The year 1960 was the start of an incredible decade of music. So many great songs were released that year, including these three Top 40 hits from 1960. They are so good, it’s almost certain that every 60s kid still knows them by heart today.
“Beyond The Sea” by Bobby Darin
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On Bobby Darin’s This Is Darin album is “Beyond The Sea”. The song, which began as the French song “Le Mer”, was written by Charles Trenet.
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“Beyond The Sea” says, ”Somewhere beyond the sea / She’s there watchin’ for me / If I could fly like birds on high / Then straight to her arms, I’d go sailin’.”
Darin’s “Beyond The Sea” comes right after “Mack The Knife”, his first single to reach the top of the charts. Although Darin’s version of “Beyond The Sea” is the most successful, several other artists also recorded this song, including Benny Goodman and George Benson.
“Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)” by Roy Orbison
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Roy Orbison includes “Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)” on his debut album, Lonely And Blue. The sad song was written by Orbison and Joe Melson.
“Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)” says, “There goes my baby / There goes my heart / They’re gone forever / So far apart / But only the lonely / Know why / I cry / Only the lonely.”
Nine years later, in 1969, Sonny James put out his spin on this song. “Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel) became one of his many No. 1 singles.
“I Want To Be Wanted” by Brenda Lee
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Before Brenda Lee became a country music legend, she got her start in rock and roll. In 1960, Lee released “I Want To Be Wanted”. The song was written by Kim Gannon, Pino Spotti, and Alberto Testa.
“I Want To Be Wanted” says, “Alone, just my lonely heart knows how / I want to be wanted right now / Not tomorrow, but right now / I want to be wanted.”
Interestingly, “I Want To Be Wanted” started as an Italian song, written by Spotti and Testa. That version was released in 1959. Gannon later rewrote the song in English for Lee.
“I Want To Be Wanted” is Lee’s second No. 1 single. Her first came in 1958, with “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”. “I Want To Be Wanted” was a bold song for Lee, who was just 15 years old when it was released.
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