The Best 40 Singles of 1965

 In this series, you'll be going back to the sixties with someone who wasn't there (I was a seventies/eighties child). Therfore, this is a true objective list of the best singles to grace the chart in every year of the decade, starting here in 1960.

If you want to read the list of best singles for a different year (eventually, every year from 1956 to 2010), you'll find the link here.

A Spotify Playlist to Listen Along as you Read

 

The Exciting Wilson Pickett

Apart from time-travelling through the 1960s (a decade I wasn't actually around for) to better inform my musical appreciation and knowledge of what I've been told many times is the greatest decade for popular recorded music, I had a side quest.

Along with my trawl through the 70s and, at some point in the future, the 90s and 00s, I wanted to see if I could decide which decade was the best 'ever'. Having reached 1965, I've realised that it's impossible to say. Comparing the 60s with the 80s is like comparing a bowl of Weetabix with a leg of lamb. They're both food, they have certain things in common but they're completely different and, if you want a definitive answer as to which is better, then it very much depends on who you ask and when you ask them. It's just a matter of preference.

In the context of the 60s however, 1965 had a lot in common with 1962. Innovation had stalled a little bit and the chart was full of songs which were desperately trying to replicate what had been popular over the previous 12 months. There were some overbearingly mundane and lazy singles too by luminaries of the time such as Roy Orbison's ''Goodnight", The Shadows' "Mary Anne" and Elvis' "Do the Clam".

Petula Clark released a song which sounded a lot like 'Up on the Roof' in 'I Know a Place' (the place being 'up on the roof' perhaps) and The Four Tops released the ironically named 'It's the Same old Song' which was 'I Can't Help Myself' with different lyrics. Gerry and the Pacemakers released a song which, along with the Everly Brothers' 'Let it be Me', was based on the 1955 hit 'Je t'appartiens' called 'Walk Hand in Hand'.

I also noticed a trend when researching this year's list - that of the updated re-record. It took me about twenty minutes to track down the original 60s version of Chris Andrews' 'Yesterday Man'. All I could find were modern re-recorded versions which lacked all the sparkle, atmosphere and energy of the original. I had this problem with quite a few 1965 tracks but, having found 98% of the songs which hit the top 40 in 1965 (missing out on Dodie West's 'Goin' out of my Mind' and Peter Cook's 'The Ballad of Spotty Muldoon') here is my verdict on the best 40 singles to grace the mid-60s pop count down.

40. "Colours"— Donovan

What a chart career this bloke had. Seven top ten hits in three years for the Bob Dylan wannabe. What Donovan was singing about might not have had the gravitas or social awareness of Dylan, but in the pop music chart, it's all about buying something you want to listen to - and even hardcore Dylan fans have to admit that Donovan is a lot easier to listen to than ol' raspy nose.

You might be forgiven for thinking Donovan was obsessed with colours - not only was this song called 'Colours' but he also went on to release songs called 'Turquiose' and 'Mellow Yellow'; 'Jennifer Juniper' is also probably something Dulux say is a shade of blue paint.

This was Donovan's second single and his second number 4 peaking track (he also reached the same chart position with his final top 10 hit 'The Hurdy Gurdy Man' in 1968).

39. "Keep Searchin'"— Del Shannon

I honestly thought Del's hits had dried up when I heard 'Two Silhouettes', 'Sue's Gotta be Mine', 'Mary Jane' and 'Handy Man'. They all sounded very much like his early work, like he wouldn't let it go and change up his style to at least sound more contemporary (especially as production techniques had moved on). And wouldn't you know it - his stubborn insistence on staying true to his style (even re-visiting the signature guitar strum on his first hit 'Runaway') paid off with this catchy ditty which is probably his best single. His awareness of melody is spot on here.

Of course, how high your single climbs in the chart depends a lot on what else is also doing the rounds at the time. It's just a shame that the single was competing against 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'' and The Kinks' 'Tired of Waiting', which meant it could only climb to number 3.

Del's final hit came just two months after the release of this single; the number 40 peaking 'Stranger in Town' which made my shortlist but didn't make my personal top 40 of 1965.

38. "Little Things"— Dave Berry

Not to be confused with the odious Absolute Radio presenter, Dave Berry (real name David Grundy) hailed from Sheffield and, being a huge fan of Chuck Berry, decided to pay homage to his hero by stealing his last name.

'Little Things' was a cover of a Bobby Goldsboro song (he of the brilliant 'Summer (the first time)') which didn't see a UK release but hit the top 20 in the US. Dave's 'thing' was to appear on TV whilst not appearing on TV, usually partially hidden behind something like an upturned collar or a microphone stand. His style and act were purportedly the inspiration behind the future Alvin Stardust's (who at the time was performing as Shane Fenton).

Dave didn't pull up any trees with his first three releases (19, 37 and 24 in the chart) but cracked the top ten with 'The Crying Game' in August 1964. That hit number 5, as did the completely different 'Little Things' in March 1965.

To my shame, I've always thought Dave Berry was Mike Berry from 'Are you Being Served' as I knew he'd had a pop career prior to being in the classic sitcom.

37. "The Birds And The Bees"— Jewel Akens

Jewel did considerably better in every other country with this song than he did here in the UK. It reached number 2 in the US and Canada, 3 in Australia and Holland, 4 in Norway and 6 in Belgium. In the UK, the song didn't have much appeal and only reached number 29, which is weird given its wonderfully bouncy electricity.

It's got a distinct fifties feel but doesn't sound out of place in '65 - maybe it just sounded too much like Fats Domino for Jewel to separate himself from the pack.

36. "Here Comes The Night"— Them

I was recently catching up on what 2025 had to offer musically and the first two sentences out of my mouth were 'Music hasn't really evolved at all for fifteen years' and 'I've heard all this before, so many times'.

It's refreshing then to be able to dig into a year I was previously ignorant of to listen to songs I've not heard before played by musicians on real life instruments written by humans with a grasp of music I can only dream of. Especially by proper musicians with a heritage like 'Them' who were fronted by Van Morrison. The song reached number 2 in the chart, being held off the top spot by The Beatles' 'Ticket to Ride'. Lulu released a version of the song (whoever had that idea probably never worked in A&R ever again) which barely scraped the top 50. The only thing that sort of lets this track down is the double-time section, which I know is necessary to get that change of pace to the chorus to have a bit of impact. The double-time bit sounds too much like something Max Bygraves would have done.

The Irishmen had previously reached number 10 with 'Baby, please don't go' but didn't fare any better than that before Van Morrison quit in 1966 to embark on a successful solo career.

35. "Whatcha Gonna Do About It"— The Small Faces

I know quite a few Small Faces songs, which is testement to their influence throughout the ages. Good songs always 'make it out of the decade' they were released in. What I mean by this is, if a song which was released in the 80s, for example, 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' - is still heard on the radio, on the X-Factor or played in B&M on the in-store musak feed in the 2000s, then it 'made it out of the decade'. There are so many songs which never do however, regardless of their quality. Some get forgotten within months of their release whilst others seem to live forever.

'Whatcha Gonna Do About It' is a great song that never made it out. It reached number 14 in September 1965 and disappeared from all non-small-faces-fans memories forever. The only time it resurfaced was when the 2002 'Stars in their Eyes' winner (Emma 'Dusty Springfield' Wilkinson) released a cover version which didn't chart.

Strangely, original member Ronnie Lane's solo work often sounded like it should have been sung by Rod Stewart and 'Whatcha Gonna Do' would also have suited the Scottish Tina Turner - of course, after the Small Faces broke up, they reformed with Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood and Rod. Ironic - nearly.

34. "Summer Nights"— Marianne Faithfull

As the Barron Knights said 'When we sing 'O Come All Ye Faithful', up pops Marianne!'. This isn't the 'Summer Nights' from the musical 'Grease'; that appears later in the list (sort of).

Marianne had a troubled life after she found fame with 1964's 'As Tears go by' (a Jagger/Richards Persian-infused composition) which reached number 9. That was followed by 'Come Stay With Me' in early '65 (a number 4 hit), 'This Little Bird' (number 6) and then 'Summer Nights' which was her last top 10 hit before becoming an actress.

