• Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull. Born on 31st March, 1937 in Los Angleles and educated at the University of California, Alpert was an ex-Army trumpeter who started experimenting in his garage with a tape recorder and discovered that by overdubbing one trumpet solo on top of another he could produce the effect of a 'Spanish flair'. By adding the roaring 'oles' of a bullfight crowd (which he recorded himself), to a tune, 'Twinkle Star', written by his friend Sol Lake, Alpert was able to produce his own disc for just $200. He called it 'Twinkle Star' and on its release it spent 14 weeks in the bestsellers list. A 'Lonely Bull' album followed, released on the newly formed A. & M. Records label (Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss), which also sold over a million copies.
• The Beatles - Love Me Do. The story of the Beatles early years through to their phenomenal success and eventual break-up has been told in countless books and translated into as many languages, and cannot be done justice in a few lines here. It's a complicated story but perhaps not as complicated as the release of their first UK single, 'Love Me Do', which was attributed to John Lennon and Paul McCartney but is said to have been written by Paul in 1958, when he was 16, about his girlfriend at that time, Iris Caldwell. The Beatles recorded numerous versions of the song with 3 different drummers. At their first Parlophone audition in June 1962, Pete Best was still their drummer. But when they recorded it on September 4th, Best had been replaced by Ringo Starr. After a fifteen take session, producer George Martin decided he would put this out as their first single but when the group returned to the studio a week later Martin still wasn't entirely happy with the finished product. The group were a little taken aback when Martin introduced session drummer Andy White, but they went along with him and recorded a retake, while Ringo stood by and played the tambourine. The initial recording with Ringo on the drums is the one released as the single. However, for reasons that are not clear, Martin decided to use the Andy White version on the Beatles first album. Whether he preferred White's drumming on this number to Ringo's is not clear, but Martin did say that he used White's version on the album because the master tape of this song had been sent overseas to an EMI subsidiary company. To add further confusion -later in 1963, following the Beatles meteoric rise, when the single was re-released it was the retake version with Andy White that was issued. So, if you happen to have an original EMI release of October 5, 1962 (on the red Parlaphone label), you have the Ringo version. Any US release as a single (April 27th, 1964 on Tollie Records), has the White version. There-clear as mud.
• Tony Bennett - I Left My Heart In San Francisco. Tony's sixth million seller is a timelesss classic selling over 2 million by 1964 winning numerous awards along the way. The song was written in 1954 by Douglas Cross and George Cory but became so synonymous with Tony Bennett that in 1970 he presented his gold disc to the people of San Francisco in the offices of Mayor Joseph Alioto at City Hall.
• Marcie Blaine - Bobby's Girl. Although not the best remembered version of this lively song it was Brooklyn born Marcie who sold a million with this record by 1963. In the UK it was released by Susan Maughan but her sales only accounted for a quarter of Marcie's total.
• Pat Boone - Speedy Gonzales. 13th million seller for Pat.
• Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions. Booker T Jones and the MGs (short for Memphis Group) released this top rhythm and blues instrumental which climbed to number 3 in the US charts. It never entered the UK charts until it was re-released in 1979.
• Freddy Cannon - Palisades Park. Written to open an American theme park this provided Cannon with his third gold disc.
• Gene Chandler - Duke Of Earl. First million seller for Eugene Dixon born in Chicago on 6th July, 1937.
• Bruce Channel - Hey, Baby. First million seller -written by Channel and Margaret Cobb in 1961.
• Ray Charles - I Can't Stop Loving You. This departure in style for Ray, taken from his album 'Modern Sounds In Country-and-Western Music', and written by Don Gibson in 1957, proved no less of a hit for the soul/rhythm-and-blues/jazz singer leading to his fourth million seller. Another single from the same album: You Don't Know Me, also went gold.
• Chubby Checker - Slow Twistin'. Fifth million seller for Checker -Limbo Rock was his sixth.
• Lou Christie - The Gypsy Cried. First million seller for Lou written by him and Twyla Herbert. Christie, real name Geno Sacco, was born in Glen Willard, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, winning a scholarship to study classical music and singing before moving to New York where he sang backing for other artistes. This was his first release.
• Jimmy Clanton - Venus In Blue Jeans. Fourth million seller for Clanton -this song was a big hit in the UK for Mark Wynter.
• Petula Clark - Monsieur. Second million seller for Petula, sold 250,000 in Germany before the end of the year and totalled 2 million on the Continent. Her third million seller was Chariot.
