We are about to embark on another weeklong musical journey back in time but before we do, these were the headline stories in the magical year of 1964…

President Lyndon Johnson won reelection in a landslide over Sen. Barry Goldwater; the Warren Commission Report was published; Johnson announced a “War on Poverty”; Congress authorized war against North Vietnam; Three civil rights field workers were murdered in Mississippi; Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed.
And there were more…
The first Ford Mustang was produced; the World’s Fair opened in New York City; the Boston Strangler was captured; Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa was convicted of jury tampering; Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa; Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston; Jack Ruby was convicted of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Sam Cooke, Alan Ladd, Peter Lorre, Jim Reeves and Gracie Allen died.

Mary Poppins, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Seven Days In May, A Fistful of Dollars, Goldfinger, Fail-Safe, Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte, A Hard Day’s Night and My Fair Lady all premiered in U.S. theaters.

The average income in the U.S. was $6,000 per year; the average cost of a home was $13,000; the average cost of a new car was $3,500; gasoline cost 30 cents per gallon; movie tickets averaged $1.25; bread cost 21 cents; the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the year at 874.

And in music?
The Whisky a Go Go opened its doors on Sunset Strip in Hollywood; Bob Dylan’s epic The Times They Are a-Changin’ album was released; and of course, it was the year of The British Invasion as the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Kinks, Animals, Searchers and Manfred Mann took over the Billboard music charts while many American artists tumbled out of sight.

There were twenty-three #1 hits and we’ll get to them throughout the coming week … but first it’s Mellow Sunday so we’re starting off with some of the “quiet” songs from 1964.
As always, each song’s peak chart position is indicated in the parentheses next to the artist. Some of those chart positions may surprise you.

Play button is on the left … Volume slider is on the right

Vintage 1964 Medley / Part 1

Chad & Jeremy (#7) – Gerry & The Pacemakers (#6)
Dave Clark Five (#3) – Beach Boys (#17)
Brian Poole & The Tremeloes (#97) – Andy Williams (#24)
Beatles (Did Not Chart)