The best golden oldies! Motown and beyond.
Don't go downtown!
The Lion Sleeps
Near the village....
At the end of my rainbow is a golden oldie!
Lists tend to upset certain types of people, but the details are in the title. I'm not saying the most popular or favorites of mine or anyone else's. I judge the creation, hooks, and change ups on each song as I rank them.
What is a golden oldie? Like some Classic Rock, Golden Oldies are from the 50's and 60's but they are more "do- whoppy" and like swing, than they are rock. Think The Platters, Temptations, Tokens, and Four Tops, not Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Stones, or C.C.R. Whether Motown or not, so many Golden Oldies will live on forever!
Who almost made it? The Left Bank-Pretty Ballerina. Great song that should be mentioned.Green Tamberine- The Lemon Pipers. Under the Boardwalk was right on the edge!Duke of Earle- Gene Chandler- Nothing can touch the Duke of Earl! A favorite from Motown. Fill me up Buttercup- Another that come so close. - Bee Bop, Baby- Ricky Nelson- You're the one for me. Ricky was amazing and he left us too soon... another that I hated to leave off!
Here they are-
15. Sally go Round the Roses- The Janettes and Fanny (Fanny did the best version!) There's nothing sadder in the whole wide world.... This is one of my favorites and has been remade alot.Enjoy the video!
14. Let's Go- Richie Valens- A great oldie by another voice that was taken from us too soon. Richie was a star ahead of his time! Thank God we have the records of him and Buddy Holly that we do!
13. A little bit of Soul- The Little Darlings- This song told the truth about the myth! A little bit of soul will never wash away my tears!
12. My Little Shelia- Buddy Holly - The Immortal square peg that will live on forever, sang about the girl with the blue eyes and the pony tail! How could Buddy Holly be left off?
11. 5 O'clock World- The Vouges- The anthem of happy hour in America! What a great tune that we can all relate to!
10. Baby Love-The Supremes- An unforgettable love song from the unforgettable voice. A heart felt plea from the 60's.
9. I am every day people- Sly and the Family Stone-.
What an amazing song and message. It was too short and that was my only problem with it! I loved Sylvester's voice and piano playing. And this was the best back up family band other than the Jackson 5.
8. Sherry- Franky Valley and the 4 Seasons- Another song about a girl that no one else could replace. Frankie Valley had such an inpact on the music of his day. He and his band almost made it on here twice with "Oh what a night!".
7. Natural Woman- Aretha Franklin- After she got a little RESPECT, she turned into a natural woman! This is my favorite by The Queen. Debra Messing got caught singing this in a funny commercial.
6. I Heard it Through Grapevine- Marvin Gaye (no, the version by The California Raisins did NOT make it). Marvin Gaye put so much passion and emption into his songs that he will never be forgotten.
5. Blue Moon- The Marcels- Any one know what a "Rang a dang dang" is? I don't but this was a big smash and was used in many movies.
4. ABC- The Jackson 5- Its as easy as 123. At least The Jacksons made it look easy! This was one of their many hits, and one of Michael's best.
3. I'll be there- The 4 Tops - Also known as reach out, this was as big a hit as the mighty 4 tops would have. They still can belt out the hits.
2. Aint Too Proud to beg- The Temptaions- And you know it! The Stones did a good version but this was the best and the original! The Temptions ruled the Motown land for a long time!
Since you haven't seen this one yet you have to know what number one is! Awesome melody,perfect vocal harmony, and though no one knows what it means, we all love to sing the "Weh Mo Whay" song!
1. The Lion Sleeps Tonight -The Tokens
Tell me your favorites and please vote up!
Other great songs and blogs!
- The 10 Funniest Songs EVER! The Revised List. The late great Leslie Neilson Remembered! Read over 5,
The late Leslie and many others are remembered for their funny contributions to American Music! - The 20 best party songs that make you want to DANCE! Read over 4,000 times! Thank you all!
These 20 songs are not necessarily in the dance or club beat genre, but they still make you want to move and grove! - The Fourteen most romantic love songs ever! viewed over 1,000 times.
Here are some of the most special love songs that set the mood! - The 15 most beautiful songs, sung by women and Connie Talbot( Read over 3,000 times!)
These are the 15 that you want to keep playing over and over! - The Twelve Motown Hits of Christmas!
Motown loved Christmas, and we love them both! Here are the 12 that I thought were the best.