Number One Hits of 1966- Part 5 Quiz

Answer: Johnny Rivers

Johnny Rivers' only number one on the Billboard Hot 100 came in November 1966 when "Poor Side of Town" achieved that milestone for him. The song written by Rivers and his manager, Lou Adler, stayed in the top ten for eight weeks. The record only skimmed the charts in Australia barely making the top forty. In the UK Johnny Rivers never had a single make the charts, despite charting 32 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and nineteen on the Australian chart. In New Zealand he hit the charts with 22 singles and in Canada he achieved 24 charting sides with two number ones.

Answer: Manfred Mann

A UK Number one for Manfred Mann, "Pretty Flamingo" topped the charts in May 1966. The song was written by Mark Barkan who also wrote "She's A Fool" for Lesley Gore and "Writing On the Wall" for Adam Wade. The song was covered by among others Elvis Costello and Rod Stewart, a version done in 1966 by the Everly Brothers on their album "Two Yanks in England" is quite good. Manfred Mann's recording made number twenty nine on the Billboard Hot 100. In Australia the record was number two for two weeks while over in New Zealand it was a number one for quite a few weeks.

Answer: The Spencer Davis Group

The Spencer Davis Group with "Keep On Running" achieved their first number one hit when the recording went to number one on the UK Chart in January 1966. The record was one of the first records, along with the Rolling Stones "Satisfaction", of the mid sixties to feature the purposeful fuzz tone. Previous records earlier in the sixties had fuzz tone by accident. The Spencer Davis group featured a seventeen year old vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player, Steve Winwood. Despite a lot of airplay the record only reached number thirty on the Australian Charts. The record made it to number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Johnny Young and Kompany

"Step Back" was a number one hit in Australia for local group, Johnny Young and Kompany. As was the case with local artists at this time the record only charted in Australia and New Zealand. In 1968 the song was a top ten hit in the Philippines.

Answer: Napoleon XIV

Napoleon XIV, in reality singer/songwriter/producer Jerry Samuels, became a genuine one hit wonder when "They're coming to take me away ha ha" became a worldwide top ten hit. The record reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Cashbox chart. In the UK the record got to number four, while in Australia it reached number eight and stayed in the charts for several weeks.

Answer: The Mindbenders

The Mindbenders minus singer Wayne Fontana hit the top of the Cashbox chart with "A Groovy Kind of Love". The record stalled at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks behind Percy Sledge's monster hit "When A Man Loves A Woman". In Australia the record got to number five. On their home chart in the UK, they took the song to number three. Wayne Fontana had a couple of hits as a solo performer in 1966 with "Come On Home" and "Pamela, Pamela"

Phil Collins in 1988 had a worldwide number one hit with "A Groovy Kind of Love"

Answer: The Small Faces

Small Faces had made the top ten earlier in 1966 with, "Sha-La-La-la-Lee" and "Hey Girl " then they released "All or Nothing" which gave them their one and only number one hit on the UK chart. The record did not chart in Australia or the USA.

Answer: The Beach Boys

Originally released in 1961 by the Regents, "Barbara Ann" became a worldwide hit for the Beach Boys when it was released in December 1965. The record featuring Dean Torrance of Jan and Dean on vocals made number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Cashbox chart. In Australia the record peaked at number two for three weeks. In the UK it was a number three hit. The recording by the Beach Boys made it to number one in several European countries

Answer: The Easybeats

The Easybeats had another number one hit in Australia with "Come and See Her" Written by singer Stevie Wright and George Young. Their next release "Sorry" went to number one and was their last hit before they headed overseas to try their luck.

Answer: Matt Monro

British crooner Matt Monro topped the Australian chart in 1966 with "Born Free"
The song from the film of the same name won an oscar for best song for composers John Barry and Don Black. It was sung in the movie by Matt Monro. The recording by Monro did not chart in the UK or the USA. However evergreen pianist Roger Williams took an instrumental version of the tune to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.