven Top 10 hits and a further three Top 30 chart entries in the UK by the end of 1963.  He continued recording and performing, and was touring the UK in the 1990s.  In 2012 he retired from the music business due to health problems, and died in 2016, aged 73.
# Vee had an impressive run of five consecutive Top 10 hits in 1961, but things slowed after that, and this was his final Top 10 hit in the UK.  He had one more Top 30 hit later in 1963, but he then disappeared from the British singles charts.  He did, however, enjoy three Top 20 albums in 1963, including a greatest hits compilation.

Billie Davis was born on 22 Dec 1945 in Woking, Surrey, England.  After winning a talent contest, she recorded some demos with producer Joe Meek, and her first record release was a duet with Mike Sarne on the song "Will I What?", a follow-up to Sarne's chart-topper "Come Outside".  That was issued on the Parlophone label, but her first solo release was with Decca.  It was called "Tell Him", a cover of an American original, which Davis just managed to get into the Top 10.  Unfortunately, later that year she was involved in a car crash which resulted in a broken jaw.  This took her out of performing for several months.  By the time she recovered, the British beat groups were dominant, and other female singers like Sandie Shaw, Lulu and Dusty Springfield were becoming established.  She only had two other minor hits, but continued recording and performing.  In the 1990s and early 2000s she toured with sixties nostalgia shows.
# The song was originally recorded by American group The Exciters who reached number four in the USA charts and number 46 in the UK with it.
# "Tell Him" reached number six in the UK during 1974 after it was recorded by British Glam Rock band Hello.  In 1996 the song was recorded by actresses Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, who were co-starring in the TV sit-com "Men Behaving Badly".  Their version peaked at number 25, credited to Quentin and Ash.

Joe Brown was born on 13 May 1941 in Lincolnshire, England, but he grew up in east London, England.  He formed a Skiffle group in the mid-1950s, and was spotted by television producer Jack Good who hired him as lead guitarist for his new TV series, "Boy Meets Girls" in 1959.  During the early 1960s he backed several American musicians such as Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran on their UK tours.  He had three smallish hits from 1960, but in 1962 reached the Top 10 for the first time with the song "A Picture Of You".  He enjoyed two further Top 10s, and a few more smaller hits in the 1960s.  However, he has never stopped performing, and regularly tours the UK up to the present time.
# In December 1963, the film "What a Crazy World", starring Joe Brown and Marty Wilde among others, had its world premiere in London.

Paul & Paula were Ray Hildebrand (21 Dec 1940 - 18 Aug 2023), and Jill Jackson, born 20 May 1942, both from Texas, USA.  They met at a college in Texas in 1962, and took part in a charity singing show where they sang "Hey Paula" which Hildebrand had written.  They were encouraged to record the song, and were given the chance by Mercury Records.  The company suggested they called their act Paul & Paula, after the names of the characters in the lyrics of the song.  The song was a great success, selling over two million copies worldwide.  The duo released two regular albums and a Christmas-themed album, and their follow-up, "Young Lovers", also reached the Top 10 in the UK.  In 1965, Hildebrand left the act, having decided that show business was not for him.  Jackson went on with a solo career and Hildebrand returned to singing in the 1980s in the Christian duo Land & Hildebrand.  The twosome got together from time to time to sing as Paul & Paula for special events into the 2000s.

Ned Miller (12 Apr 1925 - 18 Mar 2016) was born in Utah, USA.  He was a Country Music singer and songwriter, who composed his first song at the age of 16.  He wrote numerous songs for other Country singers, and had success himself as a vocalist.  This hit was originally recorded by Miller in 1957 but it did not enter the charts at that time.  However, it was reissued in 1963, and reached the Top 10 on both the Country and Pop charts of the USA.  It did very well in the UK too, spending some five months on the charts.  Miller was not particularly interested in his singing career, and rarely toured, mainly due to stage fright.  He gave up recording in the 1970s and moved to Arizona to write.  He even stopped composing in the late 1970s, and he died at his home in Oregon, USA at the age of 90.

Billy Fury (17 Apr 1940 - 28 Jan 1983) was born in Liverpool, England.  He bought his first guitar at age 14, entered talent contests, and by 1958 was writing his own songs.  He was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes, who put him on tour, and arranged a recording contract with Decca.  He also appeared on the TV pop show "Oh Boy!", and released his first record in 1959.  He went on to considerable success, and had amassed 26 hit singles by the end of 1966, including eleven Top 10 entries.  He never achieved a Number One.  Heart problems, which he suffered from childhood, led to surgery in the early 1970s.  He did some touring and recording in the very early 1980s, but his heart problems worsened, and died in London in January 1983, aged just 42.  On 19 April 2003 a bronze statue of Fury was unveiled at the National Museum of Liverpool Life.
# This was Fury's first Top 10 hit of the year, with another two to come, despite the advancing beat groups and other new vocalists appearing in the charts.

Cliff Richard was born on 14 Oct 1940 in Lucknow, India, whilst his parents were working in that country.  He returned to England with his family in 1948.  He formed a band in 1957 and a year later he was chosen as a singer for the TV Rock 'n' Roll show "Oh Boy!".  His first hit came in 1958, which started a career that continued into the 21st century, with more than 130 hit singles and over 50 original albums, spanning 50 years plus.  In the early 1960s he also starred in several musical films, notably "The Young Ones" and "Summer Holiday".  He also achieved a Number One single in five different decades, and is the most successful British recording artist of all time.
# This song was featured in Cliff's film of the same title, which also starred the Shadows.  The film had its world premier in London in February 1963, and like "The Young Ones", became the second most successful film of the year.  The soundtrack album reached Number One in the album chart and remained on the chart for 36 weeks.

The Cascades were an American harmony group from San Diego, California, USA, who first met in the US Navy and began singing together in 1960 under a different group name.  Signed to Valiant Records in 1962, they changed the name of the band to The Cascades.  Their first record release was a minor hit, but the follow-up, "Rhythm Of The Rain", became an international Top 10 hit.  Further recordings did not do as well, but they continued performing, with a few personnel changes, until 1975, when the group split up.  They reformed twice, in 1995 and 2004, to tour the USA and the Philippines.
# In 1990, Australian performer Jason Donovan recorded the song which rose to number nine in the UK charts.

Roy Orbison (23 Apr 1936 - 6 Dec 1988) was born in Vernon, Texas, USA.  He started playing guitar as a child, and formed a high school band, playing mostly Country Music.  The band remained together and, called The Teen Kings", they began playing on local radio stations.  At one of those broadcasts, Johnny Cash was in the radio station, and suggested the group approached Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.  They duly went, and recorded a song called "Ooby Dooby" which reached number 59 in the USA charts.  He struggled with hits after that, and concentrated on songwriting.  In 1960 he signed for Monument Records, and very soon recorded his classic hit "Only The Lonely" (year 1960, song 69 in these lists).  More major hits followed during the 1960s, and he continued to tour during the 1970s and 1980s.  He died from a heart attack in 1988, following which recordings made earlier in the 1980s began reaching the charts, including two Top 10 entries from 1989 to 1992.
# This was Orbison's first Top 10 entry for almost a year.  However, he went on to have another two Top 10s in this year, and a couple of Number Ones in 1964.  He was one of the few Americans who managed to stand his ground in both the USA and UK against the British beat and rock groups.  Indeed during the whole of 1963 and 1964, the only Americans to top the British charts were Elvis Presley (once), The Supremes (once), and Roy Orbison (twice).

Ronnie Carroll (18 Aug 1934 - 13 Apr 2015) was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  He was an easy-listening crooner, who began his entertainment career in the 1950s, and had his first hit in 1956.  Hit records were never a major part of his success, but he did have two Top 10 hits in the 1960s.  After his popularity waned he took to singing on cruise ships.  In the late 1990s he turned to politics, and was a candidate in two general elections.
# This song was written as the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest for 1963.  Ronnie Carroll sang the song in the contest, and came fourth with Denmark having the winning song.  This recording was Carroll's final appearance in the British singles charts.

