1962 was an innocent year, still safe from the British invasion and a few years before the surfing sounds of Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys. The failed ‘Bay of Pigs’ Cuban incident was still fresh on everyone’s mind during the cold war.
Johnny Carson began broadcasting ‘The Tonight Show’ and Marilyn Monroe died that year. Here are the top songs from 1962…
1.) “Stranger On The Shore” by Mr. Acker Bilk
2.) “I Can’t Stop Loving You” from Ray Charles
3.) “Mashed Potato Time” by Dee Dee Sharp
4.) “Roses Are Red (My Love)” from Bobby Vinton
5.) “The Stripper” by David Rose
6.) “Johnny Angel” from Shelley Fabares
7.) “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva
8.) “Let Me In” from the Sensations
9.) “The Twist” by Chubby Checker
Prologue: Only Ray Charles is in the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, while Shelly Farbres and Chubby Checker are the only ones from this list that are still alive. Every song on this list hit number one that year, but these artists all disappeared from the charts after the arrival of the Beatles in February of 1964.
—
Photo credit: Gajus / Shutterstock.com