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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 25 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Music from 1961
| "When we kiss my heart's on fire, burning with a strange desire.
And I know each time I kiss you, that your heart's on fire too."
The title, please?
| Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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Surrender. Just another #1 song for Elvis. The template was his big hit from 1960, "It's Now Or Never". For "Surrender" the melody was again from an old Italian song, "Come Back To Sorrento", English lyrics from Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman were added, up the tempo with a Latin flavor... voila... big hit.
| "With eyes as black as coal that look down in my soul and starts a fire there and then I lose control, I have to beg your pardon.
I'm going to pick that rose and watch her as she grows in my garden."
Can you identify the title for this 1961 hit?
| Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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Spanish Harlem. This was the first big song for Ben E. King after departing the Drifters. The sound was the same and for years, until I started paying attention to such things, I always identified this as a Drifters song. It only peaked at #10 and I can't understand why it wasn't a bigger hit. Great melody, great lyrics. Leiber and Spector were the songwriters.
| "I'm a travellin' man, I've made a lot of stops all over the world.
And in every part I own the heart of at least one lovely girl."
The question is: how many girl friends does Ricky Nelson tell us about in "Travellin' Man"? | Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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5. 1. I've a pretty Seniorita waiting for me down in old Mexico...
2. If you're ever in Alaska stop and see my cute little Eskimo...
3. My sweet Fraulein down in Berlin town makes my heart start to yearn...
4. My China doll down in old Hong Kong waits for my return...
5. Pretty Polynesian baby over the sea, I remember the night when we walked in the sands of the Waikiki and I held you oh so tight.
The song was written by Jerry Fuller and was #1 for two weeks.
his "Mother-In-Law". Ernie K-Doe, real name Ernest Kador, Jr., had his only hit song with this classic. A #1 to boot in May 1961.
Tossin' And Turnin'. "Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis was the biggest song of 1961, #1 for seven weeks! He never even came close to replicating this success with only three other songs cracking the Billboard Top 100, the biggest being the #9 hit "One Track Mind" later that year.
| "Now I don't mean to bother you but I'm in distress.
There's danger of me losing all of my happiness.
For I love a girl who doesn't know I exist and this you can fix."
Whom is the singer beseeching for help? | Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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Cupid. Not a real big hit for Sam Cooke at the time only peaking at #17, it has stood the test of time and is now one of the songs most closely identified with him.
Wooden Heart. This didn't happen very often but Joe Dowell had a #1 hit with this nugget in direct competition to Elvis who also recorded the song. Elvis' version only reached #107 in the "Bubbling Under" chart despite the fact he recorded the song first and sang it in the 1960 flick "G.I. Blues". There has to be a bigger story there but I don't know it. Dowell only had one other chart entry... "Little Red Rented Rowboat", a #23 song the following year.
I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door. Eddie Hodges was the artist of this #12 hit. Eddie was primarily an actor starring as Frank Sinatra's son in the movie "Hole In The Head" in 1959 and as Huckleberry Finn in the 1960 movie "The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn" in 1960. By the late '60's, he left the entertainment business altogether and became a drug rehab counselor in his native Mississippi.
| "I'd give a lotta dough if only I could know.
The answer to my question is it yes or is it no."
Is the question - "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On The Bedpost Overnight?" | Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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Yes. More zaniness from Lonnie Donegan and his skiffle group. A #5 hit in 1961, it was originally recorded and became a #9 hit in 1924 for Ernest Hare and Billy Jones. The "chewing gum" reference was "Spearmint" in the earlier version.
| "And if you should discover that you don't really love her,
just send my baby back home to me"
What was the song and who was the artist? | Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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"Take Good Care Of My Baby" - Bobby Vee. Bobby's first and only #1 song in October 1961. He and his original band "The Shadows" were the group that filled in for Buddy Holly in Fargo, N.D., the next scheduled gig for Holly and where he was flying to when his plane went down.
| "River Jordan is chilly and cold, alleluia.
Chills the body but not the soul, alleluia."
