The #1 hits of 1963 Part 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Elvis Presley

Scotty Moore, Grady Martin, Harold Bradley, Floyd Cramer, Bob Moore,
D.J. Fontana, Buddy Harman and Boots Randolph, these fine session musicians played on "(You're the) Devil in Disguise". Recorded by Elvis Presley in May 1963 and was his 31st top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100. The song peaked at number three on Billboard and number two in Australia. In the UK the song reached the top spot in August of 1963.
The session information comes from the book "Heartbreak Hotel: The Life and Music of Elvis Presley" covering every recording session and much more, authored by Robert Mathew-Walker.

Answer: The Beatles

The Beatles with "She Loves You" hit number one in the UK in September 1963. The song did not chart in the USA until March 1964. In Australia the song made it to number two, kept out of the top spot by another Liverpool group, The Searchers.

Answer: The Four Seasons

Number one Australia Jan 1963, number one USA 1962, and top twenty in the UK.
Written by band member Bob Gaudio, "Big Girls Don't Cry" was the second number one hit for the Four Seasons. The record made it to number eight on the UK chart and number one in Australia. The Four Seasons went on to have a total of five number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: The Ronettes

"Be My Baby" was a number two for the Ronettes on the Billboard Hot 100 but is included here as the Cashbox listed it as a number one. The record was a top ten in Australia and the UK. Since its release the record has been used in countless movies according to Ronnie Spector's' Biography "Be My Baby".
I checked on IMDB and count 25 movies but that's enough. The record, produced by Phil Spector, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: The Tymes

The Tymes made to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with "So Much in Love" in August 1963. The record was a top twenty in the UK where they finally cracked the number one spot in 1974 with "Ms Grace" which hardly charted in the USA. Later in 1963 The Tymes made the Hot 100 top ten with a revival of my favourite Johnny Mathis song "Wonderful, Wonderful". Sadly this great R & B group did not chart in Australia with any release but a number of the songs were covered by Australian artists.

Answer: Roy Orbison

"A candy coloured clown they call the sandman, tiptoes to my room every night
just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper, "Go to sleep. Everything is all right."" These are the opening lines to Roy Orbison's classic song "In Dreams"
This record hit number one in Australia within four weeks of its release such was Roy's popularity down under. The record made the top ten in both the USA and the UK.

Answer: Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas

Written by fellow Liverpudlians John Lennon and Paul McCartney, "Bad to Me" was a number one in the UK for Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. The record only scraped in to the top forty in Australia; when released in the USA in 1964 the song was a double sided top ten hit for the group.

The flipside of this release, "Little Children", was their fourth hit in the UK. Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas' first three releases were top tens in the UK and were written by Lennon and McCartney; they were "Do You Want to Know a Secret" followed by "I'll Keep You Satisfied". Both these songs charted in Australia in 1963.

Answer: Gerry & The Pacemakers

Originally recorded by then rejected by The Beatles "How Do You Do It?" was a number one smash for Gerry & The Pacemakers. Gerry Marsden recounted in an interview about the 'British Invasion' how he had been advised to write songs for flipsides of his releases, "How Do You Do It" had a Marsden penned track "Away from You" on the flipside. When "How Do You Do It" became a number one hit eventually selling a reported two million worldwide, the flipside sold along with it ensuring composer royalties.
"How Do You Do It" was a number one hit in Australia and a top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

Interesting trivia: It was Gerry and the Pacemakers and not the Beatles who were the first Liverpool rock band to have a national number one in the UK.

Answer: Dale & Grace

Dale (Houston) and Grace (Broussard) revived a song from 1957 original done by R&B duet Don and Dewey entitled "I'm Leaving It Up to You". The record went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for two weeks. In the UK the record made the top forty and it did not chart in Australia, despite a lot of airplay.

The song was at number one when Dale and Grace were playing in Dallas Texas with Bobby Vee and Brian Hyland when JFK was assassinated.

Answer: Jimmy Soul

Jimmy Soul recorded "If You Wanna Be Happy" after it had been rejected by Gary U.S. Bonds. The record went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, made the top forty (number 39) in the UK and only scraped into the bottom of the top forty in Australia. Jimmy Soul did not have any other notable releases after "If You Wanna Be Happy" and sadly, died of a heart attack in prison.