WCRO went on the air in September 1947, and has never changed their call letters or frequency on the dial. It’s currently owned by the Greater Johnstown School District, broadcasting a nostalgia format from the Music Of Your Life network, and simulcast TV station WJAC’s morning newscasts from 5 to 7 AM. Here’s their Top Ten from 1963.
I’m going to try something different this week: Rather than giving the list of songs and writing something about each, I’m going to give you a table that shows the song (or songs), the artist, and its peak on the Billboard Hot 100. Let me know how you like it!
| # | Song | Artist | Hot 100 Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | “If I Had A Hammer” | Trini Lopez | 3 |
| 9 | “Denise” | Randy & The Rainbows | 10 |
| 8 | “My Whole World Is Falling Down” “I Wonder” |
Brenda Lee | 24 25 |
| 7 | “Just One Look” | Doris Troy | 10 |
| 6 | “Judy’s Turn To Cry” | Lesley Gore | 5 |
| 5 | “Till Then” | The Classics | 20 |
| 4 | “Surf City” | Jan & Dean | 1 |
| 3 | “Marlena” “Candy Girl” |
The Four Seasons | 36 3 |
| 2 | “So Much In Love” | The Tymes | 1 |
| 1 | “Wipeout” | The Surfaris | 1 |
And that’s Top Ten Tuesday for August 4, 2020.
I remember all of these well. I like your list idea but I also liked your insights. I agree with Ed, perhaps an interesting tidbit at the bottom of the list.
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Or maybe I replace the last column and widen the table…. I’ll try both and see which people like better.
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I will like it no matter what you do. It’s obvious you put a lot of work and time into your posts.
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I like the format, but I miss your insights into the songs. Maybe add an “interesting tidbit of the day” at the bottom of the list?
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I like the columnar format (mostly because I spent so long setting it up) and I can always change the definition of the columns. I’ll try something different next week…
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I was always glad that Judy had her turn to cry. She wasn’t very nice! I like the list but I like your insights about the songs too.
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I’ll do something different next week. I like the columns, though…
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This list stirred up some memories for me, John. We had several Trini Lopez albums. Our family sang a lot in the car so anything we could sing was fair game. My sisters and I used to stand in front of the 3panel mirror on the dresser and pantomime “It’s Judy’s Turn to Cry”. And of course I learned to do the ‘shimmy’ to “Wipeout”. This is a great list – all good choices. I would have been almost 10 years old when this list came out. Some of their chart positions surprised me.
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It’s interesting to see the differences in the Top 10 from market to market. The Hot 100 rank gives you a general idea of where the song ended up nationally, and you can compare that to what’s on an individual survey. An example: “I Wonder” was a Top 10 hit here, but didn’t get higher than #25 nationally. It probably didn’t get played at all in the major markets (New York, Chicago, and LA).
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I remember eight of these very well, John. In fact, I think I might add a couple to my “driving” playlist – in case I ever drive anywhere again.
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I have a feeling all this will clear up after the election…
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I hope so.
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Not in happy mode today, so not much took my fancy . At a push wipe out and surf city. If I had a hammer, today I’d be doing a lot of damage! 💜
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Industrial psychologist Abraham Maslow once said “To a man with a hammer, everything is a nail.” I guess we can include women in there…
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You certainly could yesterday 🙂😉
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