The Shadows were Cliff Richard's backing band, who were at first called The Drifters.  All of Cliff's hits from 1958 to mid-1959 were credited to Cliff Richard and The Drifters.  However, there was an American vocal group called The Drifters, so the band's name was changed.  The original members of The Shadows were Hank B Marvin (born 28 Oct 1941), lead guitar, Bruce Welch (born 2 Nov 1941), rhythm guitar, Jet Harris (6 July 1939 - 18 Mar 2011), bass guitar, and Tony Meehan (2 Mar 1943 - 28 Nov 2005), drums.  By the time of this hit, the drums had been taken over by Brian Bennett (born 9 Feb 1940 in north London, England), and bass guitar was played by Brian "Licorice" Locking (22 Dec 1938 - 8 Oct 2020, born in Warwickshire, England).  Despite continuing to be Cliff Richard's backing band for several years, The Shadows enjoyed considerable success in their own right, and in the early to mid-1960s, were Britain's top instrumental group, achieving five Number One hits plus an additional nine Top 10 entries out of 24 hits in total during the 1960s.  Not content with that, they had more hits in the 1970s and early 1980s.
# This was The Shadows final Number One, but they enjoyed a further six Top 20 hits by the end of 1964.
# This recording was used as the signature tune and closing tune for the BBC Radio 2 programme "Sounds of the 60s" for many years, when presented by Brian Mathew.

Johnny Cymbal (3 Feb 1945 - 16 Mar 1993) was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, but his family emigrated to Canada when he was a young boy, then moved to the USA.  His surname Cymbal came from his Polish step-father, who legally adopted Johnny.  Cymbal was primarily a songwriter, and three years after this hit he gave up performing and concentrated on writing songs for others, although he did make a few recordings under various pseudonyms.  In the 1980s he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and wrote Country Music songs for the many performers in that city.  He died from a heart attack at the young age of 48.
# This was his only hit in the UK.
# The bass voice on this recording is by Ronnie Bright (1938-2015), who also provided bass on Barry Mann's "Who Put The Bomp" (year 1961, song 63).

Gerry & The Pacemakers were the second group of Merseybeat acts from Liverpool (after the Beatles) to break into the big time, although they were the first to reach Number One in the UK charts.  They were led by Gerry Marsden (24 Sep 1942 – 3 Jan 2021, born in Liverpool, England).  The four Pacemakers included Gerry's brother Freddie (1940 - 2006) who played the drums.  The group had been performing around Liverpool for some time, and were the second act spotted and signed by manager Brian Epstein.  He arranged a record deal with EMI records, and Beatles producer, George Martin also produced the recordings for Gerry & The Pacemakers.  They went on to enjoy enormous success in the UK and were the first act to see their first three record releases reach Number One.  That feat was not equaled until the 1980s when the band Frankie Goes To Hollywood (also from Liverpool) did the same thing.  Gerry & The Pacemakers went on to have a total of nine hit singles, six of which made the Top 10, including those chart toppers.  Like most other British hit-makers at the time, they also enjoyed much success in the USA.  However, their last hit came in late 1965, and by then their popularity was rapidly declining on both sides of the Atlantic.  They disbanded in October 1966.  However, in 1974, Gerry reformed the band, and they continued to perform at home and abroad in sixties nostalgia shows until 2018.

Buddy Holly (7 Sep 1936 - 3 Feb 1959) is one of the legendary early Rock 'n' Roll stars.  He was born in Lubbock, Texas, USA.  He was highly influential to immerging musicians of the time, and his records are still widely played on radio stations throughout the world.  He had learned to play guitar whilst at school, and he formed a band after graduation.  The band played on local radio, and even provided the opening act for stars performing in Lubbock, including Elvis Presley.  He and his band moved to Nashville in 1956, and began making demo recordings, which led to a record contract.  Unusually for the time, his debut single was self-penned, and most of his output was written by Holly with contributions from band members and manager Norman Petty.  His career flourished with hit records and TV appearances during 1957 and 1958.  He died at the age of just 22 in a plane crash whilst on a tour of the USA, along with two other stars of the period.
# This was one of several posthumous releases that charted in the 1960s.  It had been recorded sometime in 1957-58 but never issued at the time.  Indeed, there were many recordings that were not released in Holly's lifetime, but they gradually saw the light of day during the 1960s, as a series of albums.  Like many others, this track was overdubbed by Rock 'n' Roll band The Fireballs, to give a more solid sound.
# The song had been recorded originally by the song's composer, Chuck Berry, in 1956.  It was released as the B-side of his single "Too Much Monkey Business".  That recording had reached the Top 10 of various USA charts.

Andy Williams (3 Dec 1927 - 25 Sep 2012) was an easy-listening crooner, who issued several songs during the 1960s and 1970s that entered the UK charts, three of them making the Top 10 during the sixties.  He was born in Iowa, USA, but he and his family moved to Los Angeles while he was at high school in 1943.  He and his three brothers formed a vocal quartet in the 1940s, and they soon found themselves in demand from record producers and film makers.  They had parts in several musical films, and in 1947 they made their debut in Las Vegas.  However, in 1953 the brothers went their separate ways and this gave Williams the opportunity to start a solo career.  He began appearing on TV, and by 1957 he was at the top of the UK charts with his recording of "Butterfly".  He hosted his own TV variety show, The Andy Williams Show, from 1962 to 1971, and recorded over forty albums.  He continued recording and performing until he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, and he died from the disease in 2012 at the age of 84.

Tommy Roe was born on 9 May 1942 in Atlanta, Georgia.  He was part of a band at high school, but he signed a recording deal as a solo artist in 1960.  No recordings charted until 1962, when "Sheila" was released which hit Number One in the USA, Canada and Australia, and number three in the UK.  He had a handful of hits in the UK in the 1960s, culminating in the British Number One "Dizzy" in 1969.  The hits tailed off after that, but he continued recording and performing, and was appearing at various American venues in 2016.
# This was effectively his follow-up to "Sheila", as the intervening recording had stalled at number 37.  He had a further Top 10 in the autumn of 1963 ("Everybody"), then no more until his 1969 return.

Ruby & The Romantics was a Soul and R&B group from Ohio, USA.  The group was led by Ruby Nash who did not start singing until she had left high school.  She was invited to sing with a local male vocal group, and when they secured a record deal, they changed their name to Ruby & The Romantics.  Their first release was this recording which reached Number One in the USA, selling a million copies.  Lacking sufficient airplay, the record stalled at number 38 in the UK.  They issued several further singles in the USA, but they mostly had low peak positions in the charts.  Their last single was released in 1969.  This hit is the group's only entry in the UK singles charts.
# The song has been recorded by numerous other artists.  In 2011, British singer Amy Winehouse released her version of the song.  It reached number 29 in the UK charts that year.

The Springfields were a British pop-folk vocal trio which included lead singer Dusty Springfield (16 Apr 1939 - 2 Mar 1999), along with her brother, songwriter Tom Springfield, and Tim Feild, later replaced by Mike Hurst.  The siblings were both musical and both were members of separate folk groups in the late 1950s.  They came together, along with Tim Feild who was in a folk duo with Tom, and signed with Philips Records in 1960.  Their first modest hits hits came in 1961, but after Hurst replaced Feild in 1962, they became very popular, and had their own 15-minute TV show on BBC.  Their first big hit was "Island Of Dreams", written by Tom Springfield.  This was followed in 1963 by another Top 10 hit.  However, Dusty decided to leave for a solo career in late summer 1963, and the group disbanded.  Dusty went on to become a major star of the 1960s; Tom concentrated on songwriting and penned several hits for Australian band The Seekers; whilst Mike Hurst became a successful record producer, creating hits for Cat Stevens and Manfred Mann amongst many others.
# This was their follow-up to "Island Of Dreams", and is their only other Top 10 hit.

This was their follow-up to their January hit "Big Girls Don't Cry" (see song 5).  They struggled to get high placings on the UK charts with the emerging British groups attracting most of the attention.  This recording, along with their first two went to Number One in the USA, giving the group the honour of being the first band to take their first three releases to the top of the American charts.
# This turned out to be their final Top 20 hit of 1963 in the UK, but they hit the Top 10 again in the summer of 1964.

This was the duo's follow-up to their debut hit "Hey Paula" (song 15).  Success was short-lived; this was their only other chart entry in the UK, and their only other Top 10 hit in the USA.  They did however tour the UK during April 1963.