33. "King Of The Road"— Roger Miller

Here's a track that made it out of the 60s - mainly because of its sentiment and massive useability in TV shows, movies and adverts. The word 'King' has featured in many top 10 singles over the years, 'King Creole', 'King of the Cops', 'Kings of the Wild Frontier', 'King of my Castle' and (ahem) 'Kingston Town'.

'King of the Road' was a number 1 smash hit and even earned the honour of being covered by The Proclaimers in 1990. The song took a while to get going. Stalling at number 35 for three weeks on release, you'd expect it to drop out of the chart the following week but something happened (I have no idea what) that caused it to rise to number 26 (probably an appearance on a TV show) and then 14 before spending eight weeks in the top 10 and one week at the top spot, dislodging The Beatles' 'Ticket to Ride'.

It won Roger five Grammys but he only saw the top 20 in the UK twice more with his 1966 effort 'England Swings' and his 1968 song 'Green Apples'. He was of course much more interested in his successful US country music chart career.

32. "Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out"— The Beatles

Rubber Soul. What an album that is. There's no room here to describe just how good but these are songs that came from that period and accompanied the album but didn't appear on it. Imagine having songs this good and saying, 'they don't need to go on the album, there's 14 others we can put on there'.

Despite both Lennon and McCartney at different times describing 'Day Tripper' as a drug song, I still believe it's about someone who won't commit to a relationship, stringing it along and 'keeping their options open'. That would give the song a bit more depth than just being about someone 'tripping' for the sake of sounding 'cool'. It uses the same guitar model as 'I Feel Fine' (which uses the same model as 'Watch your Step' by Bobby Parker) and George Harrison's Rubber Soul track 'If I Needed Someone'.

'We can work it out' is such a dark song. A brilliant, brilliantly dark song. It's about mortality, the curse of the grudge, compromise, optimism and the benefits of brutal honesty. Lennon's bridge synchronises so well with McCartney's verse/chorus and the addition of the 3/4 moment, jars the thing everso slightly to make it unnerving and interesting. It's probably the first of many Beatles compositions which you could file in the 'genius' drawer - they'd begun to emerge from their catchy-pop single phase and become much more interesting.

This was their 11th single release and their 9th number 1 (making it 9 in a row)*

*I don't count 'Ain't She Sweet' and neither should you.

31. "The Price Of Love"— The Everly Brothers

This foot-stomper of a song was a momentary blip in the brothers' slide away from the mainstream. Tastes had changed dramatically since the early 60s and since their last top 20 hit 'No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile' in October 1962, they'd charted no higher than number 22 with 'Ferris Wheel'.

The title, 'The Price of Love' alone suggests a song which has something about it; something you should pay attention to. And record buyers certainly did that, propelling the track up to number 2 in the chart behind Elvis who was 'Crying in the Chapel'. It only kept that spot for one week before slipping to number 3 for two weeks and then slowly sliding out of the chart.

Bryan Ferry covered the song in 1976 and reached number 7.

30. "Baby Please Don't Go"— Them

It's them again. Terrible name for a group, no wonder they split up after two singles. This was the first one, which was marginally better than the second one (see number 36 in this list). Record sales disagree with my taste however as this song only got to number 10 whilst the other, 'Here comes the night' reached number 2.

This was a Big Joe Williams song from 1935 (taken from the folk song 'Long John'), which is so long ago I can't even begin to fathom it. Muddy Waters also had a go but 'Them' probably did it best with a 19 year old Van Morrison on lead vocals.

29. "It's Good News Week"— Hedgehoppers Anonymous

This song was on one of my Dad's albums that I got my tiny hands on and it got played over and over. I only had a couple of albums of my own so I adopted this one and probably wore it out.

It was the lyrics to the song that fascinated me most, proving you don't really need fancy music or intricate guitar solos to sell a single. The lines that intregued the 8-year-old me the most were 'Someone's found a way to give the rotting dead a will to live, go on and never die'. Mainly due to me becoming obsessed with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video around the same time and borrowing anything I could find in the school library about ghosts and the supernatural like the weirdo I was.

This was the 'Hedgehoppers' only hit single, reaching number 5 in September.

