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Musical Tastes for the Times They Are A-Changing

I stumbled upon this website where you can find out what the number one Billboard song was on the day you were born, or the day you graduated from high school, dropped out of college, or lost your virginity. You pick a date and then a year and the Billboad archive does the rest.

Looking for some exercise down memory lane, I entered the approximate date of my high school graduation in 1965 and up came the results for that date from the early 50s to the late 60s.

Take a good look at the list and you can see how we evolved from "How High the Moon," Percy Faith's orchestral musings, and Perez Prado, and ended the 50s with Elvis, Pat Boone and one-hit wonders like "The Battle of New Orleans" and "Purple People Eater."

Turning the corner into the 60s, you can practically feel the gears grinding as we forsake the Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson for Ray Charles, The Supremes, the Stones, Aretha, and of course, the Beatles. White America discovered that it had soul after all, but we were still suckers for a quaint English accent.

Bob Dylan said it best when he said the "times are a changing" (1964, if you want to mark that one on your musical timeline). Enjoy your trip to the past, and go look up your own time capules.

THE 1960s

1969 ... "Get Back" by The Beatles
1968 ... "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel
1967 ... "Respect" by Aretha Franklin
1966 ... "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones
1965 ... "Back in My Arms Again" by The Supremes
1964 ... "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups
1963 ... "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore
1962 ... "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles
1961 ... "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson
1960 ... "Cathy's Clown" by The Everly Brothers

THE 1950s

1959 ... "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton
1958 ... "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley
1957 ... "Love Letters in the Sand" by Pat Boone
1956 ... "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley
1955 ... "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" by Perez Prado
1954 ... "Little Things Mean a Lot" by Kitty Kallen
1953 ... "The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)" by Percy Faith
1952 ... "Blue Tango" by Leroy Anderson
1951 ... "How High the Moon" by Les Paul & Mary Ford
1950 ... "'The Third Man' Theme" by Anton Karas

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. He's written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.

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