The Chiffons were a group of four girls from New York, USA.  Their first release as a quartet was "He's So Fine" which went to Number One in the USA, although it only reached the Top 20 in the UK.  Two other recordings charted in the UK, but they were up against the wealth of British bands that were dominating the UK charts in the mid 1960s.  Their follow-up, "One Fine Day" (song 57) scraped into the Top 30 in the summer of 1963, but their next hit was not until 1966.  That was "Sweet Talkin' Guy", which stalled at number 31 initially, but when re-released in 1972, it raced up to number four on the British charts.

This was the instrumental duo's follow-up to their debut chart topper "Diamonds" (song 2).  It peaked at a very respectable number 2, and stayed on the charts for a week longer than its predecessor.  This was one of three hits that the pair had during 1963 - the only year in which they entered the charts.
# In the USA the track was covered by the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, featuring guitarist Neil de Vang, but it peaked at a lowly number 89 on the American charts.
# Scarlett O'Hara is the fictional, main female character in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel "Gone with the Wind".  In 1939 a film adaptation was released, with British actress Vivien Leigh playing the part of Scarlett O'Hara opposite Clark Gable in the role of Rhett Butler.  The film has become a classic and often appears on TV despite its age.

Shannon was back in the UK charts with his third consecutive Top 10 hit.  However, things were slowing down.  He had a couple of Top 30 hits later in 1963, and two Top 40 hits in the following year.  He was back in the Top 10 for his penultimate British hit in 1965, but after a minor hit later that year, he did not visit the UK singles charts again.  However, he did have two Top 20 albums in 1963, and toured the UK in that year as well.  For more details, see song 4.

Finally, their third hit single made it to Number One, and it started a run of eleven consecutive chart-toppers until 1966.  This track stayed at the top for seven weeks.  They conquered America in 1964, and the Beatles became the biggest band in the world.  Their home town, Liverpool soon saw several local groups emerging into the limelight, and the city became the centre of world popular music.

Billy J Kramer was born on 19 Aug 1943 in Bootle, Liverpool, England.  He began performing after he finished his education, and was soon spotted by Brian Epstein who was building a roster of artists from the Liverpool area, which already included the Beatles.  Kramer had a backing group, but none of them were interested in going professional, so Epstein found another band to back him.  They were the Dakotas from Manchester, who later had a Top 20 instrumental hit in the summer of 1963.  The new group was soon signed up with EMI records and producer George Martin.  Their first release was a song written by the Beatles' Lennon and McCartney, and performed by them on their debut album "Please Please Me".  The Beatles' version was not planned to be a single, so it went to Kramer.  Billy J went on to record two further Lennon and McCartney songs which were both big hits during 1963.  This was followed by two more hits in 1964 and one in 1965, after which Kramer did not appear in the singles charts again.  He continued recording and performing on and off during the following decades, and as recently as 2012 he recorded a new album.
# In the USA it was the Beatles' version of this song that was released as a single.  It peaked at number two on the American charts in 1964.

Cliff's follow-up to his Number One hit "Summer Holiday" (song 18) was this R&B song written in 1956 by the celebrated Rock 'n' Roll composers Leiber and Stoller.  It was a song well-suited to Cliff, and it went to Number One in several countries around the world.  Despite the arrival of several new acts from Liverpool, Cliff still managed to score four Top 4 hits during 1963.  Only the Beatles did better with four Top 2 hits.
# The original recording of the song was by American R&B singer Ruth Brown, who reached number 25 with it in the USA during 1957.

This five-piece band was led by Freddie Garrity (14 Nov 1936 - 19 May 2006).  Although they were lumped in with the emerging groups from Liverpool, in fact they came from Manchester.  They were good musicians, but were the jokers of the pack amongst the new groups in 1963, performing silly dances on stage to their songs.  They gained nine hits between 1963 and 1965, four of them making the Top 10.  Although they missed out on a top spot in the UK, they did reach Number One in the USA during 1965.  In the early 1970s Garrity became a TV presenter of children's programmes, but the group remained together (with some personnel changes) and they continued performing until 2000 along with other bands of the sixties.  Garrity retired in 2001 due to health issues, and died in 2006.
# The song was an American R&B track, recorded by James Ray in 1962, which climbed to number 22 in the USA pop charts.  It is said that the Beatles had performed the song live on several occasions before Garrity recorded it.

Sam Cooke (22 Jan 1931 - 11 Dec 1964) was born in Mississippi, USA.  He started out as a Gospel singer, but in 1957 he signed a recording contract and began his career as a Soul singer.  His first hit was "You Send Me" in early 1958.  It was a Number One hit in the USA, but only reached number 29 in the UK.  His recording of "Only Sixteen", which he also wrote himself, was out-sold by the Craig Douglas cover version.  His follow-up recording of "Wonderful World" was not up against any covers, but still only managed to just enter the Top 30 during the summer of 1960.  However, things changed in September 1960 when he began a run of three Top 10 hits through to 1962.  His career was cut short, however, when he was shot dead at a motel in Los Angeles in December 1964.
# This recording reached number ten in the USA.
# In 1986, Cooke's original version of "Wonderful World" was reissued after the song (but not Cooke's recording) was used in a Levi jeans TV commercial, and this time Cooke climbed to number two in the UK - his highest chart position.  In the same year, an album of his hits and other material titled "The Man And His Music" was issued and it reached number eight on the UK album chart.
# In 1974, British singer Cat Stevens recorded a version of "Another Saturday Night", and that peaked at number 19 in the UK charts.

Ray Charles was a R&B and Soul singer (23 Sep 1930 - 10 Jun 2004) who was born in Albany, Georgia, USA, but grew up in Florida.  Charles started to lose his sight as a youngster, and was completely blind by the age of seven, apparently as a result of glaucoma.  He attended a school for deaf and blind children and took an interest in music.  He was taught to play piano, and became most interested in Blues and Jazz music which he heard on radio.  He decided to become a professional piano player in the mid 1940s, but found work hard to come by in Florida, so moved to Seattle in Washington state, USA.  By the early 1950s he was making a few records, and in 1952 signed with Atlantic Records.  His first big hit was "I Got A Woman" which reached number two on the American R&B chart.  His first pop hit came in 1959 when "What'd I Say" peaked at number six on the USA charts.  This led to numerous hits on both sides of the Atlantic during the 1960s.  He continued making albums into the 21st century, and remained a popular live performer almost until his death at age 73.
# Although Ray Charles was a Soul/R&B singer, in 1962 he recorded an album of Country songs titled "Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music".  This ground-breaking album was a USA Number One and a million-seller which reached number six in the UK.  Following that success a Volume 2 was released, and this single was lifted from that second album.
# This song was originally recorded by Country Music legend Hank Williams.  Williams died in 1953, not long after the song's release, which ensured it went to Number One in the American charts.

This was Fury's follow-up to "Like I've Never Been Gone" (song 17).  He resisted the pressure from the new bands appearing in the charts to score three Top 10 hits in 1963.  Perhaps his originating from Liverpool may have helped his popularity to continue.  Another Top 10 hit appeared in July, and he also saw two of his albums enter the UK album chart in 1963 - one reaching number six. 

Bobby Rydell (26 Apr 1942 - 5 Apr 2022) was born in Philadelphia, USA.  In 1950, he won a talent show on the television series "TV Teen Club" and gained a place in the cast, where he remained for several years.  He signed with Cameo Records in 1959, and had his first American hit that year.  He enjoyed several hits in the early 1960s, and even starred in a film ("Bye Bye Birdie").  Although he enjoyed some 34 Top 40 hits in the USA, in the UK he was eclipsed by the British beat groups of the mid-1960s.  He continued to tour and appear at various American venues, including Las Vegas, for the rest of his life, despite having a double organ transplant in 2012.  He died from pneumonia in April 2022 at the age of 79.
# Writer, Tony Hatch wrote under a few pseudonyms, and is best-known for writing and producing Petula Clark's sixties hits.

This was Orbison's follow-up to his February Top 10 hit "In Dreams".  It was another song he wrote himself, which despite reaching the Top 10 in the UK, only rose to number 22 in his American homeland.  Although he had his first hits in 1960, he was able to compete with the British groups at least until the end of 1964.  This track was featured on his album "In Dreams", which reached number 6 on the UK album chart, and remained on the listings for just over a year.

