Pop-rock as a genre wasn’t an entirely new thing by 1965, and plenty of songs with a touch of rock made it to the top of the pop charts, due in part to baby boomer listeners’ love of the music. Let’s jump into just a handful of pop-rock classics from 1965 that every baby boomer still knows by heart today.
“California Girls” by The Beach Boys from ‘Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)’
The Beach Boys knew how to produce a rock-oriented song that was pop chart fodder, and “California Girls” was one of many songs by the band that crossed over gloriously. This very California-oriented song was an anthem for the youth at the time, and it’s not surprising that it did so well on the charts.
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“California Girls” by The Beach Boys peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 26 in the UK.
“Help!” by The Beatles from ‘Help!’
The Beatles were a shoo-in for this list, and they certainly dropped more than one pop-rock jam in 1965. But I went with “Help!” based on its long-enduring popularity alone. This folky pop-rock tune was written mainly by John Lennon and became a smash hit on the charts, reaching No. 1 across the board. “Help!” was particularly popular in the US and UK.
“I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher from ‘Look At Us’
Sonny & Cher dropped one of the most legendary duets of the 60s with “I Got You Babe” in 1965. This folky pop hit sat at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for an impressive three weeks. I can see why. The composition of this song is so good, and no two voices could do it better than Sonny Bono and Cher. “I Got You Babe” also did well in the UK and much of Europe.
“You Were On My Mind” by We Five from ‘You Were On My Mind’
Baby boomer fans of the pop-rock stylings of We Five definitely remember this hit from 1965. The folk rock group took a 1961 song written by Sylvia Fricker and turned it into a smash hit in 1965. “You Were On My Mind” was the band’s first single, too. It made it all the way to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the US.
(Photo by R. McPhedran/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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