Members DRW50 Posted March 31, 2012 Members Share Posted March 31, 2012 Not a fan of that song, to be honest, although it's 500 times better than the Donny and Marie version!! I actually like "Stop and Think It Over" more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 1, 2012 Members Share Posted April 1, 2012 I don't care for it, either, Carl. I don't like Donny and Marie's version, either. They are another duo whose biggest hit ("Leaving It All Up To You") is far inferior to one of their secondary hits ("Morning Side Of The Mountain"). I think this song would have been better had it been produced as sung as a straight country song. Fascianting story about all of them standing on the steps of their hotel 3 blocks before Kennedy was shot. And here is that Donny and Marie version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEondovuM_0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 2, 2012 Members Share Posted April 2, 2012 Since our next song is going to be the last song of 1963, here's the review of the hits of the year: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 2, 2012 Members Share Posted April 2, 2012 So many songs that fell short of the top spot deserved #1 status this year, IMO. Even though this year was lackluster in comparison to what came before and after. songs from this year I felt deserved the #1 spot: End Of the World - Skeeter Davis (though since this holds a chart record, I don't feel to bad about this) Losing You - Brenda Lee Heat Wave- Martha and the Vandellas South Street- the Orlons Cry Baby - Garnet Mimms Everybody - Tommy Roe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 2, 2012 Members Share Posted April 2, 2012 I can never remember Cry Baby or Losing You. Heat Wave is one of the classics of all time - the start is such a huge jolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted April 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 I think that the songs of 1963 most deserving of the #1 position (that didn't make it) were as follows: Be My Baby - The Ronettes (#2) Denise - Randy & the Rainbows (#10) Donna the Prima Donna - Dion (#6) Heat Wave - Martha & the Vandellas (#4) One Fine Day - The Chiffons (#5) Remember Then - The Earls (not found on the above videos since it only reached #24) You've Really Got a Hold on Me - The Miracles (#8) I'm not a fan of "I'm Leaving It Up to You" either, though I wouldn't go so far as to say its reaching #1 was a WTF moment. The final #1 hit of 1963--"Dominique" by The Singing Nun--is the song I consider to be the most dreadful pre-90s chart-topper. Amazingly, "Dominique" spent four weeks at the peak position: the weeks ended 12/7/63, 12/14/63, 12/21/63, & 12/28/63. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UHhyyRByuJ0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Jeanine Deckers was born on October 17, 1933. She was an actual nun, and assumed the name of Sister Luc-Gabrielle upon joining the Fichermont Convent in Waterloo, Belgium. While at the convent, she was encouraged to write and sing her own music. In 1961, Luc-Gabrielle had asked executives at Philips Records if she could record an album of songs. Though she was turned down at the time, company head honchos had a change of heart two years later. Among the tunes recorded for her album was "Dominique," which (according to "The 'Billobard' Book of Number One Hits") "eulogizes the founder of the Dominican order, [and was written by Sister Luc-Gabrielle herself] for her Mother Superior's Saint's Day." The French-sung "Dominique" first became a hit in Europe, where Luc-Gabrielle was given the stage name of "Soeur Sourire" ("Sister Smile"). In America, she assumed the monkier of The Singing Nun. Despite the fact that The Singing Nun appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (on 1/5/64) and had a 1966 movie made about her (where she was portrayed by Debbie Reynolds), she never again placed a single on the Hot 100. In part because of her socially liberal viewpoints, Deckers left the convent not long after the Debbie Reynolds film was released. Jeanine eventually became mired in debt (owing over $60,000 USD in back taxes to the Belgian government); on March 29, 1985, she and her lover (Annie Pescher) committed suicide by overdosing on alcohol and barbiturates. "Dominique" was the last #1 song to be performed entirely in a foreign language until 1987's "La Bamba" by Los Lobos. It also was the first of two records (the other of which has also been long forgotten) that kept the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" from reaching the top. ("Louie Louie" has never been a song that I particularly cared for, but it is always one that everyone assumes went to number one.