So I’ve written before that 1964 was a big year for me, at the age of 13 I visited the World’s Fair in New York, when it was still a big thing, saw Johnny Callison of the Phillies hit the game winning home run in the All Star game – live! I also attended my one and only World Series game, where I saw “Uncle” Barney, my mother’s first cousin throw a knuckler to Mickey Mantle which he planted in the right field stands to set the all-time record for most homers in World Series play!! So when I started thinking about the changes in music through the years, I figured that was a good place to start!! In 1964, Rock and Roll was about 10 years old and going full-bore. From Rolling Stone…..
Britannia Ruled the airwaves in 1964. In the front ranks, marching in formation behind the Beatles, were the Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, the Searchers, the Hollies, the Animals, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Freddie and the Dreamers, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Peter and Gordon and Chad and Jeremy. Then there were the one-hit wonders — and what hits! “Have I the Right?” by the Honeycombs, “Hippy Hippy Shake,” by the Swinging Blue Jeans, and “Concrete and Clay,” by Unit 4 + 2, all made the charts during the rave years Read More
With that being said, the 1964 “Pop” charts were a pretty diverse place! Here’s a baker’s dozen playlist of some of the hits in 1964! The main point of creating the playlist was not to show how much better music was back in ’64, but to show that when my musical tastes were developing, I was exposed to a variety of music on commercial radio!! For me current “Pop”music all sounds the same!! And here’s some links to articles that agree and also provide a scientific explanation!!
Yup, it really does all sound the same. The evolution of modern pop music.
Pop music too loud and all sounds the same: official
Worst ideas of 2012: making all pop sound the same
Again, I’m not saying that these songs are better than today’s “Pop” music but at least you got to hear a variety of music.(Ok maybe “Ringo” is not actually music) Ok, so now blast away and tell me how wrong I am!!
