Special Sub-Topic: Lyrical Questions - 1963 Authored by: maddogrick16 Sub-topic of: Music from 1963

These lines came from a #1 1963 hit, a folky type number. "Everybody's talkin' 'bout a new way of walkin', do you want to lose your mind?". Can you get it?

Walk Right In. Recorded by The Rooftop Singers, it peaked on the Billboard charts at # 1 for two weeks in January 1963. Their follow up song "Tom Cat" achieved top 20 status but that would be it for the group. Within four years they would disband. The song was originally introduced in 1930 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers.

Another #1 from 1963: "Oh, how you tried to cut me down to size Tellin' dirty lies to my friends But my own father said 'Give her up, don't bother The world isn't coming to an end'"

Walk Like A Man. This hit #1 for the Four Seasons in March of the year. At this point, they had released four singles and three of them were #1's. Their reign as "Kings of the Musical Hill" had about eleven months to go before the Beatles would usurp their crown.

"He'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love From now until forever, forever, forever" The singer is certainly making her point! What's the song?

I Will Follow Him. "Little" Peggy March was 15 years old when this song topped the charts making her the youngest female soloist ever to have a #1 hit. I believe this record is still in tact as of 2004. She would only have two more minor hits in North America, both in 1963. However, in 1964 she moved to Germany and began to record songs in several European languages as well as Japanese. She continues to perform and tour both in N. America and abroad.

"There’s this cute little girlie, she’s a’workin’ there A black leotard and her feet are bare I’m gonna drink a lotta coffee, spend a little cash Make that girl love me when I put on some trash" Where was the "cute little girlie" working?

Sugar Shack. "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs would be a five week #1 song in October of the year and ultimately, the biggest hit of 1963. Their follow up, "Daisy Petal Picking" was a minor success then several lean years followed. "Bottle Of Wine" was a #9 hit in 1968 but shortly after that, the group disbanded.

Name this #1 song! "Nobody knows where my Johnny has gone Judy left the same time Why was he holding her hand When he's supposed to be mine"

It's My Party. Leslie Gore was only 17 when this ditty hit #1 in June 1963. Quincy Jones discovered her singing in a Manhattan Hotel and became her producer. She would have ten top 40 songs under Jones' aegis. By the late '60's, she focussed more on music composition than on recording and performing. As of the early 2000's she is back into touring and has designs on composing a musical stage revue.

"How many years can a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea? And how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?" What was the name of this big hit?

Blowin' In The Wind. As sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, this Bob Dylan song reached #2 on the charts. The folk music craze led by Dylan, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton and all the others was at it's zenith by this time and coffee houses were springing up everywhere to capitalize.

"I was at a dance when he caught my eye Standin' all alone lookin' sad and shy We began to dance, swaying to and fro And soon I knew I'd never let him go" What was the title of this song?

Blame It On The Bossa Nova. A pretty big hit for Eydie Gorme, it peaked at #7 in the spring. Although the Bossa Nova was a popular dance in Brazil largely due to the compositions of Luiz Bonfa, the craze didn't amount to much in North America. Eydie married Steve Lawrence in 1957 and they've remained together ever since.

"I knew that he was mine so I gave him all the love that I had And one day he took me home to meet his mom and his dad Then he asked me to be his bride And always be right by his side I felt so happy I almost cried" This was a #6 song for one of the girl groups of the day. I want to know the song's title.

Then He Kissed Me. This was one of the Crystals three top ten hits. They were from Brooklyn.

Here's another big hit from 1963. "I'm not supposed to be alone with you I know that your lips are sweet But our lips must never meet I belong to someone else, and I must be true."

Go Away Little Girl. This was Steve Lawrence's only #1 hit. It was also a #1 hit for Donnie Osmond in 1971 and I could only find five other instances where the same song was #1 for two different artists during the rock era. They were: "You Keep Me Hanging On" - Supremes (1966) & Kim Wilde (1987); "Venus" - Shocking Blue (1970) & Banarama (1986); "Lean On Me" - Bill Withers (1972) & Club Nouveau (1987); "Locomotion" - Little Eva (1962) & Grand Funk (1974); "Lady Marmalade" - LaBelle (1975) & Aguilera, Lil Kim, Mya and Pink (2001).

"He went away and you hung around And bothered me every night And when I wouldn't go out with you You said things that ________________" The song was "My Boyfriend's Back", a #1 for The Angels. Choose the words that complete the lyric.

weren't very nice. This was a chart topper for three weeks for this girl group from Orange, New Jersey. They only had three top 40 songs in their career and by the mid-1960's were reduced to doing back-up vocals for others like Lou Christie.

Here's another lyric from yet another girl group. Name the song! "That handsome boy over there, the one with the wavy hair I don't know how I'm gonna do it but I'm gonna make him mine Be the envy of all the girls, it's just a matter of time" It was a #1 hit for four weeks in April.

He's So Fine. The Chiffons were from the Bronx and also did a considerable amount of back-up singing throughout the 1960's. It sure was difficult separating all these girl groups at the time - I had the same problem with rap singers in the 1990's!

Enough girl groups, at least for awhile! Identify this hit. "She's got ruby lips, she's got shapely hips, yeah Boy she makes ole Roy-oy flip"

Mean Woman Blues. Roy Orbison had "a woman mean as she could be" and it propelled him to #5 on the charts.

"Well I'm not braggin' babe so don't put me down But I've got the fastest set of wheels in town When something comes up to me he don't even try Cause if I had a set of wings man I know she could fly" What car were the Beach Boys braggin' on?

Little Deuce Coupe. After all their surfing songs, they did a few about cars then came the girls phase before settling into more mature stuff like "Good Vibrations", God Only Knows" and "Heroes And Villains".

"Guess there's no use in hangin' 'round Guess I'll get dressed and do the town I'll find some crowded avenue Though it will be empty without you" This was Andy Williams last big hit, a #2 ballad in 1963.

Can't Get Used To Losing You. Andy was 35 years old by now and was devoting almost all his energies into his TV show.

"Some people say I'm a no 'count Others say I'm no good But I'm just a natural-born travellin' man Doin' what I think I should, oh yeah Doin' what I think I should" Identify this old hootenanny favorite!

Greenback Dollar. Only a #21 hit for the Kingston Trio, it was a rouser! Folk music was undergoing a transformation at this time. These types of songs were starting to give way to the more introspective protest songs thanks to the influence of Dylan and others.

"Though I know you're the kind of boy Who only wants to run around I'll keep waiting, and someday darling You'll come to me when you want to settle down" This Carole King composition was a #5 hit for the Chiffons. It was?

One Fine Day. Carole herself covered this song in 1980 and had a #12 hit with it.

"I bought a '30 Ford wagon and we call it a woody You know it's not very cherry, it's an oldie but a goody Well, it ain't got a back seat or a rear window But it still gets me where I wanna go" What was the title of this surfin' classic?

Surf City. "Surf City" was Jan and Dean's big contribution to the surfing genre. Co-written by Jan Berry and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, it topped the charts for two weeks in August.

"My friends all tell me go to him, run to him Say sweet lovely things to him and tell him - he's the one. Deep in my heart I know it, but it's so hard to show it" Acccording to the lyric that follows, why is it so hard?

because it's "Easier Said Than Done". "Easier Said Than Done" was a #1 song for two weeks by a group named Essex. They formed in 1962 while members of the U.S. Marines stationed at Camp LeJeune in N. Carolina. "A Walkin' Miracle" was their follow-up and it charted at #12 later in the year but that was all, folks. I suspect the group broke up as members were discharged from the service.

"I got mad at you last night When you were holding another girl tight But when I thought of all your charms I bounced back in to your arms" This was a Carole King/Gerry Goffen collaboration and a #7 hit for Skeeter Davis in 1963. The title was?

I Can't Stay Mad At You. This was just one of a number of King/Goffen hits they would conjure up. Skeeter was predominately a C&W artist and over the years from 1958 to 1976, she had a total of 41 hits on the country charts.

Another big #2 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary was this classic. "_____ the magic dragon lived by the sea And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee" The dragon's name was?

Puff. This poignant song recounts the passage of time. As the lyrics put it, "A dragon lives forever but not so little boys. Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys." Peter Yarrow was one of the co-writers of the song.