Buddy Holly had been killed in 1959, but his record company were still issuing his unreleased recordings.  This was the second of three posthumous Top 10 hits for Holly in 1963.  Buddy Holly recorded the song in 1956 - one of his earliest sessions with producer/engineer Norman Petty at his recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico.  This was really just a demo recording, so was again overdubbed by Rock 'n' Roll band The Fireballs.  The track was first released in early 1963 on the album "Reminiscing", and later as a single.
# The album "Reminiscing" reached number two on the UK album chart in 1963.
# The song was written and recorded by R&B performer Bo Diddley in 1955, and was a hit on the American R&B chart in that year.

The Shadows continued their run of Top 10 hits which began back in 1960.  This was the follow-up to their final Number One, "Foot Tapper" (song 22).  This track was written by Jerry Lordan who had provided their debut hit "Apache" and several others.  They scored another Top 10 in September 1963 - their twelfth in a row, but things became more difficult for them after that as instrumental recordings began to fall out of favour. 

This new Liverpool group stuck with the same songwriter and the same formula, which duly delivered their second Number One hit.  They had a third chart-topper in the autumn of 1963, which gave them the distinction of having their first three releases reach Number One - the first act to do so in the UK charts.

The Crystals were a girl group who were recorded and promoted by legendary record producer Phil Spector. Spector had a reputation for chopping and changing, and even substituting the groups that were signed to his record label. That had been the case with the Crystals, but by this recording the group had settled to Dolores "LaLa" Brooks as lead singer, with Barbara Alston, Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew, and Patricia "Patsy" Wright.  The recording was one of Spector's first "Wall of Sound" style of productions, which he would replicate in several other recordings with the Crystals, as well as other groups such as the Ronettes.

Lesley Gore (2 May 1946 - 16 Feb 2015) was born in New York City, USA.  She was 16 years old and still at high school when she recorded this song.  It was a Number One hit in the USA and made her a star.  Several other singles followed, including the sequel to the song "Judy's Turn To Cry" which reached number five in America but failed to chart in the UK.  Her only other British hit peaked at number 20 in 1964.  She continued successfully in the USA and also began acting, and appeared in some TV dramas.  By the 1980s she had become a songwriter of note, writing music for the 1980 film "Fame", for which she received an Academy Award nomination.  She continued to write, act, record and perform into the 21st century, and released a new album in 2005.  She died from lung cancer in 2015 at the age of 68.
# This was producer Quincy Jones' first hit record.  He became famous as Michael Jackson's record producer from 1979 to 1987.
# The song was recorded by The Crystals at about the same time as Gore's version, but it was not released as a single.  It was also recorded by American girl group The Chiffons, and British singer Helen Shapiro in 1962/63, but those versions only appeared as album tracks.
# In 1981, a recording of the song by British artists Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin was a UK Number One hit single, remaining at the top for four weeks in the autumn of that year.

Kenny Lynch (18 Mar 1938 - 18 Dec 2019) was born in the East-end of London, England.  The youngest of 13 children, he first appeared on stage at the age of 12 with his sister, jazz singer Maxine Daniels (1930-2003).  After army service in the mid-1950s, he began singing professionally and signed a recording contract with HMV records in 1960.  He scored a modest hit in 1960, and recorded this American song (his sixth record) in early 1962.  Despite a reasonable amount of radio play, it failed to enter the charts.  However, he reached the Top 10 in late 1962 with a cover of an American hit (see year 1962, song 97), and repeated the feat in summer 1963.  His final hit single came in 1965.  He also acted in several films and TV dramas over the years, and wrote songs for other performers.
# This song was covered by American Country Music singer Johnny Tillotson for the USA market, where it peaked at number 18.  Tillotson had been at Number One in the UK in early 1961 with "Poetry In Motion".

This was Ifield's follow-up to "Nobody's Darlin' But Mine" (song 31).  This was also his last of four Number One hits.  One more Top 10 hit followed in 1964, with half a dozen smaller hits charting until the end of 1966.  He continued as a popular performer for many years, and in 1991 he reached the charts again with a new recording of "She Taught Me How To Yodel", which peaked at number 40 in the UK.  He still makes occasional appearances in the 21st century.  See also song 10.
# This song was first published in 1930, and was recorded that year by Louis Armstrong.  It has been recorded by most major easy-listening performers over the decades, but Ifield's version is the only one to appear in the UK charts.

Kyu Sakamoto (10 Dec 1941 - 12 Aug 1985) was a Japanese singer and actor who had the one-off hit "Sukiyaki", sung entirely in Japanese - the only time a Japanese language song has charted in the UK or USA.  Sakamoto was born in Kawasaki, Japan, and by his early teens he was performing with a band.  In 1961 he signed a record deal as a solo singer, and he soon had a hit in the Japanese charts with "Sukiyaki".  In Japan it had a longer title, but was renamed for release in western countries.  On the basis of this success he toured the USA and some European countries.  He continued as an actor and singer in Japan until his death in a plane crash in 1985 at the age of 43.
# This song had come to the attention of jazz band leader Kenny Ball towards the end of 1962.  He and his jazz band recorded an instrumental version of the song, which entered the UK charts in January 1963, peaking at number 10.
# Versions with English lyrics have been recorded subsequently, but none of those have entered the UK charts.

This was the instrumental group's fourth hit record, although they were now only just reaching the Top 20.  One more minor hit followed in the autumn of this year, which turned out to be their final appearance in the UK singles charts.  Bass player Heinz had a vocal Top 10 hit in late August 1963 (song 63), followed by a few smaller hits, all produced by Joe Meek. 
# This instrumental was featured in the British film of 1963 "Farewell Performance", the plot of which involved a murdered pop star.  Sadly, the black and white film now seems to have been lost.
# The B-side of the single was "Theme from The Scales of Justice".  "The Scales of Justice" was a series of thirteen British cinema short crime films produced between 1962 and 1967.  The Tornados provided the soundtrack for the end credits.

The Searchers were another new band to immerge from the City of Liverpool and the Merseybeat scene.  Their origins go back to 1959 and even earlier, with several members passing through various lineups.  By 1962 the personnel had settled to a four-piece led by Mike Pender.  Live work in Liverpool, England, led to a recording contract with Pye Records who had producer Tony Hatch available.  This was their debut recording which climbed to the Number One spot.  They became one of the most successful of the Liverpool bands, scoring three Number One hits and three additional Top 10 entries out of a total of 13 hits by the end of 1966.  Unlike many of the other Merseybeat bands, the Searchers' chart toppers were covers of existing American songs rather than original material.  However, as those songs were largely unheard in the UK, they were greeted as new by the record buyers.
# This song, written by the prolific Rock 'n' Roll song composers Pomus & Shuman, was originally recorded by American vocal group The Drifters who saw their rendition reach number 16 on the USA charts in 1961.

This five-piece band, fronted by Brian Poole, who was born on 3 Nov 1941 in east London, England, were another new beat group that became very successful, even though they came from London rather than Liverpool.  Most of the line up met at school and formed a band in their teens, whilst the fifth member joined a little later.  They called the band The Tremeloes.  They performed around various London venues and in 1962 gained a contract with Decca Records, who asked them to change their name to Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, as this style of naming was becoming popular.  This was their first release, which was followed by "Do You Love Me" (song 74) which went all the way to Number One.  They enjoyed eight hit singles, four of which made the Top 10 by the summer of 1965.  In 1966 Poole and the Tremeloes split.  Poole made a few solo recordings but the remaining four, as The Tremeloes, went on to considerable success, scoring ten hits, six of which made the Top 10 including their Number One "Silence Is Golden" in 1967.
# "Twist and Shout" was written in 1961, and  was originally recorded by American band The Top Notes.  It first became a USA chart hit as a cover single by the Isley Brothers in 1962.  The Beatles recorded a version for their first album "Please Please Me" (1963) which was issued before this single was released.  Other versions that have reached the UK charts are by: the Isley Brothers (1963, number 42), Salt-n-Pepa (1988, number 4) and Chaka Demus & Pliers (1993, Number One).

