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The Beatles were easily number one act of the year once again. Their three big singles of the year were all number one hits, "Can't Buy Me Love", "I Feel Fine" (both selling well over a million in the UK) and "A Hard Day's Night". The first
and third tracks came from their first film, "A Hard Day's Night". The soundtrack also provided one of their two top-selling albums of year. They also had time that year to become the biggest thing that had ever happened to American pop music - dominating the USA top spot for most of 1964 and having all top five singles at one point in the year.
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Hard
Day's Night |
| Despite the force of British pop in 1964, the second performer of the year was
Roy Orbison. The Big O enjoyed co-writing and singing two big number ones with "It's Over" and "Oh Pretty Woman" followed by a Christmas top ten with "Pretty Paper".
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the Greatest Hits |
| Number three spot fell to the Searchers who had number one hits with "Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" followed by top ten hits with "Someday We're Gonna Love Again", "When You Walk in the Room" and "What Have They Done to the Rain".
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the Greatest Hits |
| At number four for the year were Londoners the Rolling
Stones. They started the year with a top three hit, their version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away but then
made the top spot with both "It's All Over Now" and "Little Red Rooster". Neither of these number ones was penned by Jagger and Richard. Their first two singles had been written by Chuck Berry ("Come On") and Lennon/McCartney ("I Wanna Be Your Man"). However, by the end of 1964, only the Stones had the kind of presence and fan-appeal to rival the Beatles.
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the Greatest Hits |
| The Mersey sound had been very much a male preserve until Cilla Black emerged in 1964. As Priscilla White, she had been a cloakroom attendant at the Cavern Club in Liverpool until Beatles' producer George Martin signed her up. Her two number ones of the year were "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (a cover of a Dionne Warwick US hit) and "You're My World".
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the Greatest Hits |
| The other big acts of the year can be placed in two categories: the
Mersey/Manchester bands and the rest. Among the most successful
Mersey/Manchester performers were
Herman's Hermits (number one with "I'm Into Something Good"); the
Four Pennies (topped the charts with "Juliet");
Peter and Gordon (number one in the UK and USA with Lennon/McCartney's "A World Without Love"); the
Hollies (top ten with "Just One Look", "Here I Go Again" and "We're Through");
Brian Poole and the Tremeloes
(number two with "Someone Someone") and still riding high were Gerry and The Pacemakers who had three top ten hits with "I'm The One", "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" and "Ferry Across the
Mersey".
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the Greatest Hits |
| The rest, in 1964, included the Kinks, who reached number one with "You Really Got Me" followed by a number two "All Day and All of the Night";
Sandie Shaw who topped the charts with "Always Something There to Remind Me" then almost did it again with "Girl Don't Come"; the
Animals number one was "House of the Rising Sun". Two acts in a category of their own are the
Bachelors who had a number one with "Diane" and top five hits with "I Believe", "Ramona", "I Wouldn't Trade You for the World" and "No Arms Can Ever Hold You" and the irrepressible
Cliff Richard who managed five top ten singles in the year including "I'm The Lonely One", "Constantly", "On The Beach", "The Twelfth of Never" and "I Could Easily Fall".
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| Although American acts were hardly visible on the charts there were some notable successes including
Diana Ross and The Supremes whose top three hit "Where Did Our Love Go" was followed by a number one "Baby Love". The other exception was country singer
Jim Reeves whose death in July 1964 lifted sales of his top ten hits "I Love You Because", "I Won't Forget You" and "There's a Heartache Following Me".
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Copyright
© 2007 Backdate
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