The #1 hits of 1963 Part 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons followed two number ones in 1962 ("Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry"), with another in early 1963 "Walk Like A Man" proving they were going to be around for a while. "Walk Like A Man" was a number one in Australia and reached number twelve in the UK.

Answer: Lesley Gore

At just sixteen years of age, a number one with her first release Lesley Gore hit the jackpot with "It's My Party" which spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The record made the top ten in the UK and hit number one in Australia. In the USA and Australia Lesley had two more top five hits in 1963, "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "She's A Fool".

Answer: The Rooftop Singers

The Rooftop Singers re-worked an old folksong from the 1920s, "Walk Right In" and captured the number one slot on the Billboard Hot 100. The recording hit number one in Australia and a number of other countries due to the catchiness of the tune played on 12 string guitars. It hit the top ten in the UK. A new version of the song by Doctor Hook made number one in Australia in 1977.

Answer: The Beatles

The Beatles had started to take the world by storm in 1963 and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" helped their cause, topping the UK chart in December and staying there for five weeks. In Australia the record was top ten in December reaching number one in January 1964.

The same thing happened in the USA; according to the book "Beatles Anthology" the release was delayed in the USA and when released in Mid December 1963 it was in short supply, so the record company (Capitol) enlisted help from other pressing plants with the result that when readily available the disc went to number one and stayed there for seven weeks.

Answer: Jan and Dean

"Surf City" was a number one hit for Jan and Dean. Their recording of this song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK the record was a top thirty although it is fair to say that surfing music was not big in the UK. In Australia the song was at number one for three weeks with a cover version by local group, the Delltones, making the top ten.

In Sydney Surf City was the name chosen by the owners of the closed Kings Cross movie theatre, who opened it as a dance hall for the many surf music groups around at the time such as the Atlantics and the Denvermen. I saw the Chantays at that venue. In early 1964 with popularity of instrumental style groups on the wane the beat groups moved in. Surf City was where Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Ray Brown & The Whispers came to prominence.

Answer: Gerry & The Pacemakers

Written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the musical "Carousel", "You'll Never Walk Alone" as recorded by Gerry and the Pacemakers was a number one hit in 1963. The record was the group's third consecutive number one hit on the UK charts. Despite plenty of airplay the song only reached the top thirty in Australia.

In the USA the record was not released until 1965 and it languished at the bottom of the top fifty on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the official anthem of Liverpool FC; the phrase "You'll Never Walk Alone" is the on the Liverpool FC coat of arms.

Answer: Kyu Sakamoto

Truly a one hit wonder outside Japan, Kyu Sakamoto scored in a big way with the release of "Sukiyaki". The record went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for three weeks. In the UK it made the top ten competing with a top ten instrumental version by Kenny Ball.

In Australia the record reached number two, denied the top spot by Jan and Dean's "Surf City". No other releases by Kyu Sakamoto fared well in chart outside Japan except for a tune in late 1963 titled "China Nights" which entered the top sixty in the USA and Australia then slid back down.

Answer: Little Peggy March

Often considered to be a one hit wonder, Little Peggy March recorded "I Will Follow Him", an English language version of a French song. The song was originally an instrumental hit, words were added and as "Cheerio" the song was a hit for Petula Clark in France and Belgium. With English words by Norman Gimbel "I Will Follow Him" was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song was a number one in Australia and many other countries however it did not chart in the UK. March followed her number one success with "I Wish I Were A Princess" which charted in the USA and Australia, then "Hello Heartache Goodbye Love" also charted in the UK and the USA.

In all Little Peggy March had five singles chart in 1963/64 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Australia a single "Starlight, Starbright" very much in the vein of "I Will Follow Him" was released in 1963 and although it did not chart nationally, due to much airplay it lingered around the middle of the top forty in Sydney for a few months.

Answer: Allan Sherman

Based on Amilcare Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" was a number one hit in Australia for Allan Sherman. The record made it to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 (Although Cashbox has it listed as a number one) and a top ten entry in the UK.

Sherman had no more singles of note make the charts but did have three number one albums on the Billboard Top Pop Album Chart.

Answer: Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs

Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs had a big hit with "Sugar Shack". The song climbed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Australia; in the UK the song only lingered on the charts for a short time peaking at number 43. I feel the song was released six months too late in the UK as the beat groups from the north were taking over the charts.