Customer Reviews

Billboard Top Hits: 1961

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3 star:		(1)
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Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits: 1961 gives you a budget priced CD with ten great rock and roll hits from 1961. The quality of the sound is rather good and I like the artwork.

Bobby Lewis gets things started with his "Tossin' And Turnin'." This awesome little number rocks well and the key modulations are great! Bobby never misses a beat and the backup vocalists harmonize very well. Del Shannon's "Runaway" also rocks but somewhat slower right after "Tossin' And Turnin'." Del Shannon sings this out like a belter and the interesting musical interlude adds to the number quite a bit.

The Marcels weigh in with their hit entitled "Blue Moon;" this has a distinct doo wop flavor to it that was a bit more popular a few years prior to 1961 but it all works very well. The backup vocalists are very strong on "Blue Moon."

Dion's "Runaround Sue" has a sound and a beat that always makes me smile despite the serious lyrics of the song. The men in the background harmonize and Dion's voice is quite strong. His excellent diction bolsters his performance and they never sing a superfluous note!

The Shirelles perform "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow;" this number always pulls at my heartstrings and the melody benefits from the strings in the arrangement. Shep & The Limelites do their sweet tune entitled "Daddy's Home;" and listen also for Ben E. King to do his huge hit "Stand By Me." "Stand By Me" still sounds as fresh as the first time I ever heard it!

Overall, this CD gives you some rather strong hits from 1961 for a lower price perfect for those of us on a budget. I highly recommend this CD for people who like music from the very early 1960s; and newcomers to this genre will enjoy this album, too.

The early 60's may have been the best years of the rock and roll era, and this album shows you why.

"Tossin' and Turnin'" became the number 1 song of the year and made Bobby Lewis a one-hit wonder. If you were ever young and in love you can easily relate to the lyrics about a guy who can't sleep for thinking about his new girl. Unless you are old enough to remember home delivered milk you may not understand the line "I heard the milkman at the door....". The rest of the lyrics, though, will probably bring back a memory or two.

"Runaway" was Del Shannon's first and biggest hit, and is one of my all time favorites. You can almost picture Del "... a walkin' in the rain, tear drops fall and I feel the pain...". A true classic from 1961.

"Blue Moon" was a hopped up remake of an old ballad and made the Marcels a household name,...at least for a few months. It was the juiced up beat that made this one a big hit.

"Runaround Sue" was probably Dion's biggest hit and the first of his "you done me wrong, girl" hits. (Remember "Donna, the Prima Donna" and "Little Diane"?) I can only imagine how many times "Here's my story, it's sad but true..." has been paraphrased over the years.

When "Quarter to Three" first hit the airwaves it caused a bit of a stir. The one review I can remember back then was by a reviewer who called it "150 seconds of raw, raucous rock and roll". And it cetainly was, turning out to be (Gary) U.S. Bonds' biggest hit.

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" was a nice ballad by The Shirelles that is easy on the ears and always sounds good.

"Please, Mr. Postman" launched the career of The Marvalettes. Another one of those heart breakers, about a girl waiting for a letter from her boyfriend every day that, sadly, never comes ("...you wouldn't stop to make me feel better, by leaving me a card or a letter...").

"Mother-In-Law" should appeal to every man who has had to put up with a mother-in-law. A one-hit wonder for Ernie K. Doe, it was probably a bigger hit than the subject matter of the song deserves. But it's a nice tune and easy to listen--and relate--to.

If you are compiling a library of 60's music, this one is an excellent starter.

In 1988/9 Rhino introduced its superb "Top Rock'n'Roll Hits" (1955-1974) series featuring 20 years of music on 20 CDs at 10 songs per year / per disc. (Hey, neat-o!)

Then in 1993 Rhino reissued the discs in the subset spanning 1960-1969 thus creating two different versions of each in the process. Because these discs are available via Amazon Marketplace, who knows which ones you'll get if you buy them used! If this is important to you, be sure to ask the seller(s) before placing your order(s).

The most obvious visual differences between the two editions are the song titles on both the front covers and the actual CDs. The 1988/9 editions feature mixed-case titles. The 1993 editions feature uppercase titles.

The 1993 editions also have the songs listed on the covers in the same order in which they appear on the discs. The 1988/9 editions list the songs in an almost random order which can be very frustrating while the disc is being played.

The song selections are also different; some moreso than others. For 1961 tracks 7 through 10 were changed!

1988 (7) Bobby Vee, "Take Good Care Of My Baby"
1993 (7) Chris Kenner, "I Like It Like That, Part 1"

1988 (8) The Marvelettes, "Please Mr. Postman"
1993 (8) Shep & The Limelites, "Daddy's Home"

1988 (9) Ernie K-Doe, "Mother-In-Law"
1993 (9) Ben E. King, "Stand By Me"

1988 (10) The Tokens, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
1993 (10) James Darren, "Goodbye Cruel World"

In this case, I prefer the 1988 edition because even though "Stand By Me" is conspicuously absent from it, "Mother-In-Law" is one of those classic, funny tunes that I frequently find myself singing around the house without even realizing it half-the-time when I'm busy. Also, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" belongs on a disc such as this moreso than does its replacement. When I think of the title, "Goodbye Cruel World," I think Pink Floyd, not James Darren! :)

[Note: To my knowledge, the CDs spanning 1955-1959 and 1970-1974 have not been revised. One may also surmise that Rhino believes rock-n-roll died with the advent of disco since the title used for the discs spanning 1975-on-up is simply "Top Hits" - not to be confused, of course, with Rhino's other, similar series, "Top Pop Hits".]

All the Billboard CD's I own contain original hits and are done with excellent sound and mix quality. You won't go wrong buying any of them.

When you have 2 reviewers who spend more time than Stephen King typing and you get comments about how few songs are on the CD, something has to be wrong. To the compilers of this CD, can you spare it?! BUT I do remember checking the paper every Friday in 1961, Mr. Mathena, to see how my favorite songs were faring (NOT Billboard input either) and ALL of the songs on this CD were Top 10ers. It WAS however Billboard which reported "Tossin' and Turnin'" as the #1 single of the year. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" early in the year was the follow-up to "Tonight's the Night". And as to Stephen King, the Rob Reiner movie represented "Stand By Me" as on the air in 1959. Wrong, but it WAS a Top 10 hit in 1961. "I Like it Like That" was a summer hit while "Daddy's Home" came in the fall as did "Goodbye Cruel World". I could go on. ALL TOP 10 HITS as to sales, jukebox plays and radio requests. But why so FEW on this CD? Time-Life has these pikers beat hands down. Buy the songs--they are ALL hits and memorable--just not this particular CD.

It's hard to believe that this series from Billboard/Rhino, dating back to the dawn of the CD era in 1988, continues to be available.

Ten to twelve selections with no liner notes [here you get brief track-by-track comments] might have sold when the format was still a novelty, but it seems silly to pay this price now for 10 selections that are easily obtainable on 20- to 25-track compilations - and for only a few dollars more.

What Billboard/Rhino needs to do is re-invent the series with the addition of at least ten tracks each, and by including some comprehensive historical background notes to bring them in line with the competition from the likes of Ace Records of London.