The Shirelles: Soldier Boy (1962)

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"Soldier Boy" is the name of a song written by Luther Dixon and Florence Green. The song, recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York and released as a single by The Shirelles in 1962 on the Scepter label, met with great success, topping the US Billboard Hot 100. The song's lyrics are a profession of the singer's love for the titular soldier boy in which she promises to remain true to him while he's away.

The Rolling Stones: Time Is On My Side (1964)

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"Time Is on My Side" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy (under the pseudonym of Norman Meade). First recorded by jazz trombonist Kai Winding and his Orchestra in 1963, it was covered with additional lyrics by Jimmy Norman by both soul singer Irma Thomas and The Rolling Stones in 1964. The Rolling Stones recorded two versions of "Time Is on My Side" in 1964. The first with the organ intro was released in the U.S. in 1964 on single and on the "12 X 5" album. The re-recording (November 8, 1964) with the guitar intro released in the UK on January 15, 1965 on the "The Rolling Stones No. 2" album. This is the version that appears on most "best of" compilations. Both Rolling Stones' versions copy several distinctive elements of the Irma Thomas version, including the vocal interjections between the chorus lyrics, the monologue in the middle of the song, and the guitar solo which intertwines with this monologue. The U.S. version was released on September 26, 1964 as a single (a month after Thomas' cover) and peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles Chart to become The Rolling Stones' first top ten hit in the U.S. (their previous single, "It's All Over Now", had only peaked at number 26). When they performed "Time Is on My Side" during their first guest spot on The Ed Sullivan Show, Sullivan was shocked by their appearance and declared that they would never be invited onto the show again, but he subsequently invited them back several times. A live version of the song from the band's 1982 live album, "Still Life", reached number sixty-two on the UK singles chart.

The Newbeats: Better Watch Your Step (1965)

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The Newbeats were a popular music vocal trio, best known for their 1964 hit, "Bread and Butter" on the Hickory label. It was the group's first hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Three more singles followed in 1964 and 1965. "Run Baby Run (Back Into My Arms)" reached as high as number 12 that fall, but it was the trio's penultimate chart entry, although they remained with Hickory until 1972. Brief stints at Buddha and Playboy followed before The Newbeats dissolved in 1974. "Better Watch Your Step", recorded in 1965, unashamedly bore a similarity to "Bread and Butter" in an endeavour to repeat its success.

Tom Courtenay: Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter (1963)

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"Mrs Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" is a popular song written by Trevor Peacock. It was originally sung by actor Sir Tom Courtenay in The Lads, a British TV play of 1963. The best-known version of the song is by Herman's Hermits, who took it to number one on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 in April 1965. 

Herman's Hermits: One Little Packet Of Cigarettes (1965)

 

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By being so cheerful, playful, clean, charming, friendly, and cute, they epitomized perfectly the "British Invasion" of 1964-1967. They were British to a fault. Even their musical style, unlike other groups (such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles), was based equally, if not more so, on British pop music, rather than American rhythm & blues. Hermans Hermits owed at least as great a musical debt to English music hall, and to vaudeville. On stage Herman often acted more like a corny vaudevillian than the lead singer in a rock band.