1963 in music.

Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music won 1962. Let's see who wins 1963. The Beatles debut this year. Also the year of Patsy Cline's unfortunate death.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 1963:
Vaughn Meader - The First Family (cont. from '62)
West Side Story Cast - Soundtrack (cont. from '62)
Allan Sherman - My Son, the Celebrity
Stan Getz - Jazz Samba
Andy Williams - Days of Wine and Roses
Allan Sherman - My Son, the Nut
Peter, Paul and Mary - In the Wind

Billboard chart-topping singles of 1963:
The Tornados - Telstar (cont. from '62)
Steve Lawrence - Go Away Little Girl
The Rooftop Singers - Walk Right In
Paul and Paula - Hey Paula
The Four Seasons - Walk Like a Man
Ruby and the Romantics - Our Day Will Come
The Chiffons - He's So Fine
Little Peggy March - I Will Follow Him
Jimmy Soul - If You Wanna Be Happy
Lesley Gore - It's My Party
Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki
The Essex - Easier Said Than Done
Jan and Dean - Surf City
The Tymes - So Much in Love
Stevie Wonder - Fingertips
The Angels - My Boyfriend's Back
Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet
Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs - Sugar Shack
Nino Temple - Deep Purple
Dale & Grace - I'm Leaving it Up to You
The Singing Nun - Dominique

What are your top three albums for 1963? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:

1. Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
2. The Beatles - With the Beatles
3. Sam Cooke - Night Beat

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

my last minute cuts:
beach boys - surfin usa
beatles - please please me
dick dale - king of the surf guitar
roy orbison - in dreams
chet atkins - the guitar genius
miles davis - seven steps to heaven

stuff to check out:
pp&m - moving
duke ellington meets coleman hawkins
duke ellington & john coltrane
sam cooke - mr. soul
ike and tina turner - its gonna work out fine
ray charles - ingredients in a recipe for soul
aretha - laughing on the outside
stevie wonder - with a song in my heart
etta james - top ten
ike turner - rocks the blues
buck owens - sings tommy collins
duke ellington - money jungle
bill evans - conversation with myself
herbie hancock - my point of view
herbie hancock - inventions and dimensions
albert ayler - something different
john coltrane - impressions
PP&M - in the wind
mingus - black saint and the sinner lady
thelonius monk - criss cross
sun ra - cosmic tones for mental therapy

 

All in now! Lots to dive into for me, I worked backwards when making my yearly playlists last year - so by the time I reached '63 I was exhausted and lazy. I think I only had The Beatles two records, 3 Beach Boys records, and The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan on there. Already made a few additions and excited to dive in.

 

1. The Beatles - Please Please Me
2. The Beatles - With The Beatles
3. Sam Cooke - Night Beat

I have like 50 honorable mentions, but I'm too lazy right now.

 

PPM over WTB! interesting!!

 

It's the wrong choice, but I'm standing by it.

 

1963

Best Singles:
In Dreams - Roy Orbison
She Loves You - The Beatles
I Want To Hold You Hand - The Beatles
In My Room - The Beach Boys
Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
Surfin’ U.S.A. - The Beach Boys
Be True To Your School - The Beach Boys
Wipeout - The Surfaris
From Me To You - The Beatles
Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys
Surf City - Jan & Dean
Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys
It’s All Right - The Impressions
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals
Up On The Roof - The Drifters
Sugar Shack - Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs

Best Albums:
1. Please Please Me - The Beatles
2. Live At The Apollo - James Brown
3. With The Beatles - The Beatles

Other Favorites:
Surfer Girl - The Beach Boys
Surfin’ U.S.A. - The Beach Boys
In Dreams - Roy Orbison
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady - Charles Mingus
Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys

 

I'm always fascinated by the choices of "singles only" releases vs. the songs that made it to the proper albums. This is particularly a huge case when it comes to The Beatles and their early stuff.

On top of that, there's not just the discrepancy between which songs made the albums vs. which were standalone singles, but also the discrepancy between tracklistings on the US Version vs UK version for the early portion of their catalog.

Based on the sessions the songs were recorded during - and purely for speculation:

• "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" would make With The Beatles a far superior album to Please Please Me.
• "From Me To You" and "Thank You Girl", while technically recorded a few weeks or month-ish AFTER the PPM sessions, would arguably make PPM a better record.

 

I’ve always enjoyed Please Please Me as a whole more than With The Beatles. The songs on the debut just seem stronger to me.

 

All about the Duke this year...

1. Duke Ellington - Money Jungle (one of my favourite jazz albums of all time)
2. Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - ST
3. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Also got into Dylan last year and really enjoyed Freewheelin’

 

again!!!

 

yeah I need to peep all of these

 

Debated holding my vote until after all the listening, but I’m gonna stay consistent and keep the explorations and the ballot separate

List some! I want to cherry-pick!

 

With the Beatles is one of the Beatles albums I've spent the least time with (along with Beatles for Sale), so I'm also more on board with Please Please Me. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is my favorite of the year though.