28. "Keep On Running"— Spencer Davis Group

Not being around at the time, the only time I've ever heard this group's name is in connection to this song. Looking at their discography, they managed five top 20 hits, two number 1s and a number 2 - which isn't bad going at all.

One of the best things about compiling these lists is the opportunity to dig into pop history - find out who was in what band before they went on to do bigger things, who influenced who and who wrote what for whom. The number of influential musicians and bands around in the 60s is staggering. So much of the 70s and 80s is steeped in 60s ideology. I love the songs 'Valerie' and 'Higher Love' by Stevie Winwood - here I find out that he was in the Spencer Davis Group and went on to form 'Traffic'. Then I fall down a YouTube wormhole and emerge several hours later and realise I forgot to have my tea.

'Keep on Running' was the group's first release and their first number 1, reaching number 2 behind 'Day Tripper/We Can Work it Out', dislodging it in January 1966 for a week before being knocked back down to number 2 by another Beatles' song, 'Michelle' being performed by the Overlanders.

Remember when people would tell you that Oasis were as good as the Beatles in the mid-90s? Remember when Noel Gallagher wrote all those songs for other bands to have number 1 hits with? Me neither.

27. "Love Is Strange"— The Everly Brothers

This song predates its 1965 chart position by nine years. American R&B duet Mickey & Sylvia recorded the Bo Diddley-penned song (which he published under his wife's name). Bo recorded his own version, as did Buddy Holly.

The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004 after it had been covered many more times, most notably by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton and Everything But the Girl, who reached number 13 in the chart with the song in 1992, two places shy of the Everly's number 11 in 1965.

26. "Let's Hang On"— The Four Seasons

This is a great song but I'm not a fan of the production or 'presentation'. Dare I say that Barry Manilow's 1981 version is much more palatable. You can't deny the quality of the single however. It reached number 4 in November.

Oldies cover band Darts took the song to number 11 in 1980.

25. "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"— James Brown

If this song doesn't do something for you then you must be dead inside.

This is one of my three pillars of the evolution of popular music. The first is Elvis' 'Heartbreak Hotel' (1956) and the third is The Sex Pistols' 'Anarchy in the UK' (1977).

Funk wasn't exactly 'new' but James was the first to hone it into a distinctive stand-alone genre and have a substantial hit single with it. The track leads on rhythmically from his earlier recordings 'I've Got Money' and 'Out of Sight', the horns and spluttering guitars underpin his tribute to the bravery of an older gentleman taking to the dance floor of a nightclub. He scored a number 8 in the US and a 25 over here in the UK.

On the One!

24. "It's All Over Now Baby Blue"— Joan Baez

If you search for this song on Spotify, you'll get five matches before Joan. The Animals, Them, Marianne Faithful, Bob Dylan and The Byrds. Joan was the one who had a hit with it!

Joan Baez opened the US leg of Live Aid in 1985. I had no idea who she was - I thought one of the acts had managed to get their aunty into the hospitality area, she'd got a little bit tipsy and then accidentally wandered out on-stage and burst into a drunken rendition of Amazing Grace.

'It's all over now' is probably very clever but its meaning escapes me completely. I'm particularly concerned by the metaphor 'Crying like a fire in the sun'. This was written and first recorded by Bob Dylan but it was Baez who took it into the top 40. Joan only managed two top ten hits, 1965's number 8 placed 'There but for Fortune' and 1971's 'The Night they Drove to Old Dixie Town'. She took 'It's all over now' to number 22.

23. "I Got You Babe"— Sonny And Cher

This is one of the most famous songs of the decade. It was Sonny and Cher's (with her original teeth) first hit and took no time getting to number 1. It entered the chart at number 30, rose to number 4 and sat atop the chart the following week, knocking The Beatles' 'Help' off the top spot, which they had held for three weeks. When Sonny first played the song to Cher, she said she hated it and went to bed.

Sonny Bono wrote the song (as he had many others previous) for producer Phil Spector. Cher meanwhile featured as a backing singer on several Spector produced tracks. They continued to have hits together until their divorce in 1975, after which of course, Cher became a global superstar, re-imagining herself in the late 80s.