The King of Rock 'n' Roll (8 Jan 1935 - 16 Aug 1977) was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA.  He and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13 years old.  Soon afterwards he acquired his first guitar and began playing and singing.  He started his recording career at Sun Records in Memphis, USA.  It took several attempts to get Sun owner Sam Phillips to let Presley record, but eventually a session was arranged with guitarist Scotty Moore and upright bass player Bill Black providing backing.  The resultant track "That's Alright" was soon on local radio in Memphis, and it became a local hit.  Public performances followed, including numerous appearances on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show which was broadcast to half the USA.  Eventually he became famous enough for RCA records to buy out his Sun contract and take him to Nashville, in 1956.  He rose to be arguably the biggest music star of the 20th century, with world-wide record sales of over one billion.  Also in 1956 Elvis made his movie debut in the film "Love Me Tender".  By the end of 1969 he had completed 31 films.  He made no more movies after that, instead concentrating on live concert performances, including many in Las Vegas.  His home in Memphis, "Graceland", is now a museum and major tourist attraction, and his recordings continue to be heard throughout the world.
# This was Presley's only Top 10 hit of 1963, as record buyers turned to the new British beat groups that were appearing.  Nevertheless, he continued to enjoy UK hits in every year of the remainder of the sixties with a sprinkling of Top 10s, especially in 1969.
# This song was one of a very few that were not featured in any of Presley's films during this time.  It was recorded back in the RCA studios in Nashville, Tennessee, rather than in Hollywood where most of his movie sound tracks were recorded.

This was the follow-up to their hit "He's So Fine" (song 33) which had peaked at number 16 in the UK.  This recording did even worse, despite the caliber of the songwriters.  American performers were finding it increasing difficult to get the attention of British teenagers as 1963 progressed.  Some American recordings succeeded but they had to be innovative and exciting to climb the UK charts, and this did not have those qualities.  The British "invasion" of the American charts did not happen until 1964, so this recording raced up to number 5 in the USA.

Johnny Kidd (23 Dec 1935 - 7 Oct 1966) was born in north-west London, England.  He formed a Skiffle group in the mid-1950s, and began writing songs.  He managed to get a recording test with HMV, and he was rewarded with a contract.  His first hit came in June 1959, "Please Don't Touch", which reached number 25 in the UK charts.  With his backing band, The Pirates, he dressed as a pirate on stage, complete with eye patch.  In 1960 he reached Number One in the UK with "Shakin' All Over".  However, he was unable to build a strong hits base, and this hit was his next Top 10 entry.  Doubtless the success of this recording was partly due to its similarity to the Merseybeat sound of many hit singles at the time.  Following this Kidd had only two more hits, peaking at numbers 20 and 46 respectively.  Sadly, Kidd died in a car crash in 1966 at age 30.

The four members of the Surfaris were high school students in southern California, where surfing was one of the main interests for male teenagers.  They formed the band, wrote and recorded this instrumental track during the autumn of 1962.  So-called surf rock was becoming very popular in the USA at the time, and this hit predated the initial hits from the Beach Boys who took the crown in surfing music over the following years.  Surfing as a sport was pretty much unheard of at the time in cold and damp Britain, but the energetic drumming on the record by Ron Wilson captured the imagination of British record buyers, and "Wipe Out" raced up to a Top 5 position in the UK charts.  This was their only entry in the UK charts.
# Wipe out is a surfing term meaning falling off, or being knocked off, the surfboard when riding a wave.

This was Fury's third Top 10 hit of 1963.  He clearly still had a strong fan base, and continued making hits until 1966.  In the autumn of 1963, Fury was on tour of the UK along with Marty Wilde, Joe Brown and others.
# The songwriters had enjoyed a Top 10 hit at the end of 1959 as The Avons, but they turned to songwriting as the hits dried up.  Apart from this hit, their biggest success was with "Dance On!", which, as an instrumental, was a Number One hit for the Shadows at the end of 1962.  In August 1963, Kathy Kirby reached number 11 in the UK charts with a vocal version of the same song.

The Rolling Stones debuted on the British charts in 1963, and started a career which challenged the Beatles for the "top band" accolade during the 1960s.  The band comprised lead singer Mick Jagger (born 26 Jul 1943), guitarists Keith Richards (born 18 Dec 1943) and Brian Jones (28 Feb 1942 - 3 Jul 1969), bassist Bill Wyman (born 24 Oct 1936) and drummer Charlie Watts (2 Jun 1941 - 24 Aug 2021).  Their early hits were written by others, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards soon began writing their own material, and most of their biggest hits were composed by Jagger and Richards.  Brian Jones drowned in a swimming pool during 1969, and was replaced by Mick Taylor, formerly of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.  Taylor left in 1974 and was replaced by Ronnie Wood who remains in the band at the present time.  Bill Wyman left in 1997 and has since toured and recorded with his own band.  The Stones clocked up 15 hits during the 1960s, including eight Number Ones.  Hits continued in the singles and album charts through the following decades up to the present time.  They still embark on world tours in the 21st century, the most recent being a concert tour of Latin America in 2016, 53 years after their first hit.
# The song was written and recorded originally by Chuck Berry in 1961.  It was not a hit on either side of the Atlantic.

This was the group's follow-up to their debut hit "Do You Want To Know A Secret" (song 37), and was another Lennon & McCartney composition.  This was the first hit recording that was written by Lennon & McCartney but never recorded by the Beatles.  This hit confirmed Kramer and his band as one of the top Merseybeat acts during 1963-64.  They went on to have another Top 10 hit in the autumn of 1963, followed by their second Number One hit in early 1964.

Heinz (24 Jul 1942 - 7 Apr 2000) was born in Germany during the second world war, but was brought to England by his widowed mother when he was seven.  By the late 1950s he was playing with a local group and was spotted by record producer and manager Joe Meek.  Heinz became the bass player with Meek's instrumental group the Tornadoes which had the Number One hit "Telstar" in 1962.  As the popularity of the Tornadoes was falling away, Heinz stepped forward to record this vocal for Meek, and was rewarded with a Top 10 hit.  He went on to have four minor hits to early in 1965.  Heinz toured the UK in 1963, and was featured in the musical film "Live It Up" which was released in the same year.  In 1967 Joe Meek killed himself with a shot gun which was owned by Heinz.  This controversy ended his music career.  He left the business and became a journalist on a local newspaper.  However, he began theatre acting during the 1970s, and in the 1980s, often joined other stars of the sixties in pop revival shows around the UK.  In the 1990s he suffered from motor neuron disease, and he died in 2000, aged 57 following a stroke.
# The song is a tribute to American Rock 'n' Roll star Eddie Cochran, who was killed in a car crash whilst on a tour of the UK in 1960.

The Caravelles were a British female duo comprising Lois Wilkinson (born 3 Apr 1944 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England) and Andrea Simpson (born 9 Sep 1946 in Finchley, north London, England).  They had sought to become professional singers quite separately, but were put together when they both approached the same recording studio in London.  This led to a deal with Decca Records, and the recording of  this song which had been on the B-side of the Tennessee Ernie Ford hit single "Sixteen Tons" in 1956.  The record even reached number three in the USA.  Unfortunately all the duo's subsequent releases failed to chart, and the girls went their separate ways in 1968.
# The song was originally recorded (separately) by American Country & Western singers Moon Mullican and Ernest Tubb; and by the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, all in 1950.

Karl Denver (16 Dec 1931 - 21 Dec 1998) was born in Glasgow, Scotland.  He worked at sea for some years, then lived in Nashville, USA, where he sang on local radio.  Returning to the UK he began performing at venues in the north of England.  This resulted in a contract with Decca Records, and his debut hit came along in 1961 (year 1961, song 48 in these lists).  He had a unique style involving much falsetto yodelling.  He achieved four Top 10 hits into 1962, and several smaller hits until mid-1964.  He performed in cabaret after that and made a few albums right up to 1993.  He died from a brain tumour in December 1998, at the age of 67.
# The song was a Country Music song written and recorded by Country star Bill Anderson earlier in 1963.  Anderson's version was a Number One in the American Country chart, and reached number eight in the pop charts.

This was Cliff's third Top 10 hit of the year.  Despite the new acts arriving in the charts, and Cliff having begun his career in 1958, he was still able to reach at least the Top 4 throughout 1963.  In fact he did not start missing the Top 10 until the summer of 1965, but then still achieved a further ten Top 10s by the end of 1969, including a chart topper in 1968.
# The music to this song was written in 1911 by Charles Daws, who later became a vice president of the USA (1924-1928).  There were no words to the music, called "Melody in A Major", until 1951, when Carl Sigman wrote the lyrics, prompting recordings by several artists at that time.
# This song was first a UK hit for Tommy Edwards in the autumn of 1958 (see year 1958, song 90 in these lists).  In the summer of 1970, Motown group, The Four Tops saw their recording of the song reach number 5 in the UK charts.

