For no particular reason, other than that I wanted this post to have some sort of theme, here are ten tracks, one from each year of the sixties, each having a title consisting of either a one word or two word girl’s name.
The Everly Brothers - Lucille (1960)
Good cover version of the Little Richard classic, and as a double A-side with
So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad), getting to number 4 on the UK singles chart, which is six places higher than the original version achieved three years earlier.
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen - Samantha (1961)
Terrific Trad Jazz version of a fine old Bing Crosby song.
Tommy Roe - Sheila (1962)
My favourite Tommy Roe song by some considerable margin. I much prefer this to
Dizzy.
The Beatles - Anna (1963)
From their debut album,
Please Please Me, here's an excellent cover of a fairly obscure Arthur Alexander song.
The Four Pennies - Juliet (1964)
Hardly what I call a classic, but still a very nice song and one that (surprisingly, perhaps) topped the UK singles chart. Now here’s a bit of trivia for you:
Juliet was the only 1964 Number One by a UK group not to chart in the United States. Isn’t Wikipedia wonderful?
P J Proby - Maria (1965)
Proby’s somewhat melodramatic version of one of the best songs from
West Side Story is not to everyone’s taste, but I really like it. This track was a top ten hit in November 1965, so the Youtube clip is incorrect in stating that it’s from 1966.
The Beach Boys - Barbara Ann (1966)
1966 was very much the Year of the Beach Boys. They had four consecutive Top Three singles in the UK during that year -
Barbara Ann followed by
Sloop John B, then
God Only Knows and finally,
Good Vibrations, their first ever UK Number One. 1966 was also the year they released
Pet Sounds, which imho is not only one of the greatest albums of the sixties but also of all time.
The Hollies - Carrie Anne (1967)
Not really one of my favourites by the Hollies, but still a good track, and its title does fulfil the main criterion of the post.
Scott Walker - Joanna (1968)
There were quite a few candidates to be my 1968 track -
Julia by the Beatles,
Eloise by Barry Ryan,
Delilah by Tom Jones,
Elenore by the Turtles and
Rosie by Don Partridge to name but five. However, when it came down to making a choice, there was no way I could not choose this fabulous track by the brilliant Scott Walker.
The Kinks - Victoria (1969)
I would imagine that a song glorifying Great Britain’s imperial past was considered very uncool in the late sixties, which may explain why this magnificent track was only a minor hit single.
glad you like it!
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