• The Contours - Do You Love Me?. This first million seller for the group was written by Mowtown boss Berry Gordy Jnr.
• Sam Cooke - Twistin' The Night Away. Fifth million seller for Cooke.
• Bobby Darin - Things. - Sixth million seller for Bobby.
• Sammy Davis Jr. - What Kind Of Fool Am I?. - Recognized throughout much of his career as one of the world's most versatile entertainers, Sammy Davis Jr. was born in Harlem on December 8th, 1925. He made his stage debut at the age of three performing with Holiday in Dixieland, a black vaudeville troupe featuring his father. At the age of seven Davis made his film debut in the musical short "Rufus Jones for President", and later received tap-dancing lessons courtesy of the great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. In 1943 Davis joined the U.S. Army, where he endured a constant battle with racism; upon his return from duty, Holiday in Dixieland was renamed the Will Mastin Trio. By the beginning of the 1950s they were headlining venues including New York's Capitol club and Ciro's in Hollywood. In 1954 Davis signed to Decca, topping the charts with his debut LP 'Starring Sammy Davis Jr'; that same year he lost his left eye in an auto accident, but after a lengthy lay-off returned to the stage and enjoyed a series of hit singles including "Something's Gotta Give," "Love Me or Leave Me" and "That Old Black Magic." A year later Davis made his Broadway debut in the musical 'Mr. Wonderful.' In 1958 he resumed his film career after a quarter-century layoff and a year later won acclaim for his performance in 'Porgy and Bess'. Also in 1959 he became a charter member of the Rat Pack, a confederation of Frank Sinatra and associates which included Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. In 1960 they made 'Ocean's Eleven', the first in a series of Rat Pack films. His earlier conversion to Judaism had been met with considerable controversy within the American black community and his 1960 marriage to Swedish actress May Britt elicited death threats. Davis overcame all this and remained a major star scoring a million-selling hit with "What Kind of Fool Am I?", a song written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the stage show 'Stop The World, I Want To Get Off.' His appearance in the 1989 film 'Tap' was much acclaimed, but it was to be his last screen performance: Sammy Davis Jr. died of cancer on May 16th, 1990.
• Skeeter Davis - The End Of The World. Mary Frances Penick was born on 30th December, 1931 in Sparta, Kentucky. She teamed up with her sister and they were known as the Davis Sisters; Skeeter and Bee Jay. However, after Bee Jay was killed in a car crash, Skeeter was talked into doing a solo session in 1957. By the following year she had been voted by 'Cash Box' as the Most Promising Female Country Vocalist'.
• Joey Dee and the Starlighters - Shout. This song, written in 1959 by the Isley Brothers, was Joey Dee's second million seller.
• Duane Eddy - (Dance With) The Guitar Man. Third million seller for Duane.
• Shelly Fabares - Johnny Angel. Fabares, who played the role of Donna Reed's daughter in the US TV series 'The Donna Reed Show', enjoyed her first million seller with this release.
• Bent Fabric - Alley Cat. Denmark's first entry into the US bestsellers chart.
• Larry Finnegan - Dear One. Sold a million by 1966.
• The Four Seasons - Sherry. Bob Gaudio, Frankie Valli, Nick Massi and Tommy di Vito all came from New Jersey where each of them (except Gaudio), had been working together for six years as the Four Lovers. Gaudio joined the group after leaving the Royal Teens and they met up with producer Bob Crewe who changed their name to the Four Seasons and supplied them with fresh material. Sherry went gold as did their next single; Big Girls Don't Cry.
• Freddy (Quinn) - Junge Komm Bald Wieder (Son, Come Home Soon). Sixth million seller for Freddy.
• Conny Froboess - Zwei Kleiner Italiener (Two Little Italians). First million seller for this artist.
• Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd - Desafinado. Together these artistes were responsible for introducing the Bosa Nova craze to the US. Getz was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants (real name Gayetzsky) and became one of the all-time great tenor sax players. Byrd, the talented jazz and classical guitarist came from Virginia.
• Francoise Hardy - Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles (All The Boys and Girls). Self penned million seller for Hardy.
• Brian Hyland - Sealed With A Kiss. Second million seller for Hyland.
