Music Events and News of 1964-Part 1

Notable debuts were: Al Hirt, Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto, Bobby Goldsboro, Johnny Rivers, Barbra Streisand (her top 40 singles debut), The Dixie Cups, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Roger Miller, The Hondells, Ronny and The Daytonas, The Righteous Brothers, The Shangri-Las, The Ray Charles Singers, Ronnie Dove, Betty Everett, Brenda Holloway, B. B. King (Top 40 singles debut), The Newbeats, The Rip Chords, and Nancy Wilson.

Notable U.S. debuts were: The Beatles, The Animals, The Bachelors, Cilla Black, Chad and Jeremy, Peter and Gordon, The Kinks, The Dave Clark Five, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Herman's Hermits, The Kinks, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, Manfred Mann, The Rolling Stones, The Searchers, The Zombies, Dusty Springfield (her solo debut), Marianne Faithful, The Honeycombs, and Millie Small.

Louis Armstronghad a no. 1 smash with "Hello, Dolly!" (late Feb. entry). This would be his biggest and last top 40 hit.

Bobby Barehad his last top 40 hit, "Miller's Cave" (no. 33, early March, but he would go on to be a successful country artist.)

Tony Bennetthad one of his most memorable hits, "Who Can I Turn To(When Nobody Needs Me)", no.33.

Brook Bentonhad his last top 40 hit of the decade,"Going Going Gone" (mid-Feb., no. 35). This would be his last top 40 hit until 1970.

Cilla Black, from Liverpool, England, had a no. 26 hit, "You're My World"(late July).

Bobby Bland(later Bobby "Blue" Bland had his last top 40 hit, "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" (late March). (Van Morrison later did a great version of this!) But Bland had at least 23 top R + B hits.

Maxine Brown had her last top 40 hit, "Oh No, Not My Baby" (Dec. entry, no. 24). This was written by Carole King and her then-husband, Gerry Goffin!

Nat King Cole had his last two top 40 hits: "I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore", no. 22, May 16th, and "I Don't Want To See Tomorrow", no. 34, late Oct. entry.

The Cookies had their last top 40 hit, "Girls Grow Up Faster Than Boys", no. 33, Jan. 18th entry.

Dale and Grace"Stop And Think It Over"(early Feb. entry).

Vic Dana had his first top 40 hit, "Shangri-La" (late April entry, no. 27).

"Leader Of The Laundromat", a Dec. 19th entry, was also a no. 19 hit for The Detergents.

The Devotions charted at no. 36 with "Rip Van Winkle"(early April entry).

Dick and DeeDee had their last top 40 hit, "Thou Shalt Not Steal"( no. 13).

"Southtown, U.S.A." was a no. 15 hit for The Dixiebelles(with Cornbread and Jerry-early Feb. entry).

Earl-Jean(McCree), a member of The Cookies, charted at no. 38 with "I'm Into Somethin' Good"(early Aug.), written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. But Herman's Hermits took that same song to no. 13 (mid-Nov.), marking their U.S. debut.

"The Shoop Shoop Song(It's In His Kiss)", a late March entry, was a no. 6 smash for Betty Everett.

Marianne Faithfull had a no. 22 hit with "As Tears Go By" (late Dec).

The Four Tops, Motown up-and-comers, made their top 40 debut with "Baby, I Need Your Loving", a no. 11 hit (Aug. 29th).

Connie Francis had her last two top 40 hits: "Blue Winter", and early March entry, no. 24 and "Be Anything(But Be Mine)" (May 30th, no. 25).

"C'mon And Swim" was a no. 5 smash for Bobby Freeman.

A song that was a bit ahead of its time, "We'll Sing In The Sunshine" was a no. 4 smash for Gale Garnett (early Sept).

Motown's Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells had a two-sided hit: "Once Upon A Time" was a no. 19 hit (late May entry) backed by/"What's The Matter With You Baby" charted at no. 17 (mid-June).

Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto had a no. 5 smash with "The Girl From Ipanema" (late June).

"Daisy Petal Pickin'" was a no. 15 hit (early Jan. entry) for Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs,

Robert Goulet had a no. 16 hit with "My Love, Forgive Me (Amore, Scusami)"-late Nov.

Actor Lorne Greene had a no. 1 smash with Ringo" (early Nov.) It wasn't about the Beatle!

"Every Little Bit Hurts", a no. 13 hit, marked the debut of Motown's Brenda Holloway.

Jerry Butler and Betty Everett had a no. 5 smash, "Let It Be Me" (a remake of the Everly Brothershit (Sept. 19th entry).

Freddy Cannon returned to the top 40 (since 1962) with "Abigail Beecher", a no. 16 hit (mid-Feb).

