Toppermost Of The Poppermost

We start in on the American charts for September 1964!     The Beatles do a Carl Perkins tune.     An Everly Brothers tune is resurrected, as are the Orlons!     Create your podcast today!   #madeonzencastr

The British charts for September of 1964 are here!     Two years since "Love Me Do", and now the Beatles are the top band around the World, and Britain was the home of the biggest pop stars!    The Beatles, The Dave Clark 5, the NEMS stable, and maybe a little bit of Old Blue Eyes as well....    Please support this podcast by joining our patreon, o...

We close out August of 1964 with more from the Cashbox charts.     Calling out, around the world (or at least the US and UK).      Martha Reeves is Dancing in the Streets, and Roy Orbison is telling us about his pretty woman.    Meanwhile, the Beatles continue steamrolling through the 1964 American charts!    Create your po...

Side three of our four-sided look at August 1964.    Beatlemania returns with a vengeance as the band returns to American shores and their first film hits theatres in the states.     However, Ray Charles, the Little GTO and Tony Bennett and Motown have their own chart hits!    Create your podcast today!   #madeonzencastr

We move through the second two weeks of August 1964 on the UK side.      Two big hits you might not remember, and two more you certainly do!       Create your podcast today!   #madeonzencastr

We are joined by producer Shel Talmy (The Bachelors, The Orchids, The Kinks, The Who) to discuss his work as one of his most memorable earl productions hit the charts.     We also move forward through the first two weeks of the British charts for August 1964.      Create your podcast today!   #madeonzencastr

More of the American charts for July of 1964.     The Beatles, George Martin, Lesley Gore, Solomon Burke, Burt Bacharach/Hal David and more.     Stick around for a supercut that includes the Carpenters, Luther Vandross (duetting with Aretha) and more!    #madeonzencastr.

We start in on the American charts for July of 1964.     Capitol decides to "out-VJ" the VJ label, while Arthur Fiedle and the Hollyridge Strings invade the charts as well.     All this and more!    We keep on playing those instrumental Beatles covers for-ever! #MadeonZencastr

In addition to our look at the British charts for July of 1964, we feature "Rock and Roll Musicals".     From "Jailhouse Rock" to "Summer Holiday", "It's Trad Dad (aka Ring-a-Ding-Rhythm)", through to "A Hard Day's Night" and "Ferry Cross the Mersey".    Hint:    A certain Beatles song ENTERS the chart at number three.    All this, a...

WAIT!    Listen to this podcast (wrong Beatle?) on Sunday, July 7 at 11:45 AM localtime!      Kit, Martin and I wish Ringo "All the Best" and "Peace and Love" to the universe in this brief WTWF crossover diversion.       A tiny bit of Ringo Starr's 24th birthday from 1964, but mostly just doing our bit to help spread the good vi...

We finish June of 1964.    Sie Liebt Dich (Yah! Yah! Yah!), the Valentinos (formerly the Womack Brothers) with a song the stones will cover and make a classic, a not-so-great new one from the Everlys, a banger from Dusty and more from the "artists really were willing to listen to input" in 1964 files.   #madeonZencastr

Our first months of four sides.      The first week of June 1964 on the Billboard Charts.    Irma Thomas (The Soul Queen of New Orleans!), The Girl from Ipanema, the Impressions, Sam Cooke and Johnny Rivers (who might have sold more records than Elvis and the Beatles over some period of time, along with a Bobby Vee song we'd rather forget.    ...

Francoise Hardy, Peter and Gordon, Little Richard, The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Pretty Things and more versions of "Hello, Dolly!" than you might expect as we continue our four-sided odyssey for June.     #MadeonZencastr

June 1964.     The Beatles are off to the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. when Ringo collapses.     What happens next?      Jim Berkenstadt joins your toppermost crew to discuss Jimmie Nicol, The Bossa Nova and a little bit of ska.     In addition to the feature, we start to cover the British charts.  &nbs...

More from Cashbox, and more than four by the Beatles!   BB King, Lesley Gore, The Temptations, Terry Stafford, Steve Lawrence and the next smash from the Beach Boys.    #madeonZencastr 

Cashbox Month!     The Beatles still dominate, although they will soon move back to "just" being the hottest band in the States.    Other acts include Brenda Holloway, Skeeter Davis, Tracey Day (why would anyone change their name from Nora Ferrari?), B.B. King, the Rivieras (...and an explanation of why they did a goose step in the warm California sun) and more....

Around the Beatles aired in the UK sixty years ago, so we look at "the other acts" on that show.   (See "When They Was Fab" 2024.17, April 28 for Kit and I talking about the Beatles side of things).       Additionally, the British charts for May 1964.    Amongst other things, we celebrate the 95th anniversary of Burt Bacharach's birth and talk...

The Billboard charts for the final two weeks of April 1964.      Rampant Beatlemania (not starring Terri Hemmert), and a couple of tunes that must be heard to be believed! #MadeonZencastr

The Billboard Charts for the first two weeks of April, 1964.     The Beatles rule the roost, but Motown continues churning out commercial and critical darlings (My Guy), and Burt Bacharach gives Dionne Warwick a song which will become one of the all-time greats of rock and roll.  #MadeonZencastr  #FabFaux #MagicalMysteryCamp

The Beatles have conquered the Billboard charts, so we examine some of the news stories from the month.    Additionally, the British charts for April 1964.    Eden Kane, Shirley Bassey, the Four Pennies, the Undertakers, the Merseybeats and a horn player to be named later! #madeonZencastr

More from March of 1964.     Even more  Beatles on the charts, but figures including Lenny Welch, The Shirelles, Tony Bennett, Bobby Goldsboro and others you may or may not remember continue to make appearances.  #madeonZencastr

Beatlemania, Beatlemania, Beatlemania!!!   (and it hasn't even reached it's Zenith).     Lots and lots of Beatles, but also Jan and Dean (and Mel Blanc) The Four Preps, Dale and Grace, Nino and April and more!  #madeonZencastr

The British charts for March of 1964.      Can't Buy Me Love arrives, while Lennon/McCartney also continue the string with Peter & Gordon and World Without Love.      We also consider the state of "other music" on the British charts. #madeonzencastr

The Beatles continue rampaging the charts, but the Americans also stake some ground.     Two sides from Elvis in the charts (one good, one very bad), The Shoop Shoop Song, a bad Merseybeat knockoff and a Beatles novelty record (about the hair, of course) written by someone you might not expect! #madeonzencastr.

The first two weeks of Billboard, 1964.       Dawn, Fun Fun Fun and more of the Beatles than you can shake a forest at!    #MadeonZencastr