• Frank Ifield - I Remember You. Despite the fact that most people in the UK regarded him as an Australian, Francis Edward Ifield was born in Coventry, England on 30th November, 1937. His parents emigrated when he was very young and Frank began recording at the age of 15. In four years he had 44 records issued in Australia becoming the number one recording star there, as well as in New Zealand, and Tasmania before he was nineteen. He was signed by EMI Records on Columbia, under the guidance of Norrie Paramor, shortly after he came to London in 1959 and had his first British hit in 1960 with 'Lucky Devil' which reached number 22 in the charts. In 1962 he hit the top of the charts with this single, which sold 102,000 copies in one day and 367,000 in five days following it's release. 'I Remember You' was soon followed by Lovesick Blues which also went gold in 1962 and when his third single, The Wayward Wind, went to Number One he became the first artist to have three consecutive number one hits in Britain as well as three gold discs.
• The Isley Brothers - Twist and Shout. Second million seller for the Brothers. This song became part of The Beatles stage repertoire.
• Claude King - Wolverton Mountain. The first million selling record for this artist was a top Country-and-Western hit.
• Steve Lawrence - Go Away Little Girl. First million seller for this artist.
• Brenda Lee - All Alone Am I. Fourth million seller for Brenda.
• Dickey Lees - Patches. - Million selling disc written by Barry Mann and Larry Kolber.
• Ketty Lester - Love Letters. - This first million seller for Ketty was written in 1945 for the movie 'Love Letters' by Edward Heyman and Victor Young. An international hit record.
• Little Eva - The Loco-Motion. Eva Narcissus Boyd was born on 29th June, 1945 in Belhaven, North Carolina, and had fifteen brothers and sisters. She moved to New York City to complete her education and became the regular babysitter for Louise Goffin, daughter of songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Eva sang as she went about the house and the trained ears of the Goffins realised she had potential. As a result she became a backup singer on Ben E. King's 'Don't Play That Song (You Lied)' in 1962, along with the Cookies -- Earl-Jean McRea, Dorothy Jones, and Margaret Ross. Carole King was working out a song on the piano one day when Eva began a dance step, giving Gerry Goffin the idea for some lyrics. The result was a dance song, The Loco-Motion. Goffin and King brought Eva to the studio to record the song, backed by the Cookies and some inspired saxophone music. The record went to the top of the charts and became arguably the ultimate dance-song, guaranteed to get everyone on their feet and dancing, even some 43 years later! Eva had other minor hits, including 'Old Smokey Locomotion' and a duet with Big Dee Irwin, 'Swinging On A Star', both in 1963. In the 1970's, she left the music business and eventually returned home to Bellhaven. Eva Boyd battled cancer of the cervix for years in her later life but it was a battle that she sadly lost and she passed away on April 9th, 2003 at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston, North Carolina, leaving two daughters and a son.
• Ned Miller - From A Jack To A King. Originally released in 1957, this song, written by Ned Miller, failed to make an impact until it was reissued in 1962. Then it sold over a million.
• Mina - Heisser Sand (Hot Sand). Million seller by 1965 thanks mainly to european sales.
• The Miracles - You've Really Got A Hold On Me. Smokey Robinson written number that became the groups second million seller. This was also covered in their early days by The Beatles.
• Lou Monte - Pepino The Italian Mouse. First million seller for this comedy vocalist.
• Chris Montez - Let's Dance. First gold disc for Chris. His second was Some Kinda Fun. Montez, born in Los Angeles in 1943, toured with Clyde McPhatter, Sam Cooke, The Platters and Smokey Robinson. In 1963, while in Liverpool with Tommy Roe, his opening act was that new English group, The Beatles.
• Roy Orbison - Dream Baby and Workin' For The Man. Two more gold discs for The Big 'O' in 1962. His sixth and seventh gold records.
• The Orions - The Wah-Watusi. First million seller for this group, quickly followed by their second; Don't Hang Up.
• Paul and Paula - Hey, Paula. This song sounds like a throwback to the heyday of Rock n' Roll but was in fact issued in late 1962. The duo, real names Ray Hildebrand (the writer of the song) and Jill Jackson were students at Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas and teamed up for a Cancer Fund drive radio programme. The record sold in excess of 2 million worldwide.
