The year 1962 was an interesting one for rock music, as well as R&B and folk. So much was going on culturally, and rock music was steadily evolving into something different from classic rock and roll. Despite being a year of substantial change, a lot of solid classic music came to be in 1962, including the following three forgotten songs. Let’s take a look!
“Twist, Twist Señora” by Gary U.S. Bonds
I remember hearing this song as a kid in the 90s and being unable to contain my need to dance. “Twist, Twist Senora” by Gary U.S. Bonds is such a fun song, and a great example of how good the R&B and calypso genres were back in the day.
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This Gary U.S. Bonds hit made it all the way to No. 9 on the US Pop chart and is by far the most memorable calypso song of the year. And if it sounds kind of familiar, that’s probably because it is heavily inspired by the calypso tune “Jump In The Line (Shake Señora)”. And you probably heard that tune in the 1994 film The Mask.
“If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song)” by Peter, Paul And Mary
“If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song)” by Peter, Paul And Mary was a noteworthy hit in the 1960s folk scene, and it made it all the way to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962. However, this isn’t an original song. “If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song)” was originally written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays way back in 1949. Both versions are incredible, as is Trini Lopez’s version from the following year that charted to the Top 10 globally.
“Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)” by Ernie Maresca
This entry on our list of forgotten songs from 1962 was also new to me. And I can certainly see why it did so well back in 1962. It’s a classic rock and roll doo-wop tune from Ernie Maresca, and it made it all the way to No. 6 on the Hot 100 that year. The song also topped the Canadian charts. This track is such a fantastic example of what rock and roll sounded like in the early 1960s.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns