Ozmoe’s Hottest Debuts Vs. Biggest Movers: Part 2 -1964-1969

It’s time for the second installment of our series to determine…

Which was better each year on Billboard’s Hot 100:

Or:

I compare the top three in each category for a year and rank them from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) to determine a winner. Sometimes ties occur, resulting in four contenders. In that case, I count the higher score among the two that tied.

Our initial outing gave a 4-2 advantage to BM over HD so far.

Let’s see what happens as we round out the 1960s:

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1964

Get ready to see a lot of the Fab Four in this article. The group’s clean sweep of HD is well deserved, with “I Feel Fine” pioneering the use of feedback in major record releases, putting it just a skoosh ahead of the other two. 

“Dawn (Go Away)” shows why the Four Seasons was one of the few American groups to survive the British invasion in 1964. It’s a solid production, although Frankie Valli’s falsetto could be a little better. “The House of the Rising Sun” has Eric Burdon in fine form as lead singer and incredible musicianship in making the folk song into a memorable rocker.

And “She Loves You” remains quintessentially part of the Beatles catalog, while “Twist and Shout” to me is still more of an Isley Brothers tune, so I give the nod to the former, as both leaped 48 notches. Still, “Twist and Shout” is a solid 8.

• HD scores: “A Hard Day’s Night” – 9 +  “I Feel Fine” – 10 + “Can’t Buy Me Love” – 9 = 28

• BM scores: “Dawn (Go Away)” – 8 + “The House of the Rising Sun” – 9 + “She Loves You” – 10 = 27

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1965

The fact that something as irritating as “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” held the record for the highest debut on the Hot 100 until 1968 astounds me. It’s nowhere near the quality of “We Can Work It Out” nor “I Hear a Symphony” by any measure. The latter two are near excellent entries by their artists.

Best of all here is James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good,)” one of the all-time great hits. “Get Off of My Cloud” suffers a little in comparison with other early number ones by the Stones (“Ruby Tuesday” as well as “Satisfaction,”) but it holds its own well enough. The same applies to Petula Clark’s peppy follow-up to the better “Downtown.” 

• HD scores: “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” – 4 + “We Can Work It Out” – 9 + “I Hear a Symphony” – 9 = 22

• BM scores: “I Got You (I Feel Good)” – 10 + “Get Off of My Cloud” – 8 + “I Know a Place” – 7 = 25

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1966

The Beatles remain as strong as ever. “Nowhere Man” is just slightly less successful than in comparison to every other hit they were having. 

In contrast, “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” is a testament to the popularity of the Peanuts cartoon that inspired it over anything else. I’m offended by its following elements:

• A ghastly chorus for a novelty record that goes, “Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more!/The bloody Red Baron was rollin’ up the score/Eighty men died tryin’ to end that spree/Of the bloody Red Baron of Germany.”

• The theft of the melody from “Hang On Sloopy” before the third verse

• A general air of cheesiness 

• The use of it as a template by The Royal Guardsmen for a few other chart entries – with variations of this mess

“Monday, Monday” shows off the talents of the Mamas and the Papas nicely, though not as well as does “California Dreaming.” I agree with songwriter Cynthia Weil that “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” is “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” sideways, but I take that as a compliment, despite not quite reaching the same heights as the latter.

As for “Yellow Submarine,” it does have a novelty sound, but a fine and fun one. Not to mention a more enjoyable chorus than Snoopy vs. the Red Baron. 

• HD scores: “Nowhere Man” – 8 + “Paperback Writer” – 9 + “Snoopy vs. The Red Baron” – 3 = 20

• BM scores: “Monday, Monday” – 8 + “Soul & Inspiration” – 7 + “Yellow Submarine” – 7 = 22

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1967

“A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” is a little bit of a knockoff of “I’m a Believer” by songwriter Neil Diamond, and only Davy Jones participated in the recording. It’s passable, but just intermittently pleasurable. “Daydream Believer” is better, but as with “Hello Goodbye,” it’s a little shy of the top echelon of the work by the acts involved.

As for BM, we have our first perfect scores for all three. Procol Harum may be considered a one-hit wonder by some here in the United States, but when that one hit is “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” that’s a bigger musical legacy than some acts with dozens of top 40 hits. “Ode to Billie Joe” still gives me chills every time I hear it. 

And I don’t care what Tom Breihan has written about it: By vividly creating an enticing vision of a community through music and lyrics, “Penny Lane” is perfection. It overpowers the nice but not great Mamas and Papas knockoff “Sunday Will Never Be the Same” (which is an a 6), which also jumped 49 points in one week.

• HD scores: “A Little Bit Me, A Little Be You” – 6 + Daydream Believer – 8 + Hello Goodbye – 8 = 22

• BM scores: “A Whiter Shade of Pale” – 10 + “Ode to Billie Joe” – 10 + “Penny Lane” – 10 = 30

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1968

“Hey Jude” is considered one of the Beatles’ all-time best by several sources, and I mostly concur. But I have to admit, I would’ve been fine if they faded out the “na, na na na, na na na na” part at the end sooner. “Lady Madonna” is the Beatles in “Yellow Submarine” novelty territory again due to Paul aping Fats Domino’s vocal and a really odd middle part. Pretty good, but they had better singles. In fact, “Valleri” sounds more like what the Beatles should be doing in 1968 for a solid up-tempo number.

“Harper Valley P.T.A.” is a delightful ditty about small town hypocrisy hampered by some dated production. “Ain’t No Way” is one of Aretha’s finest, which is saying a lot. And “Hello, I Love You” is a fantastic showcase for Jim Morrison’s vocals and the band’s musicianship. It’s another close contest, but BM ekes out a win, nonetheless.

• HD scores: “Hey Jude” – 9 + “Lady Madonna” – 6 + “Valleri” – 8 = 24

• BM scores: “Harper Valley P.T.A.” – 7 + “Ain’t No Way”– 10 + “Hello, I Love You” – 8 = 25

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1969

Five years after storming the Hot 100, the Beatles prove they are just as commercially and creatively potent as ever. They just miss a perfect score because I’m slightly not as impressed by “Come Together” as I am with “Get Back” and “Something,” which are classics. 

I see little reason for the distaff side of previous hits offered here by Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. Except maybe that Franklin wanted to show she could an upbeat version of “Eleanor Rigby” and Warwick was contractually bound to record every composition by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Both versions are so-so, fall short of the originals and are mostly forgotten today.

On the other hand, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” remains a great medley from the musical Hair and is always a joy to hear.

• HD scores: “Get Back” – 10 +“Something” – 10 + “Come Together” – 9 = 29

• BM scores: “Eleanor Rigby” – 5 + “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” – 9 + “This Girl’s in Love with You” – 5 = 19

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For the next installment, we enter the 1970s.

We’ll have the Beatles…. some ex-Beatles…. and some really unexpected entries to cover, so stay tuned!

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