Last updated 5/4/2020
Songs 21-34 are located here.
Songs 35-50 are located here.
Songs 51-64 are located here.
The 20 Bonus Songs are located here.
The Top 64 Songs of 1964, as charted by Billboard Magazine, are being presented each week during the season.
The source reference for this list is “Joel Whitburn’s Pop Annual 1955-1999.” Joel originated the tracking of Billboard chart data in 1970, so he’s known as the expert in the field.
The structure of the annual charts is simple: records are rated on the highest position reached on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the number of weeks spent at that position. Ties are broken by the number of weeks spent in the Top 10, Top 40, and Top 100.
If a record charted in more than one year, all of its chart history is treated as if it occurred in the year that the record first hit its peak position, so it will not appear at all in the other year’s listing.
There were 714 records that appeared on the Hot 100 chart in 1964
Week 34
The #4 record of the entire decade peaked at #1 on 2/1/64, 2/8/64, 2/15/64, 2/22/64, 2/29/64, 3/7/64, and 3/14/64.
Starting with this record, which was their first to reach the Top 40, The Beatles held the #1 position on the Hot 100 chart for 14 straight weeks.
This was the first Beatles recording to be made on four-track equipment, on 10/17/63 at Abbey Road.
It was also the first Beatles single to be released on Capitol Records in the US, on 12/26/63.
This is the 2015 stereo remix.
#1 – “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles
Week 33
One of the two records to hold the top spot for more than four weeks peaked at #1 on 4/4/64, 4/11/64, 4/18/64, 4/25/64, and 5/2/64.
On 4/4/64, The Beatles held the top 5 positions on the Hot 100 chart.
The instrumental track and guide vocal were not recorded at Abbey Road, but in Paris. Overdubs of Paul’s lead vocal and George’s guitar solo were recorded later in London. Because they were overdubbing from a two-track recording, the original guide vocal and guitar solo can still be heard. This is the only English-language track that The Beatles themselves recorded in a studio outside the UK.
This is the 2015 stereo remix.
#2 – “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles
Week 32
The first big hit of the year peaked at #1 on 1/4/64, 1/11/64, 1/18/64, and 1/25/64.
The following week, The Beatles were #1 for the first time. Things changed a little after that…
Most people don’t realize what a big star Bobby Vinton was in the early Sixties. From 1962 to 1964, he had four #1 hits and nine Top 20 records. In the following ten years, he only had six Top 20 hits, and none after “My Melody Of Love” in 1974.
This song was also a #1 hit for Vaughn Monroe in 1945. Strangely, it was also the #3 single of that year.
This is the stereo version.
#3 – “There! I’ve Said It Again” by Bobby Vinton
What the heck, let’s get Vaughn in here too.
“There! I’ve Said It Again” by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra (#1 in March 1945)
Week 31
The Supremes’ biggest hit peaked at #1 on 10/31/64, 11/7/64, 11/14/64, and 11/21/64.
Of the group’s twelve #1 hits, this is the only one to stay at the top for more than two weeks.
All three of their 1964 #1 records were on Side 1 of the “Where Did Our Love Go” album. Back then, having three #1 hits on the same album was a major accomplishment, particularly for a group that had never reached the Top 20 before.
This is the stereo version, taken from a high-resolution digital download of the original album.
#4 – “Baby Love” by The Supremes
Week 30
Roy Orbison’s biggest hit peaked at #1 on 9/26/64, 10/3/64, and 10/10/64.
Why not just call it “Pretty Woman”? Early copies of the 45 did use that name, but it was soon changed, probably because Orbison and a different writing partner had already written a song titled “Pretty Woman,” which had been recorded by Curtis Byrd in 1962. Changing the song’s name resolved any issues about radio play royalties.
This is the mono single version, which differs slightly from the more common stereo album version. The difference is one word just after the 1:40 mark. In the mono version, the line is “Come to me, baby,” while in the stereo version, it’s “Come with me, baby,” which was considered to be more suggestive and therefore not fit for the single. The single version doesn’t exist in stereo.
#5 – “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison
Week 29
The first hit by The Animals peaked at #1 on 9/5/64, 9/12/64, and 9/19/64.
The recording was made in one take during a session set up to record some other songs for the British TV show “Ready, Steady, Go.”
In most of the world, this record was released in its full 4:30 length. For the U.S. release, however, MGM Records edited it down to 2:58, because American singles were supposed to be under three minutes long. (Note that none of the top 50 records on this list exceeded three minutes.)
Two versions are posted here. The first is the original edited U.S. mono single. Note the really brutal edit around 1:40.
#6 – “The House Of The Rising Sun” by The Animals
The second is the full-length recording in a new True Stereo version, created from the original mono recording using the DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo) technique.
Week 28
The first single and biggest hit on the Red Bird label peaked at #1 on 6/6/64, 6/13/64, and 6/20/64.
Red Bird Records was founded by legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and producer George Goldner, and many of the songs that Red Bird artists recorded were written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. This song was credited to Barry, Greenwich, and Phil Spector.
This is a later stereo mix, different from (and slightly clearer than) the one on my original stereo LP.
#7 – “Chapel Of Love” by The Dixie Cups
Week 27
The last Beatles #1 of the year peaked at #1 on 12/26/64, 1/2/65, and 1/9/65.
This record replaced “Come See About Me” as #1 for three weeks before giving back the top spot in mid-January 1965. Because it first reached its peak in 1964, all of its chart history counts toward the 1964 rankings.
