If you’re a massive fan of anything related to 1960s music, the following three hits might just be familiar to you. For those who didn’t keep their thumb on the pulse of the Billboard charts back in that stellar decade for music, though, the following songs might just be totally new. Either way, these three forgotten songs from 1966 are absolutely worth revisiting. Let’s take a look!
“634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” by Wilson Pickett
“634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” by Wilson Pickett hit the airwaves in early 1966. And, boy, was it quite the R&B soul tune of the year! This jam was a standout addition to the album The Exiting Wilson Pickett, and those with a keen ear might just hear Patti LaBelle on the backing track for many of this album’s songs. “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” was one such song, and it was a big hit in 1966. The song peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Fun fact: The phone number featured in this song’s title is a reference to a Marvelettes hit from 1962.
“Green Grass” by Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Green Grass” by Gary Lewis & The Playboys was another hit song released in 1966 that I don’t really hear that often on the radio nowadays. That’s a shame, because this pop-rock hit was all the rage back in the mid-1960s. “Green Grass” was originally written by Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook, and Gary Lewis & The Playboys turned it into a charting hit. The song hit No. 8 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian charts.
“Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing” by Lou Rawls
How about another solid R&B hit on our list of forgotten songs from 1966? “Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing” by Lou Rawls was released in October of that year. It was only Rawls’ second entry on the R&B Singles chart. And it ended up being his first Top 40 success on the Hot 100. “Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing” peaked at No. 13 on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B Singles chart that year. You might have heard a few versions of this song through the years, as it has been covered by the likes of J.J. Jackson, Buddy Greco, and Marcia Hines, among others.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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