22. "See My Friend(s)"— The Kinks

Depending on who you ask, this song might end in an 's' and it might not. This 'raga rock' song (a pop song with an indian influence) is reported to be the first of its kind - certainly before The Beatles put a Sitar in 'Norwegian Wood'.

Like the Kinks' 80s hit 'Come Dancing', 'See my Friend' is a tribute to Ray Davies' elder sister Rene who died dancing at a local club due to an undiagnosed hole in her heart. The Kinks had eleven top ten hits in their first twelve releases and this was one of them, just squeaking in at number 10. The one that didn't was 'Everybody's Gonna be Happy' which only managed to climb to number 17 in 1965.

21. "Looking Through The Eyes Of Love"— Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney had such a unique voice and he used it in so many ways. He could make you feel whatever it was he was singing about even if you weren't really listening to the words. This song showcases his voice perfectly and mirrors the dramatic performances he gives in 'That Girl Belongs to Yesterday' and 'Just one Smile'. He really is a joy to listen to; how I miss the days of the vocalist.

The song almost give Pitney that elusive number 1 hit but stalled at number 3 behind Elvis, who was still in tears at the Chapel and The Hollies who were telling us that they were alive.

20. "The Clapping Song"— Shirley Ellis

I first encountered this song when I was in Junior School. At that time, 'The Wheels on the Bus' and 'When a Knight Won His Spurs' were bangers so 'The Clapping Song' was right up my rue.

I was always fascinated by the girls who played at the bottom of the playground who did all that, what I presumed was, satanic chanting. They'd have a rope which would be twirled around whilst a line of girls in slippy shoes ran through without being struck by the flailing cord and occasionally stopped to jump over it.

They'd chant in monotone like something off Nightmare on Elm Street - 'Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater', 'That's Where My Money Goes', 'Miss Lucy had a Baby' and separately, 'My momma told me' and 'Three, Six, Nine, the Goose drank wine'.

Here they were, those last two separate rhymes in a kind of medley, in the charts! What next? Adam Ant singing 'There's a party on the hill, can you come?' or Duran Duran with 'There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly?'. Actually, it's not beyond reality to think someone like Ralph McTell or even Bob Dylan could have released something like that with a straight face.

Anyway, here was Shirley Ellis with the first version to crack the hit parade, reaching number 6 whilst my version (The Belle Stars in 1982) managed to reach number 11.

19. "I'm Gonna Get There Somehow"— Val Doonican

Whilst I've encountered Val a number of times since beginning my listening odyssey, he's never crept into my top 40s. This is a different fish altogether however.

Val of the sensible jumper was a proponent of the easy listening song. Whilst his music was not what I'd call 'chart friendly', it had mass appeal being so gentle and cosy. It led to him getting his own show on the telly, 'The Val Doonican Show' on which he sang (usually recumbent in a rocking chair singing 'Paddy McGinty's Goat') and introduced guests (such as Dave Allen and Bernard Cribbins) which ran from 1965 to 1985, watched by over 20 million people at its peak!

Sadly, times are very different now but we do have this wonderful song to pop on whenever we grab a cup of cocoa on a chilly autumn evening.

18. "Tired Of Waiting For You"— The Kinks

It's those Kink boys again with their third chart entry and their second number 1. A slower jaunt than the previous two hits ('You Really Got Me' and 'All Day/Night') but no less stirring.

Time is weird isn't it? My first brush with The Kinks was their 1983 track 'Come Dancing' and, when told the band were having hits in 1965, I thought that was like, medieval times or something when Henry VIII was at the height of his powers.

It was 18 years. 18 short years between 1965's black & white days and 1983's CD player days.

18 years ago from when I'm writing this, Rihanna was number 1 with 'Umbrella'.

Dear me.

17. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"— The Rolling Stones

You can boo and hiss all you like but I never 'got' the Rolling Stones. I mean, I 'get' them, and understand where they came from and how they evolved and where they ended up - and have full appreciation for their contributions to popular music - I just never got excited by anything they did particularly. Even this track, whilst I agree it's a classic, it's not something I would want to play more than once really. I wonder why that is. Probably because Mick Jagger always manages to ruin whatever's going on by going 'over the top'.