Can you identify the folk singers responsible for this #1 hit?
| Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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The Highwaymen. The original title was "Michael Row The Boat Ashore", a 19th century folk song but this version was simply entitled "Michael". The Highwaymen's only other hit was "Cottonfields" later in the year.
| "Though I smiled the tears inside were a-burnin'.
I wished him luck and then he said goodbye.
He was gone but still his words kept returnin'.
What else was there for me to do but cry."
The song was? | Lyrics from the Early '60's - 1961
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(Marie's The Name Of) His Latest Flame. Another Presley gem. However, only a #4 hit.
| "When the night has come and the land is dark
and the moon is the only light we'll see."
What was the title of this #4 song from the summer of 1961? | More Lyrics From 1961!
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Stand By Me. Without doubt, this has become Ben E. King's most enduring and covered song. It even returned to the charts with its re-release in 1986 as a #9 hit when it was featured in the movie of the same name. Others to chart with this song include Spyder Turner (#12 in 1967), John Lennon (#20 in 1975) and Mickey Gilley (#22 in 1980).
| "I thought that I was over you but it’s true, so true.
I love you even more than I did before but darling, what can I do?"
The title of this big hit?
| More Lyrics From 1961!
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Crying. Roy Orbison scored the first hit with "Crying" and oddly enough, it wasn't the biggest hit of the record... the flip or "A" side was "Running Scared" and it was #1 in June of 1961. "Crying" ultimately peaked at #2 in the late fall. Jay and The Americans had a #25 hit with the song in 1966 and Don McLean hit #5 in 1981. In Canada, k.d.lang's version got a lot of airplay in the early 1990's but it never did break onto the Billboard charts.
| "Tonight with words unspoken, you'll say that I'm the only one.
But will my heart be broken when the night meets the morning sun?"
Name this #1 from The Shirelles. | More Lyrics From 1961!
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Will You Love Me Tomorrow. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" would be the first of two #1 hits for the Shirelles, the second being "Soldier Boy" the following year. With the exception of The Supremes of course, The Shirelles no doubt had the biggest impact on pop music of all the girl groups in the early '60's in terms of chart success and career durability. They were active well into the 1970's although the hits had dried up by then.
| "I'm a-walkin' in the rain, tears are fallin' and I feel the pain.
Wishin' you were here by me to end this misery."
Name this huge #1 hit?
| More Lyrics From 1961!
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Runaway. I hope I didn't trick you with "Crying In The Rain", a #6 song by the Everly's in 1962. "Runaway" was Del Shannon's breakout hit and was #1 for four weeks in the spring of '61. His intelligent song writing and falsetto voice helped him maintain his popularity until about 1965 and the "British" invasion. After 1965, he was financially secure due to prudent real estate investments but he continued to tour hoping to duplicate his successes of the early '60's. Although he did have one more moderate hit with a cover of "Sea Of Love" in 1982, years of alcohol and drug abuse coupled with severe depression resulted in his suicide by gunshot in 1990 at the age of 50.
| "Hats off to _________, he broke your heart,
just like you broke mine when you said we must part."
Another Del Shannon lyric. What is the name of the fellow he's acknowledging?
| More Lyrics From 1961!
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Larry. "Hats Off To Larry" was the #5 follow-up hit to Del Shannon's "Runaway".
| "It's really something when the joint is jumping,
when they do the _______ ________."
What are "they" doing? | More Lyrics From 1961!
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Bristol Stomp. "Bristol Stomp" was #2 song for The Dovells in the fall of 1961. The group was from the Philadelphia area and Bristol is a small town just outside of Philadelphia. The group had one more big hit "You Can't Sit Down" in 1963. Later that year, the group's lead singer, Len Barry, went solo and although the group carried on, no hits ensued. Barry didn't fare much better although he did have one big hit in 1965, a #2 song "1-2-3".
| "When Noah had drifted on the flood many days,
he searched for land in various ways."
What was the title of this #12 song that had Biblical overtones? | More Lyrics From 1961!
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Wings Of A Dove. Ferlin Husky recorded this song in 1960 and it was #1 for several weeks on the country charts that year. It finally crossed over to the pop charts in 1961. Husky only had one other pop chart success, "Gone", a #4 hit in 1957 but he was a stalwart country music performer for many, many years.
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