Planning to also listen to at least:
Joan Baez. In Concert, Pt. 2
James Brown: Live At the Apollo
Peter, Paul & Mary: Moving
Roy Orbison: In Dreams
Dionne Warwick: Presenting Dionne Warwick
Sam Cooke: Night Beat

 

1. Sam Cooke - Night Beat
2. Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
3. James Brown - Live at the Apollo

Night Beat is one of Sam Cooke's two absolutely perfect studio albums (the other of which will appear next week), and it's a slightly more subdued blues-y affair, with some absolutely masterful tracks, including opening track "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", which is up there with the best opening tracks on any album ever. Next year's Aint That Good News, might just about edge this, but not by much.

Dylan's second album is just a huge step up from his first, that it's amazing that it came out only a year later. So many of those songs have become iconic now, incredible what he did on just his second attempt.

James Brown's Live at the Apollo is one of the most ferocious live albums recorded, absolutely raucous and coming it at just half an hour long, it's an absolutely relentless listen. I think it's the best essence of Brown distilled down into 31 minutes.

Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas and The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus round out the top five.

As a very honourable mention (seeing as it was released in 1985), is Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963. Cooke has two perfectly opposite live albums, this one is the dirty, sweaty and loud one, whereas At The Copa from 1964 is the smooth and suave one. Both essential listening to understand Cooke, so I'll include this as an honorary 1963 record.

 

My (not very) controversial Beatles opinion, is that the Pre-Rubber Soul records don't do much for me. I like them enough, and every now and then I'll throw one on, but when I listen to The Beatles, 99% of what I listen to is from 1965 and onwards.

 

i felt similarly for a long time. idk if it's getting older/caring less about experimental stuff, but in recent years - while I still prefer the stuff from rubber soul on - I still have a lot of time for the early stuff

 

Dick Dale's guitar tone, though. Just phenomenal, such a pioneer. Hearing The Beach Boys attempt a spirited take on "Misirlou", but it pales in comparison to Dale's version from a year earlier.

And pardon the pun, but "King of the Surf Guitar" is just GNARLY. I can't believe I've never heard this before today.

 

Live At The Apollo really is that good.. GOOD GOD!

 

1. Sam Cooke - Night Beat
2. Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
3. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Just Missed:
Sammy Davis, Jr. - At the Coconut Grove
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream
James Brown - Live at the Apollo
Barbra Streisand - The Barbra Streisand Album
Various Artists - A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector
The Beatles - Please Please Me

Others I've Heard and Enjoy (Roughly Ranked):
John Coltrane - Ballads
Oscar Pederson Trio - Night Train
The Swingle Singers - Bach's Greatest Hits (aka Jazz Sebastian Bach)
The Beatles - With the Beatles
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman - John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
Jimmy Durante - September Song
Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris
Peter Paul and Mary - (Moving)
Jorge Ben - Samba Esquema Novo
Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins - Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
Peter Paul and Mary - In the Wind
Al Hirt - Honey in the Horn
Peggy Lee - Mink Jazz
Harry Belafonte - Streets I Have Walked
Martha and the Vandellas - Heat Wave

Albums I own that I really haven't processed enough to rank:
Bill Evans - Interplay
The Miracles - The Fabulous Miracles
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
Sam Cooke - Mr. Soul

NOT a fan:
Soueur Sourire - The Singing Nun

Targets to listen to:
Andy Williams - Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Favorites
Herbie Hancock - My Point of View
Martha and the Vandellas - Come and Get These Memories
Chet Atkins - The Guitar Genius
Duke Ellington, Max Roach and Charles Mingus - Money Jungle
The Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A.
Tony Bennett - I Wanna Be Around
Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue
Joe Henderson - Page One
Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack
Astor Piazzolla Quinteto - Tango Para Una Ciudad
Lesley Gore - Sings of Mixed Up Hearts
Rufus Thomas - Walking the Dog
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs - Flatt and Scruggs at Town Hall
Gerry Mulligan - Night Lights
The Crystals - He's a Rebel
Henry Mancini - Uniquely Mancini

 

Ones I think people will likely overlook that are interesting as hell:

Streisand's debut really took me by surprise given her general reputation. She really found ways to reinvent and reinterpret the standards she was working with and her voice is just mind-boggling. There's a very good reason she became a household name.

That Jimmy Durante album September Song is a deep-cut favorite of mine. For some reason, his absolute non-singer voice over those sweet arrangements just destroys me.

The Swingle Singers' Bach album seems like something that should be dull, dated and corny (even with Glee's usage of them), but it's SO unique and utterly swingin'.

 

A bunch have already been mentioned, but...

Honorable mentions:

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (idk much about jazz, but this is a great one)
Dick Dale - King of the Surf Guitar
Dionne Warwick - Presenting Dionne Warwick (her debut)
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (another jazz classic)
James Brown - Live at the Apollo
James Brown - Prisoner of Love
Jorge Ben - Samba Esquema Novo (the debut from the Brazillian musician)
Lesley Gore - I'll Cry If I Want To
Pete Seeger - We Shall Overcome (a live album... great political/protest music)
Sam Cooke - Mr. Soul
The Shadows - Greatest Hits (hate putting a greatest hits on here, but it's a great collection of their early music)
Toots and the Maytals - Never Grow Old (early reggae... their debut)

 

cannot understate how much dudes rock

 

The Latin World of Tito Puente is another great album released this year. A classic too.

 

Ahhhh how has no one mentioned Gerry & The Pacemakers “You’ll Never Walk Alone” yet?!

I swear - me recalling this came out in ‘63 has nothing at all to do with my LFC fandom. Lol