Anyway, apart from the double negative in the title, meaning Mick can actually get some satisfaction, the song was only played on pirate radio for a while because of its 'sexually suggestive' lyrics. It eventually broke into the mainstream and ended up at number 1 - the distinctive riff that opens the song probably being the reason people bought it. It was their fourth of five number 1 singles in a row.

16. "Rescue Me"— Fontella Bass

I can't be alone in thinking this was sung by Aretha Franklin all these years? Just me? Ok, well, Fontella Bass is a name I've not previously been aware of so, apologies for that - every day is a school day.

The song scored her a number 1 in the US R&B chart, a number 4 in the US chart and a number 11 in the UK. The track features Minnie Ripperton on backing, and Maurice White & Louis Satterfield, who would later form Earth, Wind and Fire on drums and bass.

Fontella admitted many years later that the 'umm umm umm' parts were when she genuinely forgot the lyrics during recording (no stopping the tape and re-recording specific sections in those days) but it all turned out nicely in the end.

15. "Hang On Sloopy"— Mccoys

I told you we'd get back to 'Summer Nights' from Grease. The intro to this song is, again, probably the reason the rest of the song was as popular as it was. Whilst other groups recorded versions of the song (such as the Yardbirds), it was the McCoys that had a hit with it. (You can hear Transvision Vamp's 'I Don't Care' in the chords and verse too, the little song pinchers).

An American band 'The Strangeloves' were originally going to follow up their hit 'I Want Candy' with the song, then The Dave Clark 5 said they were going to do a version but it was actually 'Rick and the Raiders' (who were opening for The Strangeloves' live show) who ended up recording it. They had to change their name to 'The McCoys' so there was no confusion between them and 'Paul Revere & the Raiders'.

They scored a number 5 hit in the UK before The Sandpipers took the song to number 32 in 1976.

14. "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place"— The Animals

This song reminds me so much of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' - similar sentiment. Written by Barry Mann (the worst superhero name ever) and Cynthia Weil, originally intended for the Righteous Brothers (for whom they'd already written 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin') but Mann managed to get a recording contract of his own and his new label wanted him to release 'We gotta get out'. He didn't get the chance because Mickie Most (The Animals' producer) got his hands on the demo meaning The Animals recorded it first. A good job too judging by the incredible vocal performance by Eric Burdon.

Since 'House of the Rising Sun' hit number 1 in June 1964, The Animals had enjoyed three more top ten hits - this, their fifth, reached number 2 for one week behind, yes you guessed it, The Beatles, who were enjoying a second week at number 1 with 'Help!'

13. "I Can't Help Myself"— The Four Tops

I don't know if a 'Sugar Pie Honey Bunch' is an object or four objects but it makes for a decent couplet in a pop song. This is in the upper echelon of well-known Motown songs being one of the biggest hits the label ever had in the US. In the UK who were slower to catch on, it was the Four Tops' first hit, climbing to number 23 in 1965.

They released the song again in 1970 where it faired much better in the UK, reaching number 10.

12. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"— The Righteous Brothers

This is one song that doesn't need any waffle from me, suffice to say it has been described by many music experts as 'the best record ever made'. Written by the aforementioned Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil with Phil Spector implementing his 'Wall of Sound', this single managed to chart on three separate occasions.

I often wonder if a song is a hit because of the song or the artist. You get some perfectly fine songs reaching number 1 for no apparent reason other than its being performed by someone bafflingly popular - the reverse is true also - great songs being taken to number 1 by complete unknowns. This great song has been covered by people who just didn't suit it and subsequently, made the song a lot less impactful - Cilla Black, Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, Long John Baldry and Hall & Oates.

The Righteous Brothers sat at number 3 behind Cilla Black with her version at the end of January 1965 before leapfrogging her the week after, landing on the lily pad that was the number 1 spot leaving Cilla to slip back to number 5. They held on to the number 1 the following week whilst Cilla dropped to number 9. Poor Cilla.