Sammy Davis Jr. also returned to the top 40 (also since 1962) with "The Shelter Of Your Arms" , a no. 17 hit (a Feb. 1st entry). One of his best!

"Little Honda" was a no. 9 smash for The Hondells(Oct. 3rd entry).

"Have I The Right?" by The Honeycombs was a no. 5 smash (Oct. 10th entry). They were one of the first rock groups with a female drummer!

Jimmy Hughes had a no. 17 hit, "Steal Away" (July 11th entry).

Jay and The Americans had a no. 3 smash, "Come A Little Bit Closer" (Oct. 3rd).

"I Wanna Love Him So Bad" was a no. 9 smash (July 18th) for The Jelly Beans.

B.B. King made his top 40 debut with "Rock Me Baby" (June 13th entry, no. 34).

The Kingsmen took "Money" to no. 16 (April 4th).

"You Really Got Me" gave The Kinks their top 40 debut, a no. 7 smash (late Oct).

"The Jerk" was also a no. 7 smash for The Larks (late Nov).

Tobacco Road" by The Nashville Teens was a no. 14 hit (Oct. 10th). Just a great rock song!

"Today" was a no. 17 hit for The New Christy Minstrels (mid-May). This would be their last top 40 hit.

"Mixed-Up, Shook-Up Girl" by Patty and The Emblems only peaked at no. 37 (mid-Aug. entry). But what a classic girl-group sound!

The Premiers had a no. 19 hit with "Farmer John" (top 40 entry on the 4th of July!)

(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet" was a no. 6 smash, early May entry for The Reflections.

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" ( Dec. 26th ), was a no. 1 smash and marked the top 40 debut of The Righteous Brothers (Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield).

The Rivieras had a no. 5 smash with California Sun" (Feb. 1st entry).

"G.T.O." ( late Aug.) was a no. 4 smash for Ronny and The Daytonas. Ronny was Bucky Wilkin!

"Selfish One" was a no. 11 hit for Jackie Ross (mid-Aug. entry).

The Sapphires peaked at no. 25 with "Who Do You Love?" (late Feb. entry).

Del Shannon returned to the top 40 Dec. 19th with "Keep Searchin'(We'll Follow The Sun)", a no. 9 smash.

The Shirelles had no further top 40 hits, but "Thank You Baby" DID get some airplay on black music stations.

"Haunted House" was a no. 11 hit for Jumpin' Gene Simmons (Aug. 29th entry).

Barbra Streisand made her top 40 debut with "People" (late May entry, from the hit Broadway musical "Funny Girl"), a no. 5 smash.

The Swinging Blue Jeans had their first (and only) U.S. hit, "Hippy Hippy Shake", a no. 24 hit (late March entry).

"What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am)" was a no. 9 smash for The Tams.

The Tymes had a no. 19 hit with "Somewhere" (Jan. 4th entry).

The Vibrations had their last top 40 hit with "My Girl Sloopy" (no. 26 and a late April entry).

"In The Misty Moonlight" was the last and biggest hit of the decade for Jerry Wallace"White On White" (early April entry) was a no. 9 smash for Danny Williams.

Nancy Wilson made her top 40 debut with "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am", a no. 11 hit (July 18th entry), but the singer came to public acclaim a year earlier with "Guess Who I Saw Today".

"Last Kiss" was a no. 2 smash (late Sept. entry)for J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers.

The Zombies also had a no. 2 smash with "She's Not There" (early Nov. entry).

Brenda Lee was still hanging in there, with "Think" (no. 25, a late March entry) and a no. 17 hit, "Is It True" (Oct. 31st entry).

The Beatles were the sensation of the year; as a result, there were countless parodies, tributes, and songs about or associated with The Fab Four. A few of these were:

"Beatle Barkers"-The Roofers and Tweeters Ensemble (Beatle songs performed by dogs!)
"The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits"-Alvin and The Chipmunks
"A Bit Of Liverpool"-The Supremes
"Love Songs Of The Beatles"-Mary Wells
"We Love You Beatles"-The Carefrees, an April 11th chart entry (no. 39).
"Beatles Songbook"-The Rubber Band
"The Brothers Four Sing Lennon-McCartney"-The Brothers Four
"Apology"-The Cheatles
"Basie's Beatle Bag"-Count Basie and His Orchestra
"Hooked On The Beatles"-Dr. Fink and The Mystery Band
"The Baroque Beatles Book"-Joshua Rifkin
"Beatle Country"-Charles River Valley Boys
"Picks On The Beatles"-Chet Atkins
"101 Strings- Play the Hits Written By The Beatles"
"The Beatles Songbook"-The Hollywood Strings
"Beatlemania"-Billy Lee Riley (These were harmonica renditions)
"All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle"-Dora Bryan
"The Boy With The Beatle Hair"-The Swans
"I Love You Ringo"-Bonnie Jo Mason (Cher)
"Little Beatle Boy"-The Angels
"The Beatle Bounce"-Bobby Comstock and The Counts
"Beatlemania:-Jack Nitzsche(instrumental)
"Beatle Mania! In The USA"-The Liverpools
"The Invasion"-Buchanan and Greenfield
"My Boyfriend Got A Beatle Haircut" and "I Had A Dream I Was A Beatle"-Donna Lynn
"Beatle Rap"-The Qworymen
"L.S. Bumble Bee"-Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
"Pop Hates The Beatles"-Allan Sherman
"Letter To The Beatles"-The Four Preps
"The Beetle"-Gary Usher
"Liverpool Mash"-The Liverpool Kids and The Liverpool Moptops
"The Beatle Beat"-The Buggs
"Buggs vs, The Beatles"-The Buggs
"I Wanna Be A Beatle"-Gene Cornish and The Unbeetables
"I Want To Bite Your Hand"-Gene Moss as Dracula
"Letter From Elaina"-Casey Kasem (He reads a letter from a George fan)
"Liverpool Bound"-Vito and The Salutations
"Ringo Bells"--3 Blonde Twins
"Ringo Deer"-Garry Ferrier
"Ringo For President"-Young World Singers
"We Love The Beatles"-The Vernon Girls
"A Beatle I Want To Be"-Sonny Curtis
"I Dreamed I Was A Beatle"-Murray Kellum
"A Beatle Meets A Ladybug"-Paula Lamont
"What's Wrong With Ringo?"-The Bon Bons
"A Letter To The Beatles"-Picasso Trio
"Ringo's Beat"-Ella Fitzgerald
"I'm Better Than The Beatles"-Brad Berwick
"We're The Weavils"-The Weavils
"Ain't No Beatle"-Gary Sanders
"The Beatle Bomb"-The Exterminators
"The Spirit Of '64"-Rocky and The Visions
"Gonna Send 'Em Home"-Homer and Jethro
"Liverpool Drive"-Chuck Berry
"The Beatle Beat"-Benny and The Bedbugs
"El Blues De Los Beatles(The Beatles Blues)" and "El Stomp De Los Beatles(The Beatle Stomp)"-Santo and Johnny
"We Wanna Marry A Beatle"-Carol Conners
"Beatlemania, Parts 1 and 2"-Professor Bug
"Beatles, You Bug Me!"-The Bug Men
"Liverpool"-The Lady Bugs
"Do The Ringo"-The Standells

And there were numerous other groups and singers of the British Invasion, including: The Accent, The Applejacks, Brian Auger, Long John Baldry, The Action, A Band Of Angels, The Beat Merchants, The Pete Best Four, Howie Casey and The Seniors, The Cryin' Shames, David and Jonathan, Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Tich, Julie Driscoll, The Spencer Davis Group, The Easybeats, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, Peter Jay and The Jaywalkers, Casey Jones and The Engineers, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, Lulu and The Luvvers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Mercybeats, The Nashville Teens, Tommy Quickly, The Shadows, The Silkie, The Small Faces, The Snobs, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Them, The Tornados, Unit 4 + 2, The Walker Brothers(actually Americans!),Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames, Faron's Flamingos, Les Fleur De Lys, The Fortunes, The Fourmost, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, The Pretty Things, The Alan Price Set, and P.J. Proby.

In April, The Rolling Stones released their debut album.

On Sept. 16th, Shindig premiered on ABC. From British producer Jack Good, the first show featured Sam Cooke, and The Righteous Brothers. Regulars included: Bobby Sherman, Billy Preston, and The Blossoms, featuring Darlene Love,

The traditional BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) had a popular show called "The Light Progamme", which played a limited amount of pop music. But on Easter Day, 1964, the country's broadcasting was forever changed when Radio Caroline, a pirate station (from a ship in the North Sea), was launched by Irish entrepreneur Ronan O'Rahilly.

Johnny Cash had a no. 4 country smash with "It Ain't Me Babe", BEFORE The Turtles made it a pop hit.

Roger Miller won 5(!)Grammy Awards!- Best Song: "Dang Me", Best New Country + Western Artist, Best C + W Single: "Dang Me", Best Male C + W Performance: "Dang Me", Best C + W Album: "Dang Me/Chug-A-Lug".

British singer Sandie Shaw became an international sensation with her rendition of "There's Always There To Remind Me"(written by Burt Bacharach-Hal David), and "Girl Don't Come"(late 1965-early 1965). For some inexplicable reason, she only moderate fame in the States, but was a HUGE star elsewhere. (And she could sing!)