Steve & Eydie were Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé.  They were husband and wife easy-listening singers who recorded and performed both as a duo and solo.  Steve Lawrence (8 Jul 1935 - 7 Mar 2024) was born in New York, USA.  He began recording in the early 1950s, but his run of hit records began in 1957 with his recording of "Party Doll" which was a number 5 hit in the USA.  Many more American hits followed, but in the UK, most of his output was covered by British singers, restricting his chart appearances.  His biggest UK hit was "Footsteps" which reached number 4 in the spring of 1960 (see year 1960, song 38).  Eydie Gormé (16 Aug 1928 - 10 Aug 2013) was born in New York City, and was an easy-listening singer of swing-style music, although she broke into the pop charts with a few recordings.  She took up singing after graduating from high school in 1946.  She got her big break and her recording debut in 1950 with the Tommy Tucker Orchestra and subsequently sang in Tex Beneke's band.  In 1953, Gormé made her first television appearance, and met her future husband, singer Steve Lawrence, when they were both booked for The Tonight Show.  They married in 1957, and joining forces, they starred together in The Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé Show in 1958.  They performed regularly over the following decades until Eydie retired due to ill health in 2010.  Steve Lawrence died aged 88 in March 2024.

The Beatles were unassailable now.  This recording not only reached Number One, staying there for four weeks from 12 September to 3rd October, but then returned to Number One from 28 November for another two weeks, after two other acts had been at the top for seven weeks in between.  When it did finally relinquish the top spot, it was for another Beatles record that took its place ("I Want To Hold Your Hand" - song 97).  This recording was a Number One in the USA in the following year, but only for two weeks.

This was the duo's third and final hit.  The three hits came in this one year and all were Top 10 entries.  They went their separate ways after this.  Harris did not have any more hits, but Meehan had a minor hit in 1964 credited to the Tony Meehan Combo.  For more details see song 2 in this list.
# Applejack is a brandy distilled from fermented cider, otherwise known as apple brandy.

Buddy Holly had died in 1959, but this was his third Top 10 hit during 1963.  His record company were finding various recordings made by Holly, adding extra instrumentation and issuing them as albums and singles.  This turned out to be his final Top 10 hit in the UK, however.  For more info about Holly, see song 25 in this list.

Trini Lopez (13 May 1937 - 11 Aug 2020) was born in Dallas, Texas, USA, of Mexican parents.   By the age of 15 he had formed his own band and made a couple of records.  He then left the band and made more records as a solo artist but none were hits.  He then moved to Los Angeles and performed on a regular basis in a nightclub there.  On one occasion he was heard by Frank Sinatra, who had started his own record company (Reprise), and Sinatra immediately signed him up.  His debut live album, "Trini Lopez at PJ's" included the song "If I Had a Hammer".  Issued as a single, it reached Number One in 36 countries, but only peaked at number four in the UK.  He had several more hits in the USA, but only three minor entries in Britain.  He continued recording and performing, and released his 65th album in 2011.  He died in 2020 from the effects of the virus Covid-19 at the age of 83.
# "If I Had a Hammer" was written in 1949 by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays.  It was first recorded by American Folk music group The Weavers, which included the composers in the line up.  It was a number 10 hit in the USA for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962, but that version did not appear in the UK charts.

The Fourmost were another Liverpool group who added to the Merseybeat scene.  Their origins go back to the late 1950s, but the four members of the hit making band were in place by the autumn of 1962.  They performed around Liverpool including the Cavern Club, and were seen and signed up by Brian Epstein (Beatles manager) in mid 1963.  He arranged a recording contract with EMI records and producer George Martin.  John Lennon and Paul McCartney had a huge number of songs available, which they had written over several years.  The song chosen for the group's debut was written by John Lennon in 1957.  The recording had the right sound for the time, and quickly climbed into the Top 10.  The Fourmost went on to have six chart hits including two Top 10 entries by the end of 1965.  The group continued performing for several decades, although much of the personnel changed several times.  The current touring band has no original members.
# Although this song was written by John Lennon, all songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, whether written together or individually were credited to Lennon & McCartney throughout the life of The Beatles.

The group followed up their debut hit with this recording of an American song, which went all the way to Number One in the UK, staying there for three weeks.  Two more Top 10 entries came along for them in 1964.  For more info about the group see song 55 in this list.
# The song, written by Berry Gordy Jr was a USA number 3 hit in 1962 for the American Soul group, The Contours.  That version charted again in the USA during 1988, after it was featured in the film "Dirty Dancing".

Adam Faith (23 Jun 1940 - 8 Mar 2003) was born in west London, England.  After various jobs behind the scenes in the film and TV industries, he cut his first record in 1958, but it made no impact on the charts.  Despite this he made a number of TV appearances, and in late 1959 he was given the chance to record the song "What Do You Want?", written by Les Vandyke, and arranged by John Barry.  This kicked off a career that saw him rise to be one of the top British musical stars of the early 1960s.  His first two hits went to Number One, and he had a further nine Top 10 hits by 1963, with a tally of 21 hits in all from 1959 to 1966.  After the hits dried up he moved into acting an became a popular actor in TV drama series ("Budgie" 1971-1972; "Love Hurts" 1992-1994), also in several films, and stage plays from the late 1960s to his death.  He died in Stoke-on-Trent, England, whilst on tour with a stage play.
# Adam's recordings since August 1962 had been failing to breach the Top 20.  So Adam enlisted the help of songwriter Chris Andrews, who provided a song that emulated the Merseybeat sound that had become so popular.  This had the right effect, and Adam was back in the Top 10 once again.  His follow-up by the same composer reached number 11 in late 1963.  However, the writing was on the wall for Adam.  "The First Time" was his final Top 10 hit, and success was falling away.  As noted above, when the hits stopped, Adam who had made several films, turned to acting full time.

This was the group's follow-up to their first Top 10 hit "Da Doo Ron Ron" (song 48).  It was another creation from producer Phil Spector, and it only just fell short of the summit.  However, it was the group's final Top 10 hit in the UK and USA - their next and final hit only reached number 38 in Britain.  It has been said that Spector lost interest in the Crystals, and concentrated more on the Ronettes.  The Crystals left Spector and his record company in 1964, but recordings elsewhere were not successful.
# The song was re-titled as "Then I Kissed Her", with some lyric changes too, and recorded by the Beach Boys for a 1965 album.  In 1967 the track was issued as a single in the UK only, where it reached number four in the early summer of that year.

Orbison had enjoyed two Top 10 hits earlier in 1963, and this release completed his trio of such hits in the UK charts.  As noted earlier, Orbison was able to achieve hits quite regularly in the UK at this time, despite the enthusiasm for home-grown beat groups.  Doubtless this was in part due to Orbison's tour of the UK in 1963, which included the Beatles in the lineup.  He went on to have two Number Ones and another Top 10 hit during 1964, but things began to slow down after that.
# The song was recorded by American vocalist Linda Ronstadt in 1977, reaching number three in the USA that year.  The recording peaked at number 35 in the UK during February 1978.

Chuck Berry (18 Oct 1926 - 18 Mar 2017) was born in St Louis, Missouri, USA. He started performing in the early 1950s, and in 1955 began his recording career with "Maybellene" which reached Number One on the US R&B chart.  By the end of the 1950s he was an established star, and he had more hits during the 1960s.  He often courted controversy and had two spells in prison.  This never seemed to adversely effect his popularity, and he continued performing into the 21st century.  He died in March 2017 at the age of 90.  In June 2017 a new album, "Chuck", was released comprising new recordings made over a few years, his first album of new material since 1979.
# This was his first significant hit in the UK since 1958.  He had spent 18 months in prison during that period for taking a 14 year old girl over state lines.  Back in circulation, he soon began recording and performing.  His new material of R&B music interested the British record buyers, and he enjoyed several hits in the 1960s, backed up by UK concert tours.
# This song was covered by British singer Dave Berry who saw his version peak at number 19 in the autumn of 1963.

