Back to the 1960s for some hits and love songs from that special era. I had fun listening to Crusin’ 4 with a range of music from The Beach Boys’ classic, “Good Vibrations,” to The Band’s classic, “The Weight.” There are also some songs on this compilation CD that I rarely hear on Oldies stations any more like The Outsiders’ “Time Won’t Let Me” and The Johnny Otis Show’s “Willie And The Hand Jive.”
Unforgettable Love Songs of the Sixties (1999) is a more retro collection of love songs. It’s been years since I heard Connie Francis sing “Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You” or Skeeter Davis sing “The End of the World.” Other singers from the early 1960s show up on this disc: Bobby Vinton, Andy Williams, Eddy Arnold, Al Martino, and Lenny Welch.
Our local Oldies radio stations rarely play music from the 1960s any more. It’s mostly 1970s and 1980s song with a few 1990s hits mixed in. The songs of Sixties are slipping in obscurity. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B (for both)
TRACK LIST:
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires– | Are You Lonesome Tonight? | 3:09 |
| 2 | Bobby Vinton– | Blue Velvet | 2:51 |
| 3 | Henry Mancini And His Orchestra– | Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet | 2:37 |
| 4 | Andy Williams– | Can’t Get Used To Losing You | 2:23 |
| 5 | Engelbert Humperdinck– | Release Me (And Let Me Love Again) | 3:20 |
| 6 | Eddy Arnold– | Make The World Go Away | 2:40 |
| 7 | Al Martino– | Spanish Eyes | 2:48 |
| 8 | Connie Francis– | Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You | 3:05 |
| 9 | Nat King Cole– | Ramblin’ Rose | 2:50 |
| 10 | Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires– | Can’t Help Falling In Love | 3:02 |
| 11 | Skeeter Davis– | The End Of The World | 2:39 |
| 12 | Lenny Welch– | Since I Fell For You | 2:55 |
| 13 | The Lettermen– | When I Fall In Love | 2:29 |
| 14 | Henry Mancini And His Orchestra– | Moon River | 2:41 |
When I think of cruisin’, the first song that pops into my head is “The Weight”, lol. Both albums are a bit of a mish-mash—interesting that the Lettermen pop up on both of them.
Yeah, what Deb said. I love “The Weight” but it doesn’t fit here. Cruisin’ songs?
A lot of Beach Boys songs, like I Get Around and Fun Fun Fun.
Jan & Dean, Dead Man’s Curve (“I was cruising in my Stingray late one night…”)
Actually, one I associate with this, if you will indulge a little nostalgia here: Spring of 1964, I took a ride with my father when he went to drop off a vacuum cleaner at a friend’s (who used to work with him). It was a warm evening, the windows were open, and when he went into her house (not that there’s anything wrong with that), I sat in the car listening to the Dixie Cups sing “Chapel of Love.”
/end nostalgic reminiscence
Jeff, I’m with you all the way! Listening to this music brings back a lot of memories of the Sixties. All these songs were constantly played on our car radio. And, my mother always had the radio on in the house when she was baking and cleaning (which was every day).
Deb, The Lettermen were a popular group pre-Beatles. Love “The Weight”–a song that never gets old!
Not a song you’d think of as kids cruisin’ the main drag to, I think is the consensus.
Todd, when gas was 25 cents a gallon, my buddy, Joe, and I would cruise around Niagara Falls and burn through fuel that’s unimaginable today! Of course, the radio was blasting!
Whoa! Somebody actually put out some good money for the track list on CRUIsIN’ #4– some great songs and some pretty great songs, wi.th not an unfamiliar title of artist or lemon in the bunch. The Beach Boys and the Band *bookend some of my favorite songs. It’s been a dog’s age since I heard Gene Vincent.
And whil2e UNFORGETTABLE LOVE SONGS OF THE SIXTIES could have easily been titled MARSHMALLOW MUSIC, there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing on this rather innocuous disc that would make me change the dial, my favorites being Spanish Eyes and Ramblin’ Rose. Easy listening all the way to Happytown.
Jerry, I confess I’m a fan of MARSHMALLOW MUSIC, too! Makes the route to Happytown smooth!
Well, there’s nothing here that’s completely unfamiliar, though since my mother loved “Humperdinck” (and not the HANSEL UND GRETEL composer he stole his stage name from) , I’ll never need to hear his voice again
Even in 1999, I suspect rights to the songs on the first antho went pretty cheap, Jerry…but it’s certainly a good-enough assortment of what it’s selling. And I’ll admit that the line in “Moon RIver”, “There’s such a lot of world to see”, always plucked a string for me, at least, even given by the time I was ten we’d seen a good chunk of North America, at least, and lived in a fair amount of it (helps make up for the “Huckleberry friend” line). I’d grade both a bit harder, but would listen to at least the first from time to time.
Todd, “Moon River” gained plenty of airplay on the radio during the 1960s.
As for the second CD, yes, sappy but I ‘ve always liked “Moon River” and Mancini in general. I bought a Greatest Hits collection a few years ago.
I also like to recite the spoken word part of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” along with Elvis.
(“Honey, you lied when you said you loved me
And I had no cause to doubt you.
But I’d rather go on hearing your lies
Than to go on living without you.
Now the stage is bare, and I’m standing there
With emptiness all around.
And if you won’t come back to me
Then they can bring the curtain down. “)
Thank you, thank you very much.
Jeff, Elvis dominated the late 1950s and early 1960s. All my friends–especially the females–loved his movies! And Elvis showed up on TV in concerts on a regular basis. I’m with you on Henry Mancini. Great music maker!
I remember those times very well – as I’ve written before I got access to the American Forces radio in the late 50s – totally different from the Kitsch that was played on German radio.
There were so many songs I enjoyed “He’ll Have to Go” and of course Gimme some lovin’ – written by teenage Steve Winwood who became my all time favourite musician: singer, guitarist, organ player and composer.
There were also other musicians/song writers who became famous already as tenagers like Paul Anka, Phil Spector etc.
Wonderful times!
Wolf, dare I say it… The music was just better in the Sixties!
I’d say, taking all of it together, it was as good. Radio could be better, particularly by the advent of freeform and public/non-commercial radio nationwide by th6 late ’60s…but my parents tended to stick with Easy Listening (Muzak) stations, that curse of the ’60s-’80s, after which it seemed to mostly fade away in favor of bland pop programming.
Good tracks, all. I can attach each one to a particular time or place where I heard it. I wonder if Wolf remembers the German songs that crossed over to the U.S. charts in 1960 — SAILOR, YOUR HOME IS THE SEA by “Lolita” (originally, SEEMAN) and APACHE, the Jorgen Ingmann instrumental?
Well, the Lolita song was a bit of too much Kitsch for me.
Btw Apache was a hit in England first, written by an Englishman, and then adapted by Ingmann – who was Danish.
You need to have Sirius XM on your car radio! You can select the kind of music you want from many eras and styles! I have presets for The Beatles, the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and several others I don’t hear as often!
Bob, I have Sirius/XM radio on both of our vehicles. But I don’t spend much time driving around any more. Some days, I don’t drive at all!
Surprisingly I’m familiar with all the songs. I feel Beach boy’s and Jan and Dean are the cruising songs I remember
Maggie, I think THE BEACH BOYS and JAN & DEAN invented cursing!
Well, Frank Zappa invented rock cursing, perhaps. BBs and J&D kept it squeaky clean for a while…