5. “Up on the Roof” by the Drifters
Another gorgeously written song by husband and wife duo Carol King and Gerry Goffin, one that really captures some of the feelings of youth. The Drifters made some great music in their day. This isn’t their best but it’s a reflection of all the things they did so well——sweet melodies, rich instrumentation, and great vocals. This one is carried by the one-of-a-kind voice of Rudy Lewis, who would die the next year of an overdose at the age of 27. It peaked at #5 in February 1963.
4. “Walk Like a Man” by The Four Seasons
Frankie Valli’s falsetto voice is contrasted with the lyrics——”Walk like a man, talk like a man”——but there’s so much goodness happening here that I think it’s easy to miss the irony and just get sucked in to the mix of sounds. I’m a big fan of the drums at the start with their signature harmony work emerging into the tune. It peaked at #3 in February before hitting the top spot the following month.
3. “Two Lovers” by Mary Wells
Mary Wells played a big part of in defining the “female sound” in early Motown. Her smoky voice and reserved but skilled vocal choices are her hallmark. She reached the top of the R&B charts with this hit, written by Smokey Robinson. It’s one of those clever lyrical ballads with an ending that’s a surprise twist.
2. “You Really Got a Hold on Me” by The Miracles
If I knew more about music I’m sure I could say something intelligent about what’s going on in this song. Musically it has this drag that feels almost too real and too un-sanitized to be part of the “Motown sound,” something I associate as being black music packaged for white audiences. There’s something so compelling and sexy about this song. Smokey Robinson is a master of the art and those skills are certainly front and center in this R&B chart-topper.
1. “You Are My Sunshine” by Ray Charles
It topped the R&B charts in January 1963 and was working its way back down the charts in February. It’s a familiar song——one of the most recorded in music history——but when Ray Charles gets a hold of it it sound like something we’ve never heard before. His small changes in phrasing and in music——he turns it into a R&B song AND gives us a big band interlude AND gives us the vocal wonderment of the Raelettes——make this hard not to find interesting on some level. It’s the lead track off his second volume of Modern Sounds in Country Western Music, a historic pair of albums mixing white music and black music at the height of the Black Freedom Struggle.
LATINO LIKE ME 