Rank	Title	Artist	Special Notes	Year
150	Hair	The Cowsills		'69
149	New York Mining Disaster 1941/I Can't See Nobody	The Bee Gees	Robin Gibb's vocals are haunting!	'67
148	You're The One	The Vogues		'65
147	Waterloo	Abba	The only Abba song on the survey, but I love these guys nonetheless!	'74
146	Cherry Cherry	Neil Diamond		'66
145	One More Try	Timmy T	Stellar vocal performance!	'91
144	(not just) Knee Deep	Funkadelic	"she was totally deep/when she did the freak with me"	'78
143	It's My Party	Lesley Gore	"you would cry too if it happened to you"	'63
142	I Drove All Night	Cyndi Lauper	My Number One song of 1989!	'89
141	Kicks	Paul Revere & the Raiders		'66
140	How Old Are You/Juliet	Robin Gibb	big hits in Britain, Robin's underappreciated in the U.S.	'83
139	Send In The Clowns	Judy Collins	And bring on the tears!	'75
138	Second To No One	Rosanne Cash	"she thinks she's got the key to your heart/now i've got to wait by the door"--Uh-uh!	'86
137	There Will Always Be A You	Donna Summer	From "Bad Girls", one of the greatest love songs of all time. For EW.	'79
136	Someone To Lay Down Beside Me	Linda Ronstadt	"even though it's not real"--yeah, i've been there!	'76
135	Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter	Herman's Hermits		'65
134	Five O'Clock World	The Vogues		'66
133	The End Of The World	Skeeter Davis	"why do the birds go on singing/don't they know it's the end of the world?" Too sad!	'62
132	Boys Do Fall In Love	Robin Gibb	Guess you figured out I love this guy!	'84
131	You're Only Lonely	J.D.Souther	Beautifully sung, gorgeous melody!	'79
130	Games People Play	Joe South		'69
129	Black Is Black	Los Bravos	Passionately sung!	'66
128	Dancing Bear	The Mamas & Papas	Minor hit with fairy-tale like qualities!	'67
127	They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!	Napoleon XIV	The creepiest pop record of all time!	'66
126	I'll Always Come A'Runnin'	Bob McGilpin	He was a disco artist, but this was a flat-out love song that shoulda been a hit!	'79
125	You Dropped A Bomb On Me	The Gap Band	Impossible not to move to this!	'82
124	Rough Edges	Kim Carnes	Forget "Bette Davis Eyes"; she knew how to sell a ballad. From "Cafe Racers". "we learn to hold it in/hide our hearts, don't let it show"	'86
123	Secret Agent Man	Johnny Rivers	So sixties, so fun!	'66
122	How'd We Ever Get This Way	Andy Kim	Debut single from a truly under-rated pop genius!	'68
121	Let's Live For Today	The Grass Roots		'67
120	Runaway	Del Shannon	Killer voice!	'61
119	The Boxer	Simon & Garfunkel	Paul at his lyrical/melodic best!	'69
118	I've Gotta Get A Message To You	The Bee Gees	Robin again!	'68
117	Journey To The Center Of The Mind	The Amboy Dukes	A natural fun high, even though it features the repugnant Ted Nugent!	'68
116	That Lovin' You Feelin' Again	Roy Orbison & Emmylou Harris	Stunning vocal trade-offs by two powerhouse voices!	'80
115	Mrs. Robinson	Simon & Garfunkel	"where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio/our nation turns its lonely eyes to you"--the Summer of '68 personified!	'68
114	Mony Mony	Tommy James & The Shondells	Nonsensical danceable sixties fun!	'68
113	Get Off My Cloud	The Rolling Stones	Perfect blend of Keith's guitar work and Mick's vocals!	'65
112	Brown Eyed Girl	Van Morrison	Young n' lustful sixties fun!	'67
111	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	Elton John	Elton's melody & vox + Bernie's lyrics=pop perfection!	'73
110	Cathy's Clown	The Everly Brothers	That melody, those harmonies!	'60
109	I'm Gonna Make You Love Me	Diana Ross and The Supremes & The Temptations	Diana & Eddie Kendricks at their soulful best!	'68
108	California Nights	Lesley Gore	Featured in the "Batman" episode where Lesley played "Pussycat" who had the hots for Robin!	'67
