When I first signed up for Satellite Radio in the late 1990s, there were two different companies — Sirius and XM.
I chose XM Radio for one reason. It featured radio broadcasts of all the baseball games. It also had commercial-free music channels, starting with ’40s on (Channel) 4, ’50s on 5, ’60s on 6 and so forth. They stayed in the same place when Sirius and XM merged, to become — go figure — Sirius XM.
As the audience has aged, the older channels have been removed from those prime spots. The channel that was ’60s on 6, the one that covers my teenage years, is now called ’60s Gold and is on Channel 73.
I spend a lot less time in my car than I did when I was commuting, and most of the time when we are in the car, we listen to CNN for my wife. But I put the radio on at home the other day and turned to Channel 73 to learn that they were going to count down the 1,000 top songs of the ’60s as chosen by a reader survey.
A thousand.
Wow!
I wasn’t about to listen around the clock to get them all. For one thing, I don’t think there were a thousand great songs. I have a feeling if I listened to them all, I would probably hear “Ballad of the Green Berets” and “An Open Letter to My Teenage Son.” Not to mention “Jam Up Jelly Tight” and “Honey.”
“See the tree, how big it’s grown …”
I did sort of want to see which songs made the top 10, and when I turned the radio on Sunday afternoon, I managed to catch the final 15. Well, I learned that the majority of people voting were probably older than I was. Nearly two-thirds of the songs were from the early ’60s and only two songs — one of them a shock to me — were from the last three years of the decade.
Only one artist — look for another shock — had two songs in the top 10.
So here goes.
15. “CRIMSON AND CLOVER,” Tommy James and the Shondells — I liked this song when it came out, but it didn’t wear well. It wasn’t even one of the group’s two or three best songs. It would not have surprised me to see “Crystal Blue Persuasion” here, but this one is a stunner.
14. “THE TWIST,” Chubby Checker — Not a song I loved, but it was a huge hit in two different years. It would not have surprised me to see this one in the top 10.
13. “WALK LIKE A MAN,” Four Seasons — Not surprised to see this group this high, but I never thought this was their best song.
12. “RUNAROUND SUE,” Dion and the Belmonts — A great song, but 12th best of the decade? Nope.
11. “A HARD DAY’S NIGHT,” Beatles — I’ll bet I could ask a hundred Beatles fans what they thought was the best song the group did and not one would pick this song.
10. “OH PRETTY WOMAN,” Roy Orbison — It wouldn’t make my top 10, but I can’t really argue with this one. A great song.
9. “THE SOUND OF SILENCE,” Simon and Garfunkel — A great pick. They could not have rated this song too high for me. A defining song of the mid ’60s.
8. “CATHY’S CLOWN,” Everly Brothers — Huh?
7. “CALIFORNIA GIRLS,” Beach Boys — Another great song, although I would have picked “God Only Knows” as the best Beach Boys song.
6. “DOWNTOWN,” Petula Clark — Too high, but I did love this song. For about a month in early 1965, this was the song that was playing every morning when my alarm went off.
5. “DOCK OF THE BAY,” Otis Redding — A great song, although it was one of those I heard so many times I got tired of it. Along with No. 14, one of only two African-American artists on this list (the top 15).
4. “SATISFACTION,” Rolling Stones — It had to be in the top five, but I have heard this song enough times for three lifetimes. Not the Stones’ best song.
3. “THEME FROM A SUMMER PLACE,” Percy Faith — Not a shocker to me. So many old people love this song, but it would not have been my choice for only instrumental in the top 15. I liked “Stranger on the Shore” and “Telstar” a lot more.
2. “RUNAWAY,” Del Shannon — A great song from 1961, but second best of the decade? Nah.
And the best song of the decade?
(drum roll please)
“ONLY THE LONELY,” Roy Orbison — A very good song by a very memorable artist. No point in arguing.