11. "1-2-3"— Len Barry

A song that defines the word 'single', borrowing its vibe from 'Dancing in the Street', it's the exact sort of song you'd want to commit to 7" in order to shift units and challenge the top end of the chart. More blue-eyed soul in the form of Leonard Warren Borisoff, known by his stage name 'Len Barry'. As part of US group the Dovells, he had a number 2 hit with 'Bristol Stomp' and a number 3 with a song about haemorrhoids called 'You can't sit down'. Going solo, his first four releases failed to trouble the charts at all until 1-2-3 which hit number 2 in the US and number 3 in the UK.

He did little else in the UK with only one more single reaching number 10 called 'Like a Baby'.

The song does bear more than a passing resemblance to the Supremes' song 'Ask Any Girl' however. If you think the song sounds familiar for another reason, it's probably because Edwyn Collins sampled it for his 1995 hit 'A Girl Like You'.

A melody always benfits from an unexpected interval jump which is exactly what the 'taking candy ... from a ba-by' part does. Such a hook!

10. "Help!"— The Beatles

When I heard that this song was a genuine cry for help by John Lennon, looking at the lyrics and learning that his original version was meant to be much slower, it became so much more profound and a little tragic. It was a personal song, a deep one, much like Strawberry Fields.

The version that hit our ears is much more jangly, upbeat and jolly than originally intended and if you take it on face value, it's a great single worthy of any school disco of the time. Released as a single in July, it was also the title track to the film 'Help!'

The song sat at number 1 for three weeks and then number 2 for two weeks before falling out of the 40 eight weeks later.

Although it was for charity, we'll skate over the Bananarama version, regardless of the fact it was played for laughs - it's just a complete misappropriation of a classic song. We might as well do a happy-hardcore remix of 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails.

9. "Stop! In The Name Of Love"— Supremes

Straight in to the chorus - never stops - superb - classic - what more can you say?

An absolute classic pop song and probably the song that comes to mind when you think of the Supremes apart from 'Where Did Our Love Go', 'Baby Love', 'Come See About Me', 'You Can't Hurry Love' and 'You Keep Me Hangin' On'.

A number 7 hit for Diana and friends. As an aside, there have been no less than 37 songs in the top 40 since 1964 with the word 'Stop' in the title. See if you can name ten. Or don't. It's up to you.

8. "At The Club/Saturday Night At The Movies"— The Drifters

A double A side that should have just been 'Saturday Night at the Movies' because the other song was instantly forgettable. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil had become the new Carole King & Gerry Goffin, penning this hit too.

This was another song reissued in the 70s to a better reception. It only reached number 35 in 1965 but rose as high as number 3 in 1972. Reissues worked back then because, if a song slowly grew on you and hung around as this did, you'd find it impossible to buy it to listen to in 1966. No E-bay or Spotify. The 1972 issue flew off the shelves.

7. "Concrete And Clay"— Unit Four Plus Two

I recognised this song straight away but I had no idea where from or who sang it. It sounded different to how I remembered the song and thought it must have been covered by someone over the years. I've tried the versions by 'Cliff Richard', 'Randy Edelman', 'Martin Plaza' and 'Kevin Rowland' but none of them are the one that's in my head from somewhere.

Anyway, bands were starting to dip into other cultures for inspiration (see 'See My Friend(s)' earlier) and here, 'Unit' borrow a latin beat which isn't a pronounced as its use in Tom Jones' 'It's Not Unusual' and another song a little higher up in my list.

This was the group's first release and it took six weeks to get to number 2 behind The Rolling Stones' 'The Last Time'. They reached number 1 the following week but were usurped themselves by Cliff Richard and 'The Minute You're Gone'.

Their second and last charting single, 'You've Never Been In Love Like This Before' reached number 17 but none of the subsequent ten releases cracked the 40.

6. "Unchained Melody"— The Righteous Brothers

I'd call this a dirge personally but it's been mega-successful so many times, it's obviously a great single. Originally a 1955 release from the movie 'Unchained', hence the title, and over 670 artists have officially recorded versions (with permission of the publisher).

It's one of only two songs to reach number 1 four times with four different recordings. The other is Band Aid's 'Do They Know it's Christmas'.