107	Society's Child	Janis Ian	"they said i can't see you anymore"--probably the greatest introspective songwriter ever!	'67
106	Hush	Deep Purple	"hush, hush, i thought i heard her calling my name now"	'68
105	Lay Lady Lay	Bob Dylan	"why wait any longer for the one you love/when he's standing in front of you" And, oh, that steel guitar!	'69
104	I Started A Joke	The Bee Gees	"til i finally died/which started the whole world living" Talk about feeling like a misfit!	'68
103	Dizzy	Tommy Roe	Just so fun!	'69
102	Happy Together	The Turtles	"i can't see me lovin' nobody but you/for all my life"	'67
101	Mendocino	Sir Douglas Quintet		'69
100	I Don't Know How To Love Him	Yvonne Elliman	Me neither. Sorry, Helen Reddy, but Yvonne nailed this one!	'71
99	Elton's Song	Elton John	Gorgeous melody by Elton, lyrics by Tom Robinson, this buried album track from "The Fox" hits right from the gut and explains a lot about Elton the man!	'81
98	Dance Dance Dance	The New Seekers	"mississippi mud never touched her fingers/california sand was a nightmare" Super bouncy fun that shoulda been a smash!	'72
97	Carolina Caroline	Jonathan Edwards	Minor Canadian country hit, from an excellent album "Sailboat"!	'77
96	I'm Gonna Make You Mine	Lou Christie	Total 60's style pop fun highlighted by that gorgeous falsetto!	'69
95	I'm A Believer/(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone	The Monkees	Written by Neil Diamond and Boyce & Hart, respectively, both sung with gusto by Mickey Dolenz!	'67
94	The Letter	The Box Tops	Perhaps the shortest piece of pop perfection ever!	'67
93	Where Did Our Love Go	The Supremes	The one that started it all, with those opening handclaps, Mary and Flo's flawless backups, and Diana at her sultriest!	'64
92	Abraham, Martin, And John	Dion	Simple but heartfelt American sentiment of the late 60's!	'68
91	All I Need	Jack Wagner	"kissing you was not what i had planned" Laugh if you must, but I used to watch "GH" just to hear this before it became a hit. My #1 song of 1984!	'84
90	Shoot Em Up Baby	Andy Kim	Bouncy bubblegum one year before "Sugar Sugar", which Kim co-wrote!	'68
89	I Will Always Love You	Dolly Parton	Whitney Houston absolutely butchered this Parton classic, which Dolly has recorded numerous times, but the original is the best!	'74
88	Ramblin' Gamblin' Man	The Bob Seger System	This chugga chugga groove hit #1 in Detroit, and deservedly so. Smokin'!	'68
87	Slip Away	Clarence Carter	Soulful, horny longing with that classic Memphis instrumental backup!	'68
86	You Keep Me Hangin' On	The Supremes/Vanilla Fudge	Sure, the girls made it classic Motown fun, but the Fudge nailed the true sentiment in their slowed-down acid trip rendition!	'66/'68
85	Heartache And A Half/Let Me Be The First	Deborah Allen	Pure crystalline vocals, superb production, sentimental lyrics = perfection on these cuts from "Let Me Be The First"!	'85
84	I Fought The Law	The Bobby Fuller Four	Bouncy sixties fun!	'66
83	At Seventeen	Janis Ian	Another demonstration of Ian's songwriting prowess at its finest!	'75
82	We Got The Beat	The Go-Go's	Hope in the 80's that pop music could still be FUN! My Number One song of 1982!	'82
81	Delta Lady	Joe Cocker	Give that powerful voice a powerful melody to go with it, which is what happened here!	'69
80	The Sounds Of Silence	Simon & Garfunkel	"hello darkness my old friend/i've come to talk to you again" Those lyrics! That tune! Those harmonies!	'66
79	Only A Dream	Mary Chapin Carpenter	From "Come On Come On", a first hand narrative of a sister leaving the nest brings tears to my eyes, sung from the heart. For MBM.	'92
78	Lightnin' Strikes	Lou Christie	Sophisticated bubblegum!	'66
77	Medicine Man	The Buchanan Brothers	"don't you know that i'm the man/understand/i'm the only one who can/i'm the bad/make you glad/medicine man"	'69
76	Tracy	The Cuff-Links	Ron Dante taking the lead on this fluffy bit of fun!	'69
75	In The Ghetto	Elvis Presley/Candi Staton	Socially relevant, poetic, melodic, Staton gets the edge on authenticity!	'69/'72
74	Candy	Iggy Pop with Kate Pierson	"down on those streets, those men are all insane" Odd vocal pairing, but Pierson's vocals make it soar!	'91
73	Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town	Kenny Rogers & the First Edition	Poignant, superbly sung & produced!	'69
72	Rocket Man	Elton John	"and i think it's gonna be a long, long time" The first Elton song I really, really loved!	'72
71	Billie's Theme	Hoyt Axton	"i never dreamed you'd mean a thing to me/but when i needed your lovin'/you gave me lovin'/the way it oughta be" Elegantly written and sung, from the movie "Buster And Billie" on Hoyt's LP, "When The Morning Comes"	'76
70	Tiptoe Thru The Tulips With Me	Tiny Tim	Yes, this is one of the worst records ever made, but at 10 years of age, I loved Tiny Tim, and picked up my first record survey because he was on the cover; the rest is history!	'68
69	White Rabbit	Jefferson Airplane	Featured in the TV movie, "Go Ask Alice", I really related!	'67
68	Believe	Cher	No, I didn't think it was possible, either, but Cher scores her biggest hit ever with this soaring disco track!	'99
67	England Swings	Roger Miller	"like a pendulum do/bobbies on bicycles two by two"	'65
66	I Hear Those Church Bells Ringing	Dusk	To capitalize on the success of Dawn, Bell Records turned out another studio group, this one with a female lead singer. The group fizzled, but this song is kitschy fun!	'71
65	Think	Aretha Franklin	Sister Re at her sassiest, and that's saying a lot!	'68
64	Down In The Boondocks	Billy Joe Royal	"i love her/she loves me/but i don't fit in her society"	'65
63	To Sir With Love	Lulu	"how do you thank someone/who's taken you from crayons to perfume?"	'67
62	Denise	Randy And The Rainbows	"oh, denise, skooby-doo/i'm in love with you, denise, skooby-doo"	'63
61	She's A Heartbreaker	Gene Pitney	"she's dynamite/she's got me uptight/the way you sock it to me girl/you're outta sight/heartbreaker"	'68
60	Time Of The Season	The Zombies	"what's your name/who's your daddy/is he rich like me?"	'69
59	Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)	Charity Brown	The Doobie Brothers had a national hit with this Motown remake, but it paled compared to this Canadian version played on Detroit radio!	'75
58	Wicked Game	Chris Isaak	The sexiest video ever, and a knockout vocal performance!	'91
57	Traces	Classics IV	I used to cry when this song came on, and I was only 11!	'69
56	Pleasant Valley Sunday/Words	The Monkees	How I loved this group in the 60's!	'67
55	Sunday Morning 6 O'Clock	The Camel Drivers	This song didn't make the Billboard Hot 100, but was a minor Detroit hit and totally sixties, the first of two 45's I ever bought!	'68
54	Chevy Van	Sammy Johns	"woke up and took me by the hand/we made love in my chevy van/and that's alright with me"	'75
53	The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face	Roberta Flack	The perfect record following a session of love-making with someone you REALLY love!	'72
52	The Dance	Garth Brooks	I know he's tried, but nothing Garth's done since has matched the simple eloquence of this expertly sung and written ballad with a message, and oh, that piano intro! My Number One song of 1990!	'90
51	Please Come To Boston	Dave Loggins	Simple and heartfelt longing, my Number One song of 1974!	'74
50	Light My Fire	Jose Feliciano	It's a great song by the Doors, sure, but Jose's version sizzles with passion from the gut!	'68
49	Tuesday Afternoon	The Moody Blues	From "Days of Future Passed", one of the Greatest Albums ever recorded!	'68
48	Gloria	Shadows Of Knight	This garage classic so epitomizes the sixties for me!	'66
47	Someone Saved My Life Tonight	Elton John	"and i would've walked head on/to the deep end of the river"--Elton & Bernie meld perfectly on this ballad.	'75
46	Let Me Love You Once Before You Go	Barbara Fairchild	Greg Lake had a minor hit with this, but this original country version rules--"your eyes keep saying yes to me/so don't keep saying no"	'77
45	Those Were The Days	Mary Hopkin	Ah, yes, they were...	'68
44	Taxi	Harry Chapin	What a story, and how it builds, and that operatic thing in the middle--stunning!	'72
43	I Woke Up In Love This Morning	The Partridge Family	It was so uncool for a 13-year old boy to admit liking these guys, but this was my Number One song of 1971!	'71
42	Alone Again (Naturally)	Gilbert O'Sullivan	The saddest song ever put to a bouncy beat--brilliant!	'72
41	It's Too Late	Bobby Goldsboro	No, not the Carole King classic, but an uptempo kiss-off!	'65
40	Reach Out Of The Darkness	Friend & Lover	"i think it's so groovy now/that people are finally getting together" Right on, man!	'68
39	Twenty Years Ago	Kenny Rogers	A poignant look at how things change over time, eloquently sung and produced!	'87
38	Make My Life A Little Bit Brighter	Chester	This bouncy,up-tempo Robin McNamara-ish number didn't make the Hot 100, but was a minor hit on Canadian radio!	'73
37	I Hear A Symphony	The Supremes	"baby, baby" This was was the first Supremes song I ever heard, and I was hooked!	'65
36	Downtown	Petula Clark	"the lights are much brighter there/you can forget all your troubles/forget all your cares" This song perfectly evokes night in the city circa mid-60's!	'65
35	Something In Red	Lorrie Morgan	My Number One song of 1992, Morgan's voice starts sweetly, then comes full circle in a majestic crescendo, as the singer searches for just the right way to "turn someone's head"!	'92
34	Everybody Hurts	R.E.M.	I'm sitting in a bathtub, lamenting over a recent breakup, my crappy career, thinking life can't get any worse, when Michael Stipe's haunting voice coaxes me, "hold on/everybody hurts/sometimes." And I go on. And life becomes beautiful! My Number One song of 1993. For MK.	'93
33	Angel Of The Morning	Merilee Rush	I probably didn't understand what was going on in this song when I was 10 and loving it, but, man did it have resonance for me later on! "i see no need to take me home/i'm old enough to face the dawn"--yeah!!	'68
32	Mad About You	Belinda Carlisle	"a couple of fools run wild/aren't we" Belinda has one of the most distinct voices in all of pop music and I love just about everything she's ever sung! My Number One song of 1986, for MWH.	'86
31	On The Inside (Theme from "Prisoner Cell Block: H")	Lynne Hamilton	"he used to give me roses/i wish he would again" Those sweet words from an even sweeter voice opened and closed this British soap set in a women's prison, of all things. But I heard the song 5 times a week for months and never tired of it! I'm not sure if this was released in the U.S.	'80
30	Monday Monday	The Mamas and Papas	This group's male/female vocal interplay has never been equalled, and this tune's bouncy pep belies the lyrics' utter desperation! Genius!	'66
29	Watercolors	Janis Ian	"go find a fence/locate a shell/then hide yourself/go on, go to hell/go away from me/i need no charity" This cut from "Between The Lines"--one of the greatest albums ever--perfectly captures the angst of pining over lost love!	'75
28	Gloria	Laura Branigan	An incredibly catchy melody, set to a pulsating dance beat belted out by the bombastic Branigan, the Celine Dion of the 80's!	'82
27	Our Lips Are Sealed	The Go-Go's	This song has everything--a catchy melody, a bubblegummy pop beat, relevant lyrics, and stellar vocals from Belinda and Jane!	'81
26	Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer	Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes	Their voices meld beautifully on this gorgeous ballad that was my Number One song of 1980!	'80
25	Baby Come Back	The Equals	Not the Player song from the 70's, but a pulsating reggae number written by Eddy Grant of "Electric Avenue" fame that's just chugga-chugga fun!	'68
24	These Boots Are Made For Walkin'	Nancy Sinatra	That blond hair, that miniskirt, that voice, that bassline, that sass! "are you ready boots?/start walkin'" Yes ma'am!	'66
23	I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)	Elton John	"like the corn in the field i cut you down" With that opening verse, Elton & Bernie have come up with their greatest song ever! A minor hit, (the flip of "Grow Some Funk Of Your Own"), this tune perfectly captures the agony of dumping someone and then having second thoughts! For RJV.	'75
22	Jingle Jangle	The Archies	"sing me sing me baby/(ooh)/laaa la laaa la la la" You know by now I love fun in ma' music and this one's got it in spades!	'69
21	My Love	Petula Clark	From that big, brassy opening to the very end when Clark declares "there is nothing in this world that can ever change...my...love", it's sheer sixties fun from the premier girl singer of the decade!	'65
20	That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be	Carly Simon	"i'll never learn to be just me first/by myself" I love Carly. I've met Carly. I have all of Carly's albums. But in this beautifully crafted story song, a 13-year-old boy was able to consider the possibility that a woman didn't have to be Mrs. Somebody to be a whole person. Brilliant!	'71
19	Barbara Ann	The Beach Boys	Those opening "ba-ba-ba-baa/ba-ba-b'r-ann"'s lead into the spunkiest, giddiest tune ever set to record. Who can't bounce along to this sing-songy fun fest unless they're comatose or something?	'66
18	My Heart Will Go On	Celine Dion	She's become something of a joke with her breast-beating performances of this song, but there's no denying the impact it had on me for most of 1998--42 weeks on my list; my Number One song of that year and of the entire decade!	'98
17	Lady Willpower	Gary Puckett & The Union Gap	The second of the first two 45's I ever bought, this song isn't radically different from most of the group's limited repertoire, but still retains its sentimental hold over me.	'68
16	Time Won't Let Me	The Outsiders	"i/can't wait/forever/even though/you want/me to" The driving beat, horns, backing vocals, and youthful exuberance combine to make this the quintessential cruising-with-the-top-down song of the swingin' sixties!	'66
15	In The Year 2525	Zager & Evans	Some of the predictions expressed in this utterly captivating single are already coming true. This song fascinated me 30 years ago and was Number One on my first chart back in July 1969!	'69
14	Get Together	The Youngbloods	"come on people now/smile on your brother/everybody get together/try to love one another/right now" Still good advice today, this song really touched me in 1969 when it was used for a TV ad promoting brotherhood!	'69
13	Midnight Confessions	The Grass Roots	"what's that little gold ring/you wear on your hand/to make me understand/there's another before me/you'll never be mine/i'm wasting my time" Rock's sexiest male vocal performance til Chris Isaak!	'68
12	Stoned Love	The Supremes	The third single with lead singer Jean Terrell stayed at #1 for seven weeks on my chart in 1970, and it's not even her most successful entry on this list!	'70
11	Nothing But A Heartache	The Flirtations	This one-hit wonder group from Alabama should not be confused with the 90's male pop group, but the song was a major Detroit hit that only reached #34 nationally. I, however, loved it!	'69
10	Evergreen (Love Theme From "A Star Is Born")	Barbra Streisand	Until that "Titanic" song, this hit held the record on my chart with 37 weeks on the survey, 11 of them at #1, the all-time champ!	'77
9	Someday We'll Be Together	Diana Ross and the Supremes	Their last song together didn't feature Mary & Cindy at all, but still logged 9 weeks at #1 on my chart, a record unbroken until 1977. And this isn't even the highest Supremes song on this countdown!	'69
8	Lay A Little Lovin' On Me	Robin McNamara	"honey doggone it/i depend upon ya/so lay a little lovin' on me" Seldom has pop been so catchy and fun as this bubblegum hit by a one-hit wonder from the original cast of "Hair"!	'70
7	Who's Your Baby	The Archies	The vocal interplay between "Archie", "Jughead" and "Veronica" on this single so intrigued me that I actually forked out an additional 69 cents--more than half my weekly allowance--to replace my original worn-out copy. A national flop, and not the biggest Archies song on this countdown!	'70
6	Love's Got To Breathe And Fly	Buffy Sainte-Marie	"for me the best is/you are always changing" Unfortunately, most people have probably never heard this minor Canadian Adult Contemporary hit by this unique song stylist whose simple message of loving someone by setting them free was my Number One song of 1975!	'75
5	Floy Joy	The Supremes	Another one with Jean Terrell singing lead, this song epitomized the best of Motown--the signature hand claps, Mary's sultry vocal trade-offs, and an irresistible chorus penned by Smokey Robinson himself! My Number One song of 1972 and highest of the 11 Supremes songs on this countdown!	'72
4	Landslide	Fleetwood Mac	"well, i've been 'fraid of changing/cuz I built my life around you/but time made you bolder/even children get older/and i'm getting older too" The powerful lyrics combined with Lindsey Buckingham's crystal-clear guitar and Stevie Nicks' totally original voice moved me to tears more than once on this cut from the "Fleetwood Mac" album. Gorgeous!	'76
3	Mister Sandman	Emmylou Harris	Whether it's the single version with Emmylou overdubbing all the vocal parts herself or the album version with Linda and Dolly backing her up, this remake of the 1950's Chordettes' hit-- my Number One song of 1981 and the entire decade--is the song I want played at my funeral as a reminder of all the good times. And thank you, God, there were many!	'81
2	Here There And Everywhere	Emmylou Harris	"i want Him everywhere/and if He's beside me i know i need never care" Lennon & McCartney may have wrote a beautiful song to begin with, but when Emmylou wrapped her crystalline voice around those lyrics and added those strings near the end, it became THE ultimate love song of all time. My Number One song of 1976 and of the entire decade from my Number One artist of the Century--Emmylou Harris!	'76
1	Sugar Sugar	The Archies	No surprise here if you've been following my penchant for "fun" in this countdown, but I chose "Sugar Sugar" as Number One for other reasons as well. At the tender age of 11, my obsession for comic books and "Dark Shadows" was being eclipsed by my passion for music. In addition to writing my own comics, novels, and "screenplays", I was now writing my own songs and singing them into my little reel-to-reel tape recorder. Maybe I wanted to BE an "Archie"? Whatever, eventually, music completely took over. In July, 1969, I began compiling my own weekly "Big 15" record charts, a practice that--embarassingly or not-- continues more than thirty years later, thus providing the impetus for this countdown. Most importantly, hearing "Sugar Sugar" today has the power to take me back to a time when the world WAS my playground. And you know what? I believe it still is! Thanks to Ron Dante, Jeff Barry, Andy Kim and everyone associated with the production of my Number One song of the Century--"you are my candy and you got me wanting YOU"!--sammyboynyc	'69

Sam's Absolute Chart Page