| Telstar | The Tornadoes |
| Go Away Little Girl | Steve Lawrence |
| Walk Right In | The Rooftop Singers |
| Hey Paula | Paul and Paula |
| Walk Like A Man | The 4 Seasons |
| Our Day Will Come | Ruby And The Romantics |
| He's So Fine | The Chiffons |
| I Will Follow Him | Little Peggy March |
| If You Wanna Be Happy | Jimmy Soul |
| It's My Party | Lesley Gore |
| Sukiyaki | Kyu Sakamoto |
| Easier Said Than Done | The Essex |
| Surf City | Jan & Dean |
| So Much In Love | The Tymes |
| Fingertips - Pt 2 | Little Stevie Wonder |
| My Boyfriend's Back | The Angels |
| Blue Velvet | Bobby Vinton |
| Sugar Shack | Jimmy Gilmer And The Fireballs |
| Deep Purple | Nino Tempo & April Stevens |
| I'm Leaving It Up To You | Dale & Grace |
| Dominique | The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire) |
As we go further into the 1960s, rock 'n' roll is starting to take over the charts, pushing country and instrumentals to the side. Some country hits still hold on, like "Go Away Little Girl," by Steve Lawrence, but the shift in popular music is undeniable. The song that stayed on top for the longest in 1963 was Jimmy Gilmer's "Sugar Shack." We also get our first number 1 hit by Stevie Wonder, who was only 12 years old at the time, the live song "Fingertips - Pt 2" (the whole song was too long to be a single in 1963). This year also bizarrely featured not one, but two foreign language songs: "Dominique," by the Singing Nun is in French, and "Sukiyaki," a song that is completely in Japanese. I had no idea Americans were listening to Asian pop music 50 years before "Gangnam Style" swept the nation.
The Best:
Overall, 1963 was a pretty good year in music. "Walk Right In," "Walk Like a Man," "He's So Fine," and "Fingertips - Pt 2" were all great songs. But the song that I think is not only the most fun, but also sounds ahead of its time is "If You Wanna Be Happy," by Jimmy Soul.
The Worst:
Not a whole lot of bad songs. There are a few songs that sound dated, or fairly pedestrian, but nothing really stands out. That is, until you get to the last hit of the year, "Dominique." This song really sticks out, and there was a song that's in Japanese (that is really quite good). I really do not understand how this song became an international hit.
Not a whole lot of bad songs. There are a few songs that sound dated, or fairly pedestrian, but nothing really stands out. That is, until you get to the last hit of the year, "Dominique." This song really sticks out, and there was a song that's in Japanese (that is really quite good). I really do not understand how this song became an international hit.
Pat is crazy.
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