Elvis sang it on June 21st 1977 at a show in Rapid City, South Dakota which Rolling Stone magazine described as 'the last great moment of his career'. It was recorded for a television special two months before he died.

The first rule of this 'Best singles of...' blog is, we don't talk about Robson and Jerome. We can talk about Gareth Gates but I don't want to.

5. "Iko Iko"— Dixie Cups

Another song covered by The Belle Stars, though not as successfully as Natasha who released her version at the very same time, June 1982. The Belles reached 35 whilst Natasha managed number 10.

The Dixie Cups' version was the result of an unplanned jam in a New York City recording studio where they began an impromptu version of 'Iko Iko', accompanying themselves with drumsticks on an aluminium chair, a studio ashtray and a Coke bottle. After their producers cleaned up the track and added the backup vocals, bass and drums to the song, the single was then released in March 1965.

Number 23 as where it was destined to land.

4. "In The Midnight Hour"— Wilson Pickett

Another superb vocal performance and a backing track which is unusual for the fact it puts the stress on beat two rather than the first of the bar. It makes the song kind of tip forwards - which is probably why his love came 'tumbling down'.

The pity is that it doesn't really go anywhere or vary at all but no matter, it's still something you'd want to own on plastic to spin at your leisure. Wilson shifted enough plastic to reach number 12 in September but he never rose as high again, the closest he came was when he covered 'Hey Jude' (a rather jarring version) in 1969 and reached number 16.

3. "Make It Easy On Yourself"— Walker Brothers

Sweeping and majestic with just the right amount of opera; it doesn't tip over into dramatic which at times, it's in danger of doing. String backing on pop singles was becoming much less common but here, they lean into it like the violin has only just been invented.

The Walker Brothers had so much hair. They had enough for a fourth Walker Brother - not that John Walker, Gary Walker or Scott Walker were related. None of their second names were Walker - they all changed them to Walker.

This was another massive song from the Bacharach/David songbook which Jerry Butler took into the US R&B chart in 1962 but it took a rework and a rerecord by The Walkers to bring it to UK attention. And, once we knew about the song, up to number 1 it went.

This is another song Cilla Black got her sticky fingers on in 1966 but it remained an album track. Johnny Mathis also had a bash but couldn't take it into the UK chart.

2. "Long Live Love"— Sandie Shaw

The 'cold open' was falling out of favour but this song clings on to the belief that its the best way of starting a song. Embracing the 'Tom Jones' rhythm, if much more subtly, its Sandie's voice that carries this (the perfect enunciation and soft vibrato) along with the hook in the horn solos.

A song that nearly made it into my top 40 for 1965 was Chris Andrews' 'Yesterday Man'. This is another composition of his and gave Sandie her second of three number 1 singles. In fact, she turned down the chance to record 'It's Not Unusual' in favour of this song which I think suited her better anyway.

The song jumped from number 8 to number 1, deposing 'Where are you now (My Love)' by Jackie Trent of the Neighbours theme tune fame. She stayed at number 1 for three weeks before Elvis' 'Crying in the Chapel' and the Everly's 'Price of Love' demoted her to number 3.

1. "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)"— The Byrds

Maybe I'm not sticking to the remit here because this probably isn't the best single of the year because its not a 'grab you' song or one that makes you put your coat on and run to Sounds Nice with your ten-bob note.

The weight of this song was almost too much to allow the turntable to 'turn turn turn'. It's a philosophical lament but beautiful and cosy at the same time. The song foreshadows a lot of Brit-pop and Indie bands of the 90s too. The La's, Cast, The Stone Roses, The Coral, The Bluetones, The Seahorses, and The Charlatans.

'To everything there is a season' was written by Peter Seeger in 1959 and the lyrics are taken almost word for word from the King James Bible, the book of Ecclesiastes to be exact. So really, the song was written by King Solomon in the 10th Century.

The only bit Seeger did write were the words : "A time for peace, I swear it's not too late." That was in 1959. How times haven't changed...

On a jollier note, here came music with 12-string guitars and tambourines that would infuse the rest of the decade as it got weirder and music became a little bit odd. It was all good though so don't forget to subscribe to get notified when my rundown of 1966 is published.