The Marvelettes returned to the top 40 (since 1962) with "Too Many Fish In The Sea", a no. 25 hit(early Dec. entry). An early '64 entry, "He's A Good Guy(Yes He Is)" only made no. 55. In my humble opinion, these are two classics and both should have placed top 10!

The Lesley Gore hit "You Don't Own Me" was written by two men, John Madera and Dave White!

American Bandstand moved to L.A. because: 1. The American music scene WAS L.A. and 2.Dick Clark was expanding into other productions.

The piano player on The Shangri-Las' "Leader Of The Pack" was 16-year-old Billy Joel.

Across the ocean, Top Of The Pops was launched.

For the first time, the British top 10 was made up of all British acts.

Across the ocean, "Can't Buy Me Love" had record advance orders of over a million.

No one has had so many American hits in so short a time as The Beatles. Although unknown on Jan. 1st, the group had the top four singles and top two albums by the end of March, and accounted for 60% of all records sold in the U.S.

On the first Country Album chart, "Ring Of Fire" by Johnny Cash was no. 1.

Across the ocean, 1950s-early '60s rock stars (such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins,etc.)had a successful revival.
"No Particular Place To Go" by Chuck Berry became his first transatlantic hit.

"My Guy" by Mary Wells was Motown's first major transatlantic hit.

A Hard Day's Night was given a royal premiere. In America, the album sold a million copies in four days.

The High Numbers(later known as The Who),Joe Cocker, and Rod Stewart released unsuccessful singles.

Japan was now the third biggest record market(U.S.-1st, UK-2nd).

By July, 5 of the American top 10 singles were by British artists.

The Bird, The Monkey, and The Jerk were still very popular, but now among adults.

New dances were The Frug, The Swim, The Hitchhiker, The Surf(Paris), and The Woodpecker(London).

The Who are rejected by EMI London.

At least two dozen British groups hit the U.S. charts.

The first rock fan magazine, Crawdaddy, is launched.

Country star Jim Reeves dies in a plane crash.

Robert Moog develops the Moog synthesizer.

Joe Tex brings focus to the "Muscle Shoals" sound.

The Beatles grossed a total of $1 million for their U.S. tour.

And in December, Sam Cooke was shot and killed by motel manager Bertha Franklin, who claimed self-defense.
Cooke was at a party in Los Angeles, where he met Elisia Boyer, either at that same party or a club. Boyer left with him, both going to the Hacienda Motel, where they registered as Mr. and Mrs. Sam Cooke (Cooke had a wife, Barbara). Boyer later left the room with most of Cooke's clothing.
I believe the singer was asleep when this happened. Upon awakening and realizing what had happened, Cooke, wearing one shoe and a jacket, broke into the motel office where he thought Boyer was hiding. He found Franklin, who then shot him three times. Franklin claimed he raped a young woman(Boyer), then threatened her, therefore self-defense(?).
The verdict was justifiable homicide, though many believe (and still do) that crucial details weren't brought forth in court, or even buried.
It was a sorbid end to one of the most talented and illustrious careers of the rock era.
Building on his dazzling pop success(Cooke was already a nationally renowned gospel singer in two groups, The Highway QCs, then The Soul Stirrers), the singer launched SAR Records in 1959. SAR stood for either "Sam and Alex"- J.W.Alexander was Cooke's business partner and friend-or for "Sam, Alex, and Roy"-S.R. Crain, his mentor from the Soul Stirrers days and pop road manager.
On the label:
the current Soul Stirrers (Johnny Taylor was one of the leads; he also sang pop on the same label!)
The Valentinos(Cecil and Bobby Womack)
A teenage Billy Preston
Mel Carter
The Sims Twins
Johnnie Morisette
L.C. Cooke (Sam's younger brother)
SAR folded after Sam Cooke's death.
Cooke was interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, CA. (15,000 fans paid their last respects.)
His widow Barbara married Bobby Womack(accounts vary here, but it was from 1-6 months from Cooke's funeral, well under a year. Hmmmm.....)
His daughter Linda married Cecil Womack.
(Cecil and Womack brother Curtis were also married to Mary Wells! Those Womacks sure got around, didn't they?)
Bobby Womack became an R + B legend, renowned for his singing, guitar playing, and songwriting. "It's All Over Now", theRolling Stones hit, "I'm In Love" and "I'm A Midnight Mover"(1968)by Wilson Pickett, and later, "Breezin'" by George Benson, were all written by Womack. (He didn't make the top 40 until 1972, however.)
But Sam Cooke not only became an R + B and pop legend, but a timeless legend. His talent and music will live forever. He was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received the first Pioneer Award from the R + B Foundation and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award,among countless others.