Alrighty then!...Where were we? Oh yeah, the countdown...Let's move on to day #2 and songs that finished from #66 to #56. Surprises? Oh yeah...more than a jack-format-in-a-box. Let the games beeee-gin!
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Not to sound like a broken record...or is that "Baroque-en" record?...well
anyway, let's hear from a "Baroque Rock" group out of New York called the Left
Banke. Peaking at #5 nationally, this hit got all the way to #2 on WABC's All American
Survey. Keyboardist Michael Brown would later go on to have a #1 song with the group
Stories and "Brother Louie" in 1973, making him a rare one-hit wonder TWICE,
having two top five hits with two different groups. #66 - WALK AWAY RENEE - Left Banke
(1966).
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So what "Rat Pack" member do you think sang our next survey song? Right! It's
Peter Lawford...um...oops...wrong...Better make that Mr. Chairman of the Board, sir. And
sure...NOW you appreciate this song, but when it was out, WABC didn't even PLAY the song
and it only got to #27 nationally for the then 62 year-old Frank Sinatra. Composed by
French singer/songwriter Claude Francois, Paul Anka translated it and re-wrote it. You put
in on our survey for the fifth time this year. #65 - MY WAY - Frank Sinatra (1969).
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Newport, Rhode Island's hometown favorites...enter and sign in please! Originally recorded
for a TV special, it's the title song from the Broadway musical that climbed to #2,
ironically being kept from the top spot by the Fifth Dimension's "Aquarius",
ANOTHER song from that same play. After this hit, the Cowsills went on to record two more
songs, neither one of which peaked any higher than #74. #64 - HAIR - The Cowsills (1969).
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Let's go waaay back for a REAL oldie but goodie, recorded on April 12, 1954! Entering the
charts in May of the following year, it was #1 for eight weeks and is considered by many
to be the very first rock and roll song. It's from the classic movie "Blackboard
Jungle". #63 - ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK (1955).
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On we go to a song that's back on the list for the first time since 1998 and is a former
#1. And we still don't know who the heck Carly Simon is talking about. Hmmm...could it be
Mick Jagger? Warren Beatty? James Taylor? Allan Sniffen? Well actually, NBC Sports
President Dick Ebersol knows because he won a 2003 charity auction for $50,000 to find out
who Carly Simon was writing about. But since he signed a confidentiality agreement, nobody
knows but him. #62 - YOU'RE SO VAIN Carly Simon (1973).
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Recorded on April 13, 1965, this next hit was #1 for Labor Day of that year. John Lennon
wrote it as a cry for help during a time he was, as he put it, "completely
lost". And he always felt the song was too fast. From the movie originally called
"Eight Arms to Hold You" after the eight-armed god Kali in the flick, this is
the title track. #61 - HELP The Beatles (1965).
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This next song always reminds me of holiday time in 1967. Hired to do a Beatles spin-off
TV show that lasted from 1966 to 1968, the guys used the show as a vehicle to promote
songs. The group ended up with ten national top 20 hits and three #1 songs. This #1 hit
was remixed and re-released in 1986, but only got up to #79. Hey, hey it's the Monkees!
#60 - DAYDREAM BELIEVER - The Monkees (1967).
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Here's a song that didn't get much radio airplay in 1966 and only got to #39 because most
stations were playing the "A" side, "Wouldn't It Be Nice". But since
then it's become a fan favorite. Said to have inspired The Beatles' "Here, There and
Everywhere", it's Carl Wilson on lead. #59 - GOD ONLY KNOWS - The Beach Boys (1966).
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With 21 songs getting votes, here's the fourth biggest act on this year's countdown. On
WABC, they had 25 top 20 hits and four #1's. And this song holds the unique record of
being the only song ever to finish in a tie for #2 on the weekly WABC survey when on March
10, 1964, it tied with the Beatles and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". #58 - DAWN
(GO AWAY) The Four Seasons (1965).
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Here's the biggest hit for Texan native Roy Orbison. #1 for two weeks in 1964, it was
Roy's last top 20 hit until "You Got It" in 1989, a year after his death. One of
eight top 20 hits on WABC and eleven national top 20 hits, it's dropping down from #25
last year in its' fifth year on the Top 77. #57 - OH PRETTY WOMAN - Roy Orbison (1964).
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#56 is a big surprise, never even charting in the U.S.! Written by Ray Davies years before
The Kinks recorded it, "Liverpool Sunset" became "Waterloo Sunset"
once The Beatles released "Penny Lane" since Ray didn't want the song to look
like a rip-off. The line, "Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station" refers to actor
Terence Stamp and actress Julie Christie. #56 - WATERLOO SUNSET - The Kinks (1967).
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There you have it...part two of our countdown. Now remember to tune in tomorrow, kiddies.
Same bat time, same bat channel for our next segment, including a summer song that was out
in the dead of winter, that song we've been talking about from 1970 that never ever never
made the survey before...ever...and a Beatles #1 hit that Paul never wanted released! See
ya real soon!
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