• Esther Phillips - Release Me. Born Esther Mae Jones on 23rd December, 1935 in Galveston, Texas, she began singing in church as a young child. When her parents divorced, she divided time between her father in Houston and her mother in the Watts area of Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles, in 1949, that her sister entered her in a talent show at a nightclub belonging to blues man Johnny Otis. So impressed was Otis with the 13-year-old that he brought her into the studio for a recording session and added her to his live revue. Billed as Little Esther, she scored her first success when she was teamed with the vocal quartet The Robins (who later became The Coasters) on the hit single "Double Crossin' Blues." In 1954, having experimented with hard drugs and developing a serious addiction to heroin, she returned to Houston to live with her father. She stayed in Houston and worked some small, local nightclubs and her career may well have been over except that in 1962 Kenny Rogers saw her in one of these clubs and recommended her to his brother’s Lenox label. She took the name Esther Phillips, choosing her last name from a nearby Phillips gas station. She recorded this country-soul rendition of "Release Me," which was a smash Top Ten hit on both the pop and country charts. But although she enjoyed a modest success in the 1960s her addiction worsened and she eventually checked into a rehab facility; while undergoing treatment, she cut some sides for Roulette in 1969 and upon her release, she moved to Los Angeles and signed with Atlantic. In 1975, she scored her biggest hit single since "Release Me" with "What a Difference a Day Makes". Phillips died in Los Angeles on August 7th, 1984, of liver and kidney failure.
• Bobby (Boris) Pickett and the Crypt Kickers - Monster Mash. Comical record that sold a million by 1963.
• Gene Pitney - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Second million seller for Pitney from the film of the same name. His third million seller was the double-a sided If I Didn't Have A Dime b/w Only Love Can Break A Heart.
• Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm b/w Anything That's Part of You, and She's Not You, and Return To Sender b/w Where Do You Come From. Three releases that took 'The King' up to his 42nd million-seller.
• Cliff Richard and The Shadows - The Young Ones. Title of Cliff's first big film role, this single had at that time the most advance sales for any Britsh release totalling 524,000 copies by the day of its release. Before the year was out Cliff released a disc from his forthcoming second movie, 'Summer Holiday'. Bachelor Boy b/w The Next Time, which also sold over a million copies.
• Tommy Roe - Sheila. First million seler for the artist who based his style on Buddy Holly.
• David Rose and his Orchestra - The Stripper. This third million seller is probably Rose's most celebrated composition. The raunchy number was adopted by strip clubs the world over but never used to better effect than in a Christmas comedy sketch on BBC television in the 1970s featuring Morecambe and Wise.
• Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki. The first Japanese million-selling disc in the US was originally titled 'Ueo Muite Aruko' (Walk With Your Chin Up) when heard by Pye Records chief Louis Benjamin. He bought it back to England for Kenny Ball who had a hit with it (changing the title so British record buyers could remember it better). Ball's version was a big hit in the UK and so Capitol Records in America decided to release the original vocal version (also under the title 'Sukiyaki').
• Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. Third million seller for Sedaka.
• The Shadows - Wonderful Land. Lively million seller for the famous instrumental group.
• Dee Dee Sharp - Mashed Potato Time. First million seller for the star born Dione LaRue in 1945 in Philadelphia. Her second million seller was Ride (I'm Gonna Get On My Pony And Ride).
• The Shirelles - Soldier Boy. Fourth million seller for the all-girl group.
• Ray Stevens with the Merry Melody Singers - Ahab The Arab First million seller for Ray.
• The Tornados - Telstar. This tune was composed by Joe Meek an ex-junior studio engineer who opened up his own hit-factory in Holloway Road, North London. After advertising for a group in early 1962 he hired Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy, George Bellamy, Roger Jackson and Heinz Burt to form The Tornados. They were put on tour with John Leyton before landing a record contract with Decca following a season backing Billy Fury in Great Yarmouth. Following the first trans-Atlantic television transmission from the Telstar satellite on 23rd July, 1962, Meek was inspired to write this instrumental. He phoned the Tornados immediately he'd finished writing it and arranged for them to record it the next weekend. Within an hour of arriving they were in his studio working out the arrangement and half an hour later the disc was cut. Global sales of the record are estimated to have exceeded five million and the record stayed at number one in the UK for three weeks. Meek died tragically on 3rd February, 1967.
• Bobby Vee - The Night Has A Thousand Eyes. Fifth million seller for Bobby.
• Bobby Vinton - Roses Are Red (My Love). First big hit for Vinton producing sales of over 2 million.
• Gerhard Wendland - Tanze Mit Mir In Den Morgan (Dance With Me In The Morning). Sole million seller for this Berlin born artist.

60s GOLDS

1960
1961