The flip side of this record was #47 for the year, so we’ll hear it in Week 31.
This is the 2015 stereo remix, which has a fuller sound than the earlier stereo mixes.
#8 – “I Feel Fine” by The Beatles
Week 26
The second Beatles record to reach the top peaked at #1 on 3/21/64 and 3/28/64.
This is another Beatles single that was first released in the USA in 1963 on a small label (in this case, the Philadelphia label Swan) because Capitol wasn’t interested yet. It took six months, but the Swan release finally made it to #1.
No stereo exists for this, since the original twin-track master tape wasn’t kept (which was typical at the time).
It’s the 2015 remaster version.
#9 – “She Loves You” by The Beatles
Week 25
The only Beach Boys hit in the Top 50 peaked at #1 on 7/4/64 and 7/11/64.
During the recording of this song, Brian Wilson finally got fed up with his interfering father Murry and fired him as the group’s manager.
Because the guitar solo was recorded live during the mono mixing, a true stereo mix isn’t possible.
This is a good recent DES (Digitally Extracted Stereo) mix.
#10 – “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys
Week 24
The Supremes again, with a record that peaked at #1 on 12/19/64, then again on 1/16/65.
(See the top of this page for an explanation of how being spread over two calendar years affects the rankings. Song #8, which was #1 for the three weeks in between, was also affected.)
This is the stereo version, from a high-resolution digital download of the original album.
#11 – “Come See About Me” by The Supremes
Week 23
One of three records by The Supremes peaked at #1 on 8/22/64 and 8/29/64.
This was the group’s first Top 20 record, and it was the first of five straight #1 records for them. They only managed to have 12 #1 records in six years.
This is the stereo version, complete with the popular early stereo sound effect of the “walking boots,” from a high-resolution digital download of the original album.
#12 – “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes
Week 22
Manfred Mann’s first chart hit peaked at #1 on 10/17/64 and 10/24/64.
Like most other British Invasion groups (see song #24), Manfred Mann tried to break through by recording American songs that hadn’t been big hits. The original recording of this Jeff Barry-Ellie Greenwich song by The Exciters (who had the #4 hit “Tell Him” in 1963) only reached #78 in January 1964, under the title “Do-Wah-Diddy.”
Mann’s only other Top 10 record with this group, “Mighty Quinn,” didn’t happen until 1968. Mann later formed his Earth Band and reached #1 again in 1977 with “Blinded By The Light.”
This is the stereo version.
#13 – “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann
Week 21
The highest Motown record on the list not by The Supremes peaked at #1 on 5/16/64 and 5/23/64.
Mary Wells was still only 20 years old when she recorded this, her fourth and final Top 10 hit and her only #1. She left Motown after turning 21 later in 1964 and never was able to regain popularity.
Smokey Robinson wrote some good songs in the Sixties, but this isn’t one of them.
This is a remastered stereo mix.
#14 – “My Guy” by Mary Wells
Week 20
The title song from the first Beatles movie peaked at #1 on 8/1/64 and 8/8/64.
This was the fifth #1 record of the year for the group.
1964 Grammy winner for Best Performance By A Chorus (???).
This is the 2015 stereo remix.
#15 – “A Hard Day’s Night” by The Beatles
Week 19
The other 4 Seasons record on the list peaked at #1 on 7/18/64 and 7/25/64.
The group was so anxious to release this song that they recorded it in an unfamiliar New York studio on a Sunday morning, the day before leaving on a tour.
This is the stereo mix.
#16 – “Rag Doll” by The 4 Seasons
Week 18
Louis Armstrong’s only Top 10 record of the rock and roll era peaked at #1 on 5/9/64.
On 12/3/63, six weeks before the musical opened on Broadway, Satchmo recorded the show’s title song as a publisher’s demo to promote the show and the song. Kapp Records released that demo as a commercial single when the show opened in January 1964.
The record spent 22 weeks on the Hot 100 chart, far more than any other record on this list, and it was also #1 for nine weeks on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
1964 Grammy winner for Song of the Year and for Best Vocal Performance, Male.
This is the stereo version.
#17 – “Hello, Dolly!” by Louis Armstrong
Week 17
The first of two records on the list by Bobby Vinton peaked at #1 on 12/12/64.
Bobby had co-written this song while he was stationed at Fort Dix, NJ.
This was Vinton’s fourth and final #1 record, though he had 17 Top 40 hits after this, only three of which made the Top 10.
This is the stereo version.
#18 – “Mr. Lonely” by Bobby Vinton
Week 16
The second and last #1 record by Dino Crocetti of Steubenville, Ohio, peaked at #1 on 8/15/64.
Dean had recorded this song earlier in the year in a different arrangement. The album containing that version, and a different album containing the hit version, were released on the same day.
The song wasn’t exactly new – in fact, Dean had sung it on Bob Hope’s radio show in 1948.
When Dean began his NBC variety TV show a year later, this naturally became his theme song.
This is the stereo version.
#19 – “Everybody Loves Somebody” by Dean Martin
Week 15
The first Top 10 hit by Peter Asher and Gordon Waller peaked at #1 on 6/27/64.
Though the song is credited to Lennon-McCartney, Paul wrote it himself when he was 16. Peter was the brother of Paul’s girlfriend Jane Asher, and Paul offered the song to Peter and Gordon when they signed their first recording contract.
Peter went on to become a record producer and manager for Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, and others.
This is a “narrow stereo” version, which sounds better than the more common “wide stereo” mix.
#20 – “A World Without Love” by Peter and Gordon