Any Major Hits from 1966
In 1966, pop music was in a state of transition, with established stars still dominant but increasingly challenged by new sounds, new attitudes and new expectations of what a hit record could be. Much of it was informed by the British invasion, which in turn had given rise to garage rock.
Sixty years ago, the British Invasion, led a couple of years earlier by The Beatles, was in full flow, with Herman’s Hermits especially chasing hit after hit. Also featuring prominently in the US charts were acts like The Yardbirds, Rolling Stones, The Hollies, Donovan, The Mindbenders, The Troggs, Peter & Gordon, The Kinks etc.
But the biggest songs of 1966 in the US were distinctly American: California Dreaming by The Mamas and The Papas, followed by garage rock band ? And The Mysterians with 96 Tears.
In the UK, Green, Green Grass Of Home by Tom Jones was the biggest-selling single of 1966 — a British crooner singing a cover of a country song!
In the US and the UK, the year belonged above all to The Beatles. They had an extraordinary five #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, and three chart-toppers (of three single releases) in the UK, plus a cover of their Michelle by the Overlanders. Their commercial dominance was achieved with a range of styles: folk-rock, pop, ballad, psychedelia and a children’s singalong. The Beach Boys, meanwhile, matched them artistically when the astonishing Good Vibrations was released late in the year.
Soul was a defining force in the US. Motown enjoyed a golden year, with The Supremes scoring two US No 1s (My World Is Empty Without You and You Can’t Hurry Love), while acts like the Four Tops, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations, The Marvelettes and Stevie Wonder were ever-present on radio, as were other soul acts like Wilson Picket, James Brown, Robert Parker, and Percy Sledge.
In the Billboard Top 20 of 1966, a quarter of the entries were soul acts: Jimmy Ruffin (What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted, #3), Four Tops (Reach Out I’ll Be There, #5), The Supremes (You Can’t Hurry Love, #13), Bobby Hebb (Sunny, #14), and Lee Dorsey (Working In The Coal Mine, #19).
Across both markets, folk-rock flourished. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound Of Silence, a late 1965 hit in the US but still charting high as 1966 broke, had opened the door for more introspective songwriting in pop (they had a big hit in ’66 with I Am A Rock), while Bob Dylan’s influence was felt even in records he did not make. Folkie Bob Lind features here with Elusive Butterfly, a #5 hit in both the US and the UK. In Britain, a concurrent cover of Elusive Butterfly by Val Doonican also reached #5.
At the same time, novelty (including right-wing stuff like The Ballad Of The Green Berets) and light pop had not disappeared: Petula Clark, Herb Alpert, Jim Reeves and even Frank Sinatra still found room in the upper reaches of the charts — as did Sinatra’s daughter Nancy, with These Boots Are Made For Walking (she features here with a hit she had towards the end of the year).
The mix ends with a Monkees song written by Neil Diamond, and one of Diamonds earliest hits, I’ve Got The Feelin’ (Oh No No). Unlike I’m A Believer, the follow-up to his first big US hit, Cherry Cherry, peaked at only #16.
Links for all past mixes in the series are up. As with other Any Major Hits mixes, the sequencing is roughly chronological, in this case based on their appearance in the US charts. The mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home-groovied covers and the above text in a PDF. PW in comments.
1. Lou Christie – Lightnin’ Strikes
2. The Supremes – My World Is Empty Without You
3. Bob Lind – Elusive Butterfly
4. Bob Kuban & The In-Men – The Cheater
5. Deon Jackson – Love Makes The World Go Round
6. The Righteous Brothers – (You’re My) Soul And Inspiration
7. The Rolling Stones – 19th Nervous Breakdown
8. The Young Rascals – Good Lovin’
9. The Lovin’ Spoonful – Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind
10. The Mindbenders – Groovy Kind Of Love
11. Walker Brothers – The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore
12. Syndicate Of Sound – Little Girl
13. The Beatles – Paperback Writer
14. Dusty Springfield – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
15. The Association – Along Comes Mary
16. The Capitols – Cool Jerk
17. Crispian St. Peters – The Pied Piper
18. The Happenings – See You In September
19. Donovan – Sunshine Superman
20. Lee Dorsey – Working In The Coal Mine
21. The Temptations – Beauty Is Only Skin Deep
22. Four Tops – Reach Out I’ll Be There
23. Count Five – Psychotic Reaction
24. Johnny Rivers – The Poor Side Of Town
25. James & Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet
26. Brenda Lee – Coming On Strong
27. Nancy Sinatra – Sugar Town
28. The Monkees – I’m A Believer
29. Neil Diamond – I’ve Got The Feelin’ (Oh No No)
Any Major Hits from 1944
Any Major Hits from 1947
Any Major Hits from 1961
Any Major Hits from 1970
Any Major Hits from 1971
Any Major Hits from 1972 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1972 Vol. 2
Any Major Hits from 1973 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1973 Vol. 2
Any Major Hits from 1974 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1974 Vol. 2
Any Major Hits from 1975 Vol. 1
Any Major Hits from 1975 Vol. 2
PW = amdwhah
Thx for this. Year I was born!!
Ditto.