"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, The Astronauts and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Midler for her debut album The Divine Miss M. However it is best known as a 1972 top ten country hit for Tanya Tucker and a 1973 US number one hit for Helen Reddy.
"Chains" is a rhythm and blues song written by husband-and-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was a hit for the American girl group the Cookies in 1962 and for the English rock band the Beatles, who recorded the song for their debut album in 1963. King recorded a solo version of "Chains" for her 1980 album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King.
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
"Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon, and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It's You" was by the band Smith, who took the track to No.5 on the US charts in 1969.
"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. The song was also adapted into multiple languages, most notably in Italian and French.
The Cascades was an American vocal group best known for the single "Rhythm of the Rain", recorded in 1962, an international hit the following year.
"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" is an uptempo, strophic story song written by American folk rock singer Jim Croce. Released as part of his 1973 album Life and Times, the song was a No. 1 hit for him, spending two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1973.
"Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group the Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy recorded the song in 1977 and his version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There have also been many other cover versions of this song, including one by the songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich themselves, performing as the Raindrops.
"The Game of Love" is a 1964 song by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, first released as a single from the band's titular album in January 1965 in the United Kingdom, followed by the United States one month later as "Game of Love". The song reached Number 2 on the UK Singles chart and Number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 that year. The song also spawned multiple successful cover versions, including a version by Ian "Tex Pistol" Morris that was a Number 1 hit in New Zealand in 1987. The song was also adapted into French by Frank Gérald as "Quand tu es là" and was recorded by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan, first in July 1965 as the second single off of her 1966 studio album "Il y a deux filles en moi" that was a hit in French-speaking Belgium, followed by a re-recording in 1990, released as a non-album single, that was a minor hit in France.
"Roses Are Red (My Love)" is a popular song composed by Al Byron and Paul Evans. It was recorded by Bobby Vinton, backed by Robert Mersey and his Orchestra, in New York City in February 1962, and released in April 1962, and the song was his first hit.
"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, 1964, making it the second and final single by Orbison to reach number one in the United States. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one.
"Love or Let Me Be Lonely" is a pop song recorded by the soul group The Friends of Distinction and released as a single in early 1970. The song was a multi-format success, peaking in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at #6 on May 1, 1970 and at #13 on the R&B chart. On the Adult Contemporary singles charts, "Love or Let Me Be Lonely" went to #9. The song is ranked as the 63rd biggest hit of 1970.
"Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" is a 1961 pop song by the American singer Sue Thompson. The song was written by John D. Loudermilk and was released as Thompson's debut single, from her Hickory Records debut album Meet Sue Thompson. The song also spawned multiple successful cover versions.
"Tender Years" is a song written by American country music artist George Jones and Darrell Edwards, recorded and released in 1961. It became Jones' second #1 country hit. The song also spawned two successful foreign language versions two years later in 1963, First in French by Johnny Hallyday, and in Dutch by singer and actress Willeke Alberti, being adapted from the former French version. Both versions have been covered by many others since.
"My Whole World Is Falling Down" is a song written by Bill Anderson and Jerry Crutchfield and performed by Brenda Lee. Its chorus is based on the nursery rhyme "London Bridge Is Falling Down". The song reached #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. The song is featured on her 1964 album, By Request. The song also reached #16 in Australia.
"Gee Baby" is a song originally released by the duo Joe & Ann. It was co-written by Joe Joseph and Alvin Tyler, arranged and produced by Tyler, and recorded in New Orleans, possibly with Mac Rebennack on keyboards. Released as a single in 1959, it peaked at no. 14 on U.S. Billboard's R'n'B chart, called Hot R&B Sides at the time.
"Summerlove Sensation" is a song originally recorded by the Bay City Rollers. It was part of their 1974 album Rollin'. In the same year, it was also released as a single five months prior. The single peaked at no. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It also spawned two successful cover versions in the late 1970s, first a French adaption performed by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan, and a cover by American singer Bobby Vinton that was a minor hit in the charts.
"He Understands Me" is a song released in 1963 by Teresa Brewer. The song was a hit single for Johnny Tillotson in 1964, retitled "She Understands Me", and Bobby Vinton in 1966, retitled "Dum-De-Da".
"Sha La La" is a song written by Robert Mosely and Robert Taylor. The Shirelles released the original version of the song as a single in March 1964 in the US, reaching #15 on the U.S. R&B chart and #69 on the U.S. pop chart. A cover by the British pop group Manfred Mann would follow that October, being the most notable version of the song, reaching Number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and Number 12 on both the U.S. pop chart and the RPM charts in 1965. Around the same time as the release of Manfred Mann's version, the song was adapted into French by Georges Aber and performed by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan, whose version was released as a single in October 1964 and reached Number 14 on the French Belgian charts.
