3 Top 40 Hits From 1966 That Every 60s Kid Still Knows by Heart Today

Music from about halfway through the 1960s might be some of the best songs that have ever been released. So many great songs came out in the middle of the decade, including these three songs. All out in 1966, every 60