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members quartermainefan Posted April 3, 2012 Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 Wow, I never heard Dominique before in my life and I can hear why. I don't think this song ever got any play old oldies radio, nor should it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 3, 2012 Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 I mostly remember this because of the Debbie Reynolds movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 3, 2012 Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 You guys... I freaking LOVE "Dominique"! Don't ask me why, I'm not sure myself, but it's just a song that I've always adored. The cadence of the music is what really makes it, IMO. It just kind of skips along at a pace that is really happy and optimistic. And get ready, Max.... if you hate the song, what about the DISCO VERSION? Now this video was shot in 1973, so obviously the 1982 disco version has been overdubbed onto the 1973 video, but here it is in all it's glory. From what I understand, she gave all her money to the convent, but didn't have proof of it somehow, and the Belgian government came after her for taxes, and the convent didn't help her in any way because she had left and was living with her lesbian lover. What a bunch of vindictive cows. They WERE pissed at her for her liberal social views, she recorded a song in 1967 called "Glory be to God for the great golden pill". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 3, 2012 Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 I don't mind the song either, really. What a depressing story. I don't want to turn this into a religious forum but that type of thing pisses me off. I wish someone, just one person, had helped her pay her debts. Think of all the happiness she gave to people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted April 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 The circumstances that led up to The Singing Nun's suicide were so tragic. Though I welcome the faster tempo found on the disco version of "Dominique," the insturmentation used was absolutely grating. There were twenty-three songs that hit #1 in 1964. The first of these tunes was "There! I've Said It Again" by Bobby Vinton, which held the top spot for four weeks: the weeks ended 1/4/64, 1/11/64, 1/18/64, & 1/25/64. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YLAhVU0NOm0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Bobby Vinton had recently scored a chart-topper with a cover of a pre-rock era recording, "Blue Velvet." Thus, it seemed fitting that his next smash would also come with an old standard. "There! I've Said It Again" first achieved huge success in 1945, when it was performed Vaughn Monroe. Vinton decided to cover the tune after a hippie-like DJ (who sported long hair and a beard) in Cincinnati told him it would be a chart-topping single; he recorded the song in only one take. "There! I've Said It Again" (my least favorite of Vinton's four #1 hits) is one of the most noteworthy songs of the 20th Century. The reason for its significance actually has nothing to do with the record or Bobby Vinton himself. Rather, "There! I've Said It Again" was the final pre-Beatles single to top the Hot 100. Unlike so many of his peers, Bobby's career was not wiped out by the Fab Four. A couple of months after "There! I've Said It Again" fell from #1, the Polish Prince had a #9 hit with "My Heart Belongs to Only You." And before 1964 ended, he would be back on top of the chart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 3, 2012 Members Share Posted April 3, 2012 That is such a treacly song, but he wrings the hell out of it. I think my favorite part is the pathos he brings in, "I've loved you since heaven knows when..." For that alone it probably deserved a #1. What were the #2 and #3 songs at the time it was a hit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted April 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 4, 2012 Week ended 1/4/64: #2: Louie Louie - The Kingsmen #3: Dominique - The Singing Nun (peaked at #1) Week ended 1/11/64: #2: Louie Louie - The Kingsmen #3: Popsicles and Icicles - The Murmaids Week ended 1/18/64: #2: Louie Louie - The Kingsmen #3: Popsicles and Icicles - The Murmaids Week ended 1/25/64: #2: Louie Louie - The Kingsmen #3: I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles (peaked at #1) Source: "'Billboard's' Top 10 Charts" by Joel Whitburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 4, 2012 Members Share Posted April 4, 2012 Carl, here are a couple more songs that were in the top ten in January of 1964 (Dionne was rising, Rydell was falling) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 4, 2012 Members Share Posted April 4, 2012 Forget Him is probably the only Bobby Rydell song I really enjoy. It's, somehow, a very touching song, in spite of those damn background singers. I love Popsicles and Icicles. I wish that had been #1. I think it's one of those songs which best captures that dying era. Bright stars, and guitars, and drive-ins on Friday night... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg3HNnNewXs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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