Peter, Paul and Mary was an American Folk group formed in New York City in 1961.  The trio comprised songwriter Peter Yarrow (born 31 May 1938), Paul Stookey (born 30 Dec 1937) and Mary Travers (9 Nov 1936 - 16 Sep 2009).  They came together in 1961 and began singing in the bars and clubs of the Greenwich Village area of New York City, where there was a strong Folk music scene.  They recorded their debut album in 1962 and several hit singles followed from that time in the USA.  They recorded a number of Bob Dylan songs during the 1960s, but their only Number One single in the USA was "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by singer-songwriter John Denver.  This was the biggest of their three hits in the UK.  They broke up in 1970 and each member moved on to various solo projects.  They reunited for concerts a couple of times in the 1970s and in 1981 came back together more or less permanently.  They recorded and toured until Mary died in 2009 from leukemia.
# Dylan's original recording of the song features on his 1963 album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" which reached Number One in the UK album chart during 1965.  The song has been recorded by numerous artists over the decades, but the Peter, Paul & Mary version is the only one to appear in the UK singles charts.

This completed the group's hat trick of Number One hits.  It was also the first time that the first three releases by any act in the UK had reached the top.  The feat was not bettered until 1997 when the Spice Girls took their first six releases to Number One.  This was the band's final chart-topper but they did go on to have three more Top 10 hits out of nine in total by the end of 1965.  See song 24 for more information about the group.
# The song, by the famous American stage and film musical composers, was written in 1945 for their musical "Carousel".  The show opened on Broadway in 1945 and in London during 1950.  In 1956 a film version was released starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.
# The song was adopted by the fans of Liverpool Football Club, and is sung at their games.  In 1966 it was adopted also by Celtic Football Club, and over time has been used by various football clubs in Europe and elsewhere.
# A charity recording of the song was made to support Bradford City Football Club following the fire at their ground in 1985, when 56 spectators died and many more were seriously injured. The song was performed by The Crowd, featuring Gerry Marsden and a host of other performers.  The recording reached Number One in June 1985, raising money for the victims' families.

The Ronettes were another of producer Phil Spector's groups (like the Crystals) that he promoted and recorded with his "Wall of Sound" production style which excited the British record buyers.  From New York City, the Ronettes were lead singer Veronica Bennett, later known as Ronnie Spector (10 Aug 1943 - 12 Jan 2022), her older sister Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Talley.  They had been together since 1961 and had recorded for another company, without success, before signing for Spector.  They had four hit records in the UK by the end of 1964, and toured the UK in that year as well.  From 1965 the Ronettes recorded numerous songs, but the unpredictable Spector refused to release them.  As a result, the group faded from the charts.  Ronnie had become close to Phil Spector and moved in with him in 1964.  They married in 1968, but divorced some six years later.
# Ronnie had become close to Phil Spector and moved in with him in 1964.  They married in 1968, but divorced some six years later.

Cilla Black (27 May 1943 - 1 Aug 2015) was born in Liverpool and joined the Merseybeat scene along with the many groups coming from that city in 1963, although she remained a solo performer.  She got a job in the Cavern Club in the early 1960s, where the Beatles and others were performing and soon was able to get singing jobs in different venues in Liverpool.  John Lennon introduced her to the Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who duly signed her up and arranged a recording contract with EMI and producer George Martin.  This was her first release, which peaked at a rather modest number 35 in the UK charts.  However, her next two releases both went to Number One, and she enjoyed several Top 10 hits throughout the 1960s.  In 1968 she began a TV variety show called "Cilla", which ran for eight series until 1976.  In the 1980s and 1990s she was a TV game show host, and became one of the most popular personalities of the era.  She died following a fall at her holiday home in Spain, aged 72.  On 16 January 2017 a bronze statue of Cilla Black was unveiled on Mathew Street in Liverpool, outside the entrance of the Cavern Club where Black was discovered.

For their follow-up to their debut Number One hit, "Sweets For My Sweet" (song 54), the group recorded this original song from Tony Hatch.  A number two peak for a second release is very credible, and they followed this with two consecutive chart-toppers in 1964.  This success cemented their position as one of the top groups in the UK during 1963 and 1964, and to a lesser extent in 1965.

Los Indios Tabajaras were two Native Indian brothers from Brazil, who had this one-off instrumental acoustic guitar hit in the UK.  Their names were Natalicio and Antenor Lima and they were the sons of a Tabajaras Indian chieftain in north east Brazil.  They found fame playing their guitars in the night clubs of Rio de Janeiro, dressed in ceremonial Indian costumes.  They made some records as early as the 1940s, and their first records were released in the USA during the 1950s.  This song was first issued in Mexico in 1958 and was finally released in the USA in 1963.  Following the American release it was issued in the UK and was a great success.  They recorded some albums in the USA over the following decades but most of their success was in Latin America.  They continued performing into the 1990s.
# The song was written in 1932 including Spanish lyrics.  It is dedicated to María Elena, the wife of the then Mexican President Emilio Portes Gil.  English lyrics were added later, and some American big bands recorded versions in the 1940s.

This was their third release of 1963, and the third to reach the Top 3.  It had been a very successful year for them.  Additionally, their debut album was released in November 1963, peaking at number five in the album chart.  Unfortunately 1964 did not go as well in the charts.  There was only one Top 10 hit, which came as late as November that year.  However, they made several concert appearances in 1964, plus a two-month tour on the UK.

This was the group's third hit single, all of which had been written by Lennon and McCartney.  The band kept the momentum going in 1964 with a Number One hit in February and a Top 10 entry in July.  They made plenty of appearances and tours in 1964, and enjoyed success in the USA during that year as well.

Kathy Kirby (20 Oct 1938 - 19 May 2011) was born in Ilford, Essex, England.  She took singing lessons at a young age and became a singer with the Ambrose Orchestra in 1956.  In the late 1950s and early 1960s she was a cabaret singer and enjoyed a great deal of success, although recordings made at that time did not enter the charts.  Things changed in 1963 when she signed with Decca Records and began making regular TV appearances.  Her first hit came in August 1963 with a vocal recording of the Shadows instrumental chart topper "Dance On".  She then enjoyed two Top 10 hits over autumn 1963 and spring 1964, followed by two smaller chart entries in 1964 and 1965 respectively.  In 1965 she represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest where she came second to Luxembourg.  She continued as a live performer on TV and the stage through the 1970s, but retired from the business in 1983 when she was only 45.  She lived a secluded life after that, and died in 2011 from a heart attack at the age of 72.
# This song was originally a hit for Doris Day, which reached Number One in the UK during 1954.  It had been featured in Day's musical Western film "Calamity Jane", released in 1953.  Whilst the Doris Day version was a slow balled, Kirby's rendition was up-tempo with a strong beat.

This was Cliff's fourth Top 10 entry of 1963, one of which reached Number One, and two got as high as number 2.  This track was written by Cliff along with Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch.  Obviously he was as popular as ever at this time, despite the plethora of new bands emerging.  1964 continued much the same, and there was another film release as well ("Wonderful Life"), which also featured the Shadows who played a couple of instrumental numbers.  The film soundtrack album reached number two on the album chart.

Matt Monro (1 Dec 1930 – 7 Feb 1985) was born in London, England.  He began singing on talent shows while in the British Army in the early 1950s.  He made some records in the mid-1950s, but none met with any success.  In 1959 he was asked to record a demo record for EMI, and when producer, George Martin heard the track, he arranged for Monro to record a new song, "Portrait Of My Love".  It reached number three on the UK charts and started his international career.  He recorded several film themes, but some like "Born Free" failed to enter the charts.  He spent some time in America during the mid-1960s, making albums of standards and new ballads, and was hailed as the new Frank Sinatra.  He toured the world extensively, especially during the 1970s and early 1980s.  He died from liver cancer at age 54.
# This song is the theme from the James Bond movie "From Russia With Love".  It was composed by Lionel Bart who had become famous for his musical "Oliver!".  John Barry arranged the song for the recording, and scored the other music used in the film, which starred Sean Connery, and was the most successful film of 1963 in the UK.

The Rolling Stoners were still developing their careers at this time, and being short of material, recorded this song which was written for them by Lennon and McCartney.  On the charts, this did better than their debut release which had peaked at number 21, but the good times lay ahead.  In February 1964 they hit the Top 10 for the first time, and every single release from then to the end of the 1960s reached the upper echelons of the charts, with eight going all the way to Number One.  They continued recording songs written by others for some while, but eventually songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were hitting the charts - the first being "The Last Time" in March 1965.
# The Beatles recorded the song after the Rolling Stones, with Ringo Starr on lead vocals.  It was featured on their second album "With The Beatles" which went to Number One on the album chart in late 1963.

Dusty Springfield (16 Apr 1939 - 2 Mar 1999) was born in London, England.  She began singing in the late 1950s, first with an all-girl group and then with her brother in the Folk group The Springfields.  The trio enjoyed a couple of Top 10 hits, but in late summer 1963, Dusty went solo and began a very successful career throughout the 1960s, becoming one of the top vocalists of that decade.  From 1963 to 1969 she enjoyed a total of 16 hits, ten of which made the Top 10 including her 1966 Number One "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me".  During the late 1960s she had her own TV series, and she made albums in the USA, where she had achieved three Top 10 hits as well.  Things went quiet during the 1970s although she continued to record and perform.  In 1987 she came back to prominence when she recorded new material with Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys.  The single "What Have I Done To Deserve This" reached number two - her first Top 10 hit since 1968, and the album from which it came reached the Top 20.  She developed breast cancer in the mid-1990s, and died from the disease in 1999, aged 59.
# "I Only Want To Be With You" has been revived several times and entered the UK charts by acts as follows:  Bay City Rollers (1976, number 4), The Tourists (1979, number 4), Samantha Fox (1989, number 16).

Big Dee Irwin (6 Jul 1932 - 27 Aug 1995) was born in New York City.  He was in the US Air Force from 1954 where he formed a vocal group called the Pastels.  They left the Air force in 1958, and enjoyed a hit record in the USA charts.  They toured America with other R&B acts, but further record releases failed to chart and the group disbanded in 1959.  He embarked on a solo career with mixed results until this recording which brought him temporary fame.  He toured the UK for nine months, where the single had sold much better than in his homeland.  Subsequent releases failed in the UK, but he continued to record and write songs for other acts.  He died of heart failure in 1995 aged 63.  The song was a duet with Little Eva, who had the chart hit "Locomotion" in 1962, but she was not given a credit on the Irwin single.
# The song was written in 1944, and was sung by Bing Crosby in the film "Going My Way".  The song won an Oscar for best original song from a film in that year.

The Dave Clark Five was a beat group from Tottenham, north London, England.  The band's origins go back to 1957, and several personnel changes were made before their hits began.  By the time of this recording, the group had stabilised  to have leader Dave Clark on drums, and Mike Smith on keyboards and lead vocals, plus three others on guitars and saxophone.  Smith was also responsible for writing many of their hits, although Clark was always given joint composing credits.  They became known for their "thump-thump" drumming style, and remained popular throughout the 1960s, with seven Top 10 hits to the end of 1969.  This contrasted to many of the other groups new in 1963, which saw their hits fizzle out after a couple of years.  The band also enjoyed success in the USA during the "British Invasion" years, where they had eight Top 10 hits.  Dave Clark was a shrewd businessman, keeping the copyright on his recordings, which he re-released sparingly during the following decades.
# This song was their only Number One.  It was re-released in 1993, reaching number 37 in the UK charts.

The Hollies was another new beat group, this time from Manchester.  It was formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in 1962, and by early summer 1963 they had their first hit.  In the autumn of that year they made their debut in the Top 10 with a recording of a former American chart topper, "Stay".  This started a run of fifteen Top 10 hits by the end of the 1960s, and they continued successfully into the 1970s as well.  At the time of this hit, the other three members were Eric Haydock, Tony Hicks, and Bobby Elliott.  They became one of the most successful bands of the 1960s, although they only reached the top of the UK charts once in that decade.  They finally broke into the USA charts in 1966, and enjoyed six Top 10 hits there.  Some squabbles with their management led to the departure of bass guitarist Eric Haydock in 1966.  Two years later, founding member Graham Nash left the group following the band's rejection of Nash's song "Marrakesh Express".  Clark and the others wanted to continue recording mainstream pop material, so Nash decamped to California where he teamed up with guitarist Stephen Stills (formerly with Buffalo Springfield), and David Crosby (ex-Byrds singer & guitarist) to form one of the first supergroups, Crosby, Stills & Nash, which released "Marrakesh Express" as its debut single.  In 1971, Alan Clarke also left to pursue a solo career, but he returned in 1973 when the band was enjoying success in the USA.  With some changes of personnel, the group continued to perform through to the 1990s, mostly in the guise of a sixties revival group.  Clarke finally retired in 2000, but the Hollies still perform on the nostalgia circuit
# This song was written and originally recorded by Maurice Williams with his group The Zodiacs in 1960, and it reached Number One on the USA charts that year.  It peaked at number 14 in the UK during early 1961.

Their fourth hit of the year and third consecutive Number One.  Their previous hit "She Loves You" had returned to the top spot for two weeks prior to this hit, which was replaced at the summit by this Beatles track - the first time in the UK charts that an act had replaced themselves at Number One.  This was also the recording that established the Beatles in the USA.  In January 1964 it entered the American charts, quickly soared to the top, and started Beatlemania and Merseybeat in The States.  By the end of 1964 they had scored six Number One hits in the USA, plus several other chart entries.  The American record buyers could not get enough of the Beatles.

Gene Pitney (17 Feb 1940 - 5 Apr 2006) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.  He formed a band whilst at high school and learned to play several instruments.  He had a couple of small hits in 1961 and 1962, but it was in 1963 that his career took off in the UK.  Although he had written several songs, some of which were hits for other artists, this song was penned by the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach & Hal David.  Pitney went on to considerable success, especially in the UK where he achieved ten Top 10 hits by the end of the 1960s.  By contrast, he only had four Top 10 hits in his American homeland.  His popularity continued through the following decades and he toured extensively.  He never reached Number One until his 1967 recording of "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" was re-recorded as a duet with British singer Marc Almond, and the result topped the UK charts in 1989.  He was on a tour of the UK in 2006, when he was found dead in his hotel room in Cardiff, Wales.  His death was deemed to be due to a heart attack.
# Burt Bacharach and Hal David had seen some of their songs reach the UK charts during the 1950s, but it was in the 1960s that they became famous for writing numerous hit songs, many of which were recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick.  Several of her hits were covered by British performers.
# Tulsa is a city in the state of Oklahoma, USA.  It became very prosperous in the first half of the 20th century when oil was discovered locally, and many energy companies have their headquarters there.

Adam Faith continued with his Merseybeat sound-alike recordings in 1963, and this one only just missed out on a Top 10 placing in the charts.  However, despite his best efforts, he was ultimately unable to compete with the new acts appearing on the music scene.  From his first chart appearance in 1959 to his final minor hit in 1966, he achieved a total of 21 hits, with eleven of those making the Top 10, including two Number Ones.  His acting career took over as the hits dried, with several films and stage plays to his credit.  He starred in successful TV drama series in the 1970s and 1990s, and even became a financial journalist in the 1980s. 

This was another Merseybeat band emerging from Liverpool.  The group's origins go back to the 1950s, but the members had stablised into a five-piece by 1963 when they were given a recording contract by EMI.  Their first offering peaked at number 30 in the summer of 1963, after which they became a quintet.  The group was fronted by Ralph Ellis and Ray Ennis, and in late 1963 they hit the big time with a recording of an American song from 1959, "The Hippy Hippy Shake".  This proved to be their biggest hit, although they did reach number three in the summer of 1964.  After just five hits Ralph Ellis left to try a solo career in 1966, and other personnel changes took place.  They continued performing in cabaret and on the nostalgia circuits well into the 21st century.  In 2010 Ray Ennis announced his retirement from performing.  The band continues but with no original members.
# The song was written and recorded by American Chan Romero in 1959.  It was released in the UK but did not chart.  The Beatles began singing the song at the Cavern Club, and performed it live on radio before the Swinging Blue Jeans recording was issued.  A recording of the song by the American band Georgia Satellites peaked at number 63 in the UK charts in early 1989.

This was their follow-up to their debut Top 10 hit "Hello Little Girl" (song 73).  Although it was another Lennon & McCartney composition, produced by George Martin, it only reached the lower portion of the Top 20.  Nevertheless, they were back in the Top 10 during the spring of 1964, although that was only followed by three much smaller hits before they disappeared from the UK charts.  They successfully toured the UK along with other acts during 1964, but they never made any impact in the USA.