The early part of the 1960s had plenty of great songs. Especially in 1962, some of the most timeless songs were released, including these three Top 10 hits. They are all so good, it’s almost a guarantee that every 60s kid still knows them today.
“The One Who Really Loves You” by Mary Wells
“The One Who Really Loves You” is the first Top 10 single by Mary Wells. The song was written by Smokey Robinson. It is the title track of Wells’ sophomore record.
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“The One Who Really Loves You” is a cautionary tale, warning a guy he better not stray. The chorus says, “So, love you better wake up / Yeah, before we break up / And you lose me, little me / The one who really loves you.“
After Wells released “The One Who Really Loves You”, she had two more Top 10 singles, with “You Beat Me To The Punch” and “Two Lovers”. Both songs came out in 1962. In 1964, Wells released “My Guy”, a song that remains her biggest hit.
“Little Diane” by Dion
Dion (whose real name is Dion DiMucci) wrote “Little Diane” by himself. The song is the third and final single from his Lovers Who Wander album.
“Little Diane” tells the story of a man who is in love with a woman named Diane, even though she treats him poorly. “Little Diane” starts with, “Ya, I wanna pack and leave and slap your face / Bad girls like you are a disgrace / A way down deep inside I cry / Without you little Diane I’d die.”
Perhaps surprisingly, the instrumentation on “Little Diane” includes one unlikely instrument: a kazoo.
“She’s Not You” by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley had numerous hit singles throughout the 1960s, including “She’s Not You”. The song, written by Doc Pomus, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, is part of Presley’s Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 3 project. A Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it also reached the Top 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart as well.
“She’s Not You” is a sad song about a man who is with a woman, but in love with someone else. The song says in part, “She knows just how to make me laugh / When I feel blue / She’s everything a man could want / But she’s not you.”
Elvis’ Golden Records Volume 3 also includes the No. 1 single, “Good Luck Charm”. In 2011, Chris Isaak covered “She’s Not You” for his Beyond The Sun album.
Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns
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