Wednesday 21 December 2016

1966 - a Year of Hits

1966 - a Year of Hits.

I spent a fair part of the summer of 1966 in hospital after a road traffic accident.  As I recall the prinicpal occupations at the time, for a fifteen year old bed-bound with their legs in plaster, were as follows -
listening to pop music on Radio Caroline - a pirate radio station broadcast from a ship;
watching the pretty nurses;
waiting for visitors' time;trying to catch the eyes of the pretty nurses;
doing crosswords;talking to the pretty nurses;
gambling on the gee gees (the cleaners used to place the bets for everyone);
getting told off by the Staff Nurse / Sister for chatting to the pretty nurses;
gambling within the ward on anything else that moved or could be timed;
falling in love with the pretty nurses (I rationed myself to no more than two at a time);
reading whole series of books (e.g. every Conan Doyle);
watching the pretty nurses and listening to Radio Caroline...

These were the top 100 in the UK charts that year.  I can still sing most of them (or my substitute for singing!)
PositionArtistTitle
01Jim ReevesDistant Drums
02Frank SinatraStrangers In The Night
03The BeatlesYellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby
04The Four TopsReach Out I'll Be There
05Nancy SinatraThese Boots Are Made For Walkin'
06The Walker BrothersThe Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
07Tom JonesGreen Green Grass Of Home
08The KinksSunny Afternoon
09TroggsWith A Girl Like You
10Manfred MannPretty Flamingo
11Herb Alpert & The Tijuana BrassSpanish Flea
12The Beach BoysGood Vibrations
13The BeatlesDay Tripper / We Can Work It Out
14The Beach BoysGod Only Knows
15The Spencer Davis GroupKeep On Running
16The BeatlesPaperback Writer
17The MindbendersGroovy Kind Of Love
18Chris FarloweOut Of Time
19The Small FacesAll Or Nothing
20The Beach BoysSloop John B
21The Spencer Davis GroupSomebody Help Me
22Dusty SpringfieldYou Don't Have To Say You Love Me
23The OverlandersMichelle
24The New Vaudeville BandWinchester Cathedral
25Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & TichHold Tight
26Roy OrbisonToo Soon To Know
27Los BravosBlack Is Black
28The WhoI'm A Boy
29Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & TichBend It!
30The Rolling StonesPaint It, Black
31Dave BerryMama
32Crispian St PetersYou Were On My Mind
33The Lovin' SpoonfulDaydream
34TroggsI Can't Control Myself
35The Mamas & The PapasMonday Monday
36Ike & Tina TurnerRiver Deep, Mountain High
37The HolliesI Can't Let Go
38The HolliesStop Stop Stop
39Georgie Fame & The Blue FlamesGet Away
40Percy SledgeWhen A Man Loves A Woman
41TroggsWild Thing
42Gene PitneyNobody Needs Your Love
43The MerseysSorrow
44Manfred MannSemi-Detached Suburban Mr James
45The BachelorsSound Of Silence
46Chris MontezThe More I See You
47Val DoonicanWhat Would I Be
48The Spencer Davis GroupGimme Some Loving
49The Small FacesSha La La La Lee
50Eddy ArnoldMake The World Go Away
51The SandpipersGuantanamera
52The Rolling StonesNineteenth Nervous Breakdown
53CherBang Bang
54Paul JonesHigh Time
55The SupremesYou Can't Hurry Love
56Cliff RichardWind Me Up (Let Me Go)
57The Beach BoysBarbara Ann
58David & JonathanLovers Of The World Unite
59Crispian St PetersPied Piper
60Ken DoddPromises
61The KinksDedicated Follower Of Fashion
62The Walker BrothersMy Ship Is Coming In
63The Four SeasonsLet's Hang On
64The WhoSubstitute
65Val DoonicanElusive Butterfly
66Napoleon XIVThey're Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haa
67The YardbirdsShapes Of Things
68Cliff RichardVisions
69Sonny & CherLittle Man
70Petula ClarkI Couldn't Live Without Your Love
71The SeekersThe Carnival Is Over
72Herman's HermitsA Must To Avoid
73Ken DoddThe River
74Lee DorseyHoly Cow
75Cilla BlackLove's Just A Broken Heart
76The SeekersMorningtown Ride
77Dusty SpringfieldAll I See Is You
78Elvis PresleyLove Letters
79Cilla BlackDon't Answer Me
80Gene PitneyBackstage
81The EasybeatsFriday On My Mind
82Roy CShotgun Wedding
83The HolliesBus Stop
84Bob LindElusive Butterfly
85The Lovin' SpoonfulSummer In The City
86Simon & GarfunkelHomeward Bound
87Bobby DarinIf I Were A Carpenter
88Petula ClarkMy Love
89Herman's HermitsNo Milk Today
90The SeekersWalk With Me
91Cilla BlackAlfie
92Alan Price SetHi-Lili Hi-Lo
93The Small FacesMy Mind's Eye
94Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & TichHideaway
95Mike Sammes SingersSomewhere My Love
96Otis ReddingMy Girl
97The AnimalsDon't Bring Me Down
98Lee DorseyWorking In The Coalmine
99The KinksTill The End Of The Day
100The Rolling StonesHave You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadow

6 comments:

  1. Although I was born 2 years later, I know at least half of these songs, because my parents (esp. my Dad) loved listening to pop music on the radio plus they had a nice collection of 5" records which were often played at home. As soon as my sister and I learned to handle the record player, we would take charge of the collection.

    The only time I was in hospital before 2010 was when I was 9 years old - too young to lust after dishy young doctors!

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  2. Being in a hospital is never any fun, i can only imagine how boring it could be for a teen boy. Yes, i do remember a good many of these songs.

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  3. Wow - I was born in 1966 and I know most of those songs! Thank goodness they keep playing them. I like Phil Collins' version of "Groovy Kind of Love". My dad was a huge Beach Boys fan. Good to see Frank Sinatra on that list! What a crooner!

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  4. In 1966 I was 11 years old. It may have been around that age I got my first own transistor radio and was able to start listening a bit to Radio Luxemburg. I do remember some of these songs, but in 1966 I had only just started learning English at school, so it probably wasn't until a couple of years later that I was able to understand any of the lyrics... I do remember my dad grumbling about the Beatles' long hair. Looking back at early photos of them now though, they look very neat compared to what was to come!

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  5. In '66 I was 13 and loved listening to my transistor radio and had my favorite DJs on Chicago WLS station where my friends and I would go and visit. I remember many of the songs on your list although singing them would not be a good idea! Folks stayed longer in the hospital during that time than they do today. I was never a patient in a hospital until much older but I was a volunteer as a teenager and took books and newspapers as well as working in the hospital snack bar. Now I spend all my days in the hospital but atleast I do get paid to be there! Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...happy first day of winter!

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  6. What? No Monkees? 1966 was the year my little sister was born, so I remember a great many of these songs, we would dance around with her as a baby!
    Two songs I am thinking about... "Downtown" by Petula Clark and "Summer In The City" by The Lovin Spoonful. Lots of hits in 66!

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