posted
Woah. Hold on. Just Beatles? The Beatles were good. They had a few good songs (among dozens and dozens) and influenced a lot of people, but their cult following rates the quality of a lot of their work way too high and in doing so marginalizes the other talent of that era. You can't dismiss Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Yardbirds, CSN, CCR, The Stones, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and that's just one genre. There's the Beach Boys, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Supremes.. and on and on.
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posted
there's way too much good 60's music for me to even think about narrowing it down to 20 songs!
I think the task is impossible
Plus, don't forget Petula Clark, Sam Cooke, Sly & the Family Stone, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Chico Buarque, Jacques Dutronc, and all the 60's one hit wonders!
and everyone capaxinfiniti said! (I'm partial to The Beach Boys)
EDIT: Stand By Me by Ben E. King also makes the superlist!
Posts: 856 | Registered: Jun 2007
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posted
Doing the same thing I did on the other thread. Unnormalized you get the following list:
Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith & his Orchestra - 1960 (9 wks) Hey Jude - The Beatles - 1968 (9 wks) Tossin' and Turnin' - Bobby Lewis - 1961 (7 wks) I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles - 1964 (7 wks) I'm a Believer - The Monkees - 1966 (7 wks) I Heard it Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye - 1968 (7 wks) Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley - 1960 (6 wks) Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension - 1969 (6 wks) In the Year 2525 - Zager & Evans - 1969 (6 wks)
Now, the secular trend is a bit more interesting in the 1960s. In the 1950s, the average time at #1 had decreased relatively linearly from about five weeks to about three. That trend continues until it hits an average of about 2.5 weeks, where it plateaus for a couple of years. Then it drops suddenly to a little less than 2 weeks, where it stays for another couple of years. Then in the final years of the decade it grows dramatically, topping out around 3.5 weeks, then then drops dramatically again ending up around 2.5 weeks.
Doing an approximate linear fit to the trends, I get the following ordered list of anomalously popular hits of the 1960s:
I'm a Believer - The Monkees - 1966 (7 wks) Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith & his Orchestra - 1960 (9 wks) Tossin' and Turnin' - Bobby Lewis - 1961 (7 wks) I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles - 1964 (7 wks) The Ballad of the Green Berets - SSgt Barry Sadler - 1966 (5 wks) Hey Jude - The Beatles - 1968 (9 wks) Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley - 1960 (6 wks) (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones - 1965 (4 wks) Yesterday - The Beatles - 1965 (4 wks) Baby Love - The Supremes - 1964 (4 wks)
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posted
Those are some nice stats Senoj, although 1960 "should" be part of the 50's stylistically in my opinion.
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But I'd put Nick Drake "Fruit Tree" on whatever final list was being compiled. As well as James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
I was clearly exaggerating when I said just Beatles, though I do think that there's a tendency to *underappreciate* them after you get sick of their songs.
Many people get tired of their music because it's overplayed, then they forget how great it is. Hell, I barely listen to them anymore, but I still recognize that most of their music is outstanding.
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