A lot of big things happened in the music world in 1964. The Beatles made it big with a movie, The Rolling Stones got banned from Blackpool, and The Beach Boys hit No. 1 for the first time. A lot was going on. But if you were a kid that year, you’ll likely remember the following underrated, nostalgic songs from 1964. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?
“The Way You Do The Things You Do” by The Temptations
How about a little bit of Smokey Robinson goodness? “The Way You Do The Things You Do” by The Temptations was released in early 1964 and was a collaborative songwriting effort between Robinson and Bobby Rogers (both of The Miracles).
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The tune was an immediate success and hit No. 1 on the Cash Box R&B chart and hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remained a Top 40 hit for the better part of four decades. Hall & Oates later covered the tune with Temptations members David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, and got a Grammy nom for it. Personally, I remember the reggae-tinged UB40 version of this tune from the 90s the best.
“I Love You More And More Every Day” by Al Martino
How about a bit of a deep cut? Despite being somewhat forgotten, this is one of the most nostalgic songs of 1964. This traditional pop tune from Al Martino was a pretty hefty hit in early 1964. The song was written by Don Robertson and arranged by Peter DeAngelis. “I Love You More And More Every Day” by Al Martino peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and it’s still considered one of the finest singles of 1964.
“You Really Got Me” by The Kinks
I had to throw a Kinks song on here. This garage rock classic is one of the most nostalgic songs of 1964. And if you were a kid that year, you were probably blown away by this proto-punk classic. The Kinks dropped “You Really Got Me” in August of that year, and it quickly went on to be a Top 10 hit in the US, UK, and a few other countries.
The song’s use of guitar distortion and power chords predated the onset of punk rock in the 70s. What a cool little piece of music history!
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