Soldier Boy (1962)

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• The Shirelles - Soldier Boy (MP3)

By: The Shirelles, formed in 1958 by high school friends Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie "Micki" Harris, and Beverly Lee in Passaic, New Jersey.

They were the first girl group to have a #1 US hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Other songs by The Shirelles became hits when covered by British groups: "Sha La La" was an international hit when covered by Manfred Mann, "Boys" was covered by the Beatles (with Ringo Starr singing lead,) and "Baby It's You" (with John Lennon singing lead) on their album Please Please Me.

In 1996, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Chart position: #1 (US).

It was #1 in the US for 3 weeks in May 1962. It was preceded by "Good Luck Charm" (Elvis Presley) and succeeded by "Stranger on the Shore" (Mr. Acker Bilk).

The Top Ten Songs: May 12, 1962 (US Billboard Hot 100).

1. "Soldier Boy" (Shirelles)
2. "Mashed Potato Time" (Dee Dee Sharp)
3. "Stranger On The Shore" (Mr. Acker Bilk)
4. "Johnny Angel" (Shelley Fabares)
5. "Good Luck Charm" (Elvis Presley)
6. "She Cried" (Jay and the Americans)
7. "Old Rivers" (Walter Brennan)
8. "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out" (Ernie Maresca)
9. "Dear Twist Lady" (Gary U.S. Bonds)
10. "Shout" (Joey Dee and the Starliters)

Written by: Luther Dixon and Florence Greenberg.

Dixon and Greenberg wrote or co-wrote such songs for the Shirelles as "Boys" and "Mama Said", as well as other hits such as "Sixteen Candles" (Crests,) "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" (Gene McDaniels,) "Big Boss Man" (Jimmy Reed,) and "Doncha' Think It's Time" (Elvis Presley).

Also by: Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs (1965).

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• The Shirelles - Soldier Boy (MP3)

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Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (1962) (1975)

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• Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (MP3)
• Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Slow) (MP3)

By: Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York.)

Neil Sedaka formed the Tokens with Jay Siegel in 1954 at the age of 15. By the time the group had a hit with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", Sedaka had long since moved on.

Sedaka recorded "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" with the Cookies singing backing vocals. The Cookies went on to record "Chains" and "Don't Say Nothing Bad (About My Baby)", both top 10 R&B hits.

The session musicians thought Sedaka was crazy for adding backing vocals throughout the entire song even before recording his lead vocal, which he triple-tracked. Inspired by Les Paul & Mary Ford, Sedaka was one of the first singers to overdub multiple tracks of his own voice.

Chart position: #1 (US), #7 (UK).

It was preceded at #1 by "Roses Are Red (My Love)" (Bobby Vinton) and succeeded by "The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva.)

Sedaka had a hit again with "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" recorded as a slow ballad in 1975, which reached #8, the only US #1 single to be re-recorded by the same artist and become a Top Ten hit all over again.

The Top Ten Songs: October 25, 1962 (US Billboard Hot 100).

1. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (Neil Sedaka)
2. "The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva)
3. "Roses Are Red (My Love)" (Bobby Vinton)
4. "The Wah Watusi" (Orlons)
5. "You Don't Know Me" (Ray Charles)
6. "Things" (Bobby Darin)
7. "Ahab The Arab" (Ray Stevens)
8. "Little Diane" (Dion)
9. "Speedy Gonzales" (Pat Boone)
10. "Sealed With A Kiss" (Brian Hyland)
     

Written by: Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield (born March 15, 1936, died March 4, 1986).

Sedaka and Greenfield also wrote such songs as "Where The Boys Are", "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (which was a #1 hit for Tony Christie when reissued in 2005), "Stupid Cupid", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Calender Girl", etc.

In 1952, sixteen year old Greenfield and 13 year old Sedaka, both lived in the same apartment building in Brooklyn. However, they didn't know of each other until Greenfield's mother had a chance meeting with the young Sedaka, suggesting to the young pianist that "You should meet my son; he writes great lyrics." The rest is history.

Initially, no one was impressed by "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", even Greenfield, whom Sedaka persistantly goaded for months to supply lyrics to the tune. Often when they would run out of lyrics while writing, they would often thrown throw in nonsense syllables, which soon became a trademark.

The "down dooby doo down down" refrain was intentionally incorporated into the song by Sedaka.

Also by: The Partridge Family/David Cassidy, who was the first singer to record "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" as a slow ballad; the Four Seasons; The Carpenters; Carole King; Gloria Estefan; Freddy Fender; Little Eva; Tom Jones; Eydie Gorme.

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• Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (MP3)
• Neil Sedaka - Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Slow) (MP3)

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Only Love Can Break A Heart (1962)

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• Gene Pitney - Only Love Can Break A Heart (MP3)

By: Gene Pitney (born February 17, 1940 in Hartford, Connecticut, died April 5, 2006 in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.)

Gene Pitney was a child prodigy, learning guitar, drums, and piano at a young age. Two songs that Pitney wrote became hits in 1960 by Roy Orbison ("Today's Teardrops", which was the B-side of "Blue Angel") and Bobby Vee ("Rubber Ball", #6 US and #4 UK).

In 1961, Ricky Nelson had a #9 US hit with Pitney's song "Hello Mary Lou". That same year, Pitney had a big hit with the title song he had written for the movie Town Without Pity (#13 US.) It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Song in a Motion Picture, and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Song.

His next single, the main title song for the James Stewart/John Wayne film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, which was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, reached #4 in the US. Because of that success, Bacharach & David offered Pitney another song they had written, "Only Love Can Break A Heart," which became his biggest hit.

Pitney also had a Top 5 UK hit with another Bacharach/David song, "Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa".

On April 5, 2006, at the age of 66, Pitney died of natural causes in his hotel suite in Cardiff, Wales, while on tour in the UK.

Chart position: #2 (US).

It was kept from #1 in the US by a song that Pitney wrote: "He's A Rebel" (The Crystals).

Written by: Burt Bacharach (born May 12, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri) & Hal David (born May 25, 1921 in New York City, New York.)

Bacharach and David have written a combined 70 Top 40 US hits and 52 Top 40 UK hits, including "The Story of My Life", "Magic Moments", "Baby It's You", "Any Day Now", "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance", "Don't Make Me Over", "Make it Easy On Yourself", "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa", "Blue on Blue", "Anyone Who Had a Heart", "(They Long to Be) Close to You", "Wives and Lovers", "Wishin' and Hopin'", "Walk on By", "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", "A House Is Not a Home", "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "What's New Pussycat?", "Alfie", "My Little Red Book", "I Say A Little Prayer", "The Look of Love", "One Less Bell to Answer", "This Guy's In Love With You", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?", "Promises, Promises", "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" and "That's What Friends Are For".


Also by: Dionne Warwick. 


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• Dionne Warwick - Only Love Can Break A Heart (MP3)