In 1962, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States which were considered to be "easy listening" or "middle of the road". The chart has undergone various name changes and since 1996 has been published under the title Adult Contemporary. [1] Until 1965, the listing was compiled simply by extracting from Billboard's pop music chart, the Hot 100, those songs which were deemed by the magazine's staff to be of an appropriate style and ranking them according to their placings on the Hot 100. [2] In 1962, 15 different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine. The chart was published under the title Easy Listening through the issue of Billboard dated October 27, after which it was renamed Middle-Road Singles. [3]
Ray Charles was the only artist with more than one number one in 1962. He reached the top with two tracks from his album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music , which is considered to have been an innovative and highly influential record for its fusion of genres. [4] [5] [6] "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "You Don't Know Me" spent a total of eight weeks in the top spot, the most for any artist. "I Can't Stop Loving You" also reached number one on the Hot 100, [7] as well as Billboard's R&B chart. [8] When Connie Francis reached number one with "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You" in March, she became the first act to top the Easy Listening chart twice, having spent a single week in the top spot in 1961 with "Together". [3]
The longest unbroken run at number one on the Easy Listening/Middle-Road chart in 1962 was achieved by Acker Bilk, who spent seven consecutive weeks atop the listing with the instrumental "Stranger on the Shore". The track also reached number one on the Hot 100, the first time this feat had been achieved by a British artist. [9] Bilk was one of two band leaders associated with the early 1960s UK jazz revival to top the Easy Listening/Middle-Road chart in 1962, [10] as his number one came a month after Kenny Ball spent three weeks at number one with "Midnight in Moscow". Ball was one of a number of acts with an Easy Listening/Middle-Road number one in 1962 who never topped the Hot 100 during their careers, [7] along with the Lettermen, Burl Ives, Frank Ifield and Gene Pitney. [11] In addition to ""I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Stranger on the Shore", three other songs which topped the Easy Listening/Middle-Road chart in 1962 also reached the peak position on the Hot 100. "The Stripper" by David Rose and "Roses Are Red (My Love)" by Bobby Vinton achieved the feat during July and August. [7] The final Middle-Road number one of the year, "Go Away Little Girl" by Steve Lawrence, topped the Hot 100 the following year. [7]
"Black and White" is a song written in 1954 by David I. Arkin and Earl Robinson (music). It was first recorded by Pete Seeger featuring an African-American child, in 1956 from the album Love Songs for Friends & Foes.
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song. Between 1970 and 1975, it was a top-40 hit three separate times for three separate artists: Lenny Welch, The Partridge Family and Sedaka's second version.
"All I Ever Need Is You" is a popular song written by Jimmy Holiday and Eddie Reeves, and initially recorded by Ray Charles for his 1971 album, Volcanic Action of My Soul. The most well-known version of the song is the hit single by Sonny & Cher which, in 1971, reached No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was their single of greatest chart longevity, spending 15 weeks on that chart. Their album by the same title sold over 500,000 copies reaching RIAA gold status.
"Walk Right In" is a country blues song written by musician Gus Cannon and originally recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers in 1929 by RCA Victor. In 1959, it was included on the compilation album The Country Blues. Another version of the song by the Rooftop Singers, with the writing credits allocated to group members Erik Darling and Bill Svanoe, became an international hit in 1963.
"Another Saturday Night" is a 1963 hit single by Sam Cooke from the album Ain't That Good News. The song was written by Cooke while touring in England when staying in a hotel where no female guests were allowed. It reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was No. 1 on the R&B chart for a single week. In the UK, the song peaked at No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Touch Me When We're Dancing" is a song written by Terry Skinner, J. L. Wallace and Ken Bell. Skinner and Wallace headed the Muscle Shoals, Alabama session group Bama, who first recorded this song and released it as a single in 1979 reaching number 42 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was later recorded by The Carpenters in 1981 for their Made in America album. In 1984, it was recorded by country music artists Mickey Gilley and Charly McClain for their 1984 duet album It Takes Believers and in 1986 by the country music group Alabama.
"Longfellow Serenade" is the title of a 1974 song by the American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. It was written by Diamond, produced by Tom Catalano, and included on Diamond's album Serenade.
"Only Love Can Break a Heart" is a popular song from 1962, performed by the American singer-songwriter Gene Pitney. The song was written by Hal David (words) and Burt Bacharach (music) and appears on Pitney's second album Only Love Can Break a Heart.
"My Melody of Love" is the title of a popular song from 1974 by the American singer Bobby Vinton. Vinton adapted his song from a German schlager song composed by Henry Mayer, and it appears on Vinton's album Melodies of Love. The song was also recorded by Spanish pop singer Karina as "Palabras de Cristal".
Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing is the eighth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams. It was released in early 1962 by Columbia Records. This was his first project after leaving Cadence Records, where his albums each had a specific theme. Additionally, it was his first in a series of LPs that covered songs established on stage, screen, and other hits from the pop chart and the Great American Songbook. This trend would not be interrupted until his 1966 album, The Shadow of Your Smile, hinted at a shift toward contemporary material with its inclusion of songs first recorded by the Beatles.
"Daughter of Darkness" is a single by Tom Jones released in 1970 from his album, I Who Have Nothing. It was a top ten hit in the UK, peaking at No.5. In the United States and Canada, Jones just missed the top ten with "Daughter of Darkness", peaking at No.13 and No.11, respectively. The song went to No.1 in the United States on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in June 1970, and was Tom Jones' final of three number ones on the chart. Elton John, who was working as a session musician at that time, also sang on the recording.
"Something Better to Do" is a song written by John Farrar and recorded by Olivia Newton-John. The song was released in September 1975 as the lead single from Newton-John's sixth studio album, Clearly Love. The narrator of the song muses that she's having a hard time adjusting to life without her departed lover; even the birds are wasting their songs singing to her, and until her beloved returns, "the birds will have to find something better to do."
"Desirée" is a 1977 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond and included as a track on Diamond's 1977 album, I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the U.S. Easy Listening chart to become his fifth number one on that chart. The song likewise reached number one on the Canadian AC chart.
Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests is the eleventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in April 1963 by Columbia Records following his first season as host of his variety series, The Andy Williams Show. The LP has a studio recording of the closing theme from the show, "May Each Day", and continues the format of his previous Columbia releases by including songs from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
The Andy Williams Show is the twenty-sixth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in the fall of 1970 by Columbia Records. In his review on AllMusic.com, William Ruhlmann writes that "The Andy Williams Show LP was not a soundtrack recording from the TV series, and it was not really a live album, although it gets categorized as such. What appears to be the case is that Columbia Records took a group of Williams' studio recordings, most of them made during the summer of 1970 and consisting of his versions of recent soft rock hits, and added a lot of canned applause along with some of the kind of musical interludes used to usher numbers on and off on the show, including bits of its "Moon River" theme music at the start and the finish."
"Stormy" is a hit song by the Classics IV released on their LP Mamas and Papas/Soul Train in 1968. It entered Billboard Magazine October 26, 1968, peaking at #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #26 Easy Listening. The final line of the chorus has the singer pleading to the girl: "Bring back that sunny day". The single, along with the prior release of "Spooky" and, soon after, the release of "Traces", formed a trio of solid hits for the band.
"I Live for Your Love" is a 1987 song by Natalie Cole. It was the second of four charting singles from her Everlasting LP, and was also the second greatest hit from the album.
"The Drum" is a song recorded by Bobby Sherman from his Portrait Of Bobby LP. It was released as a single in the spring of 1971, the second of two from the album. The song was written by Alan O'Day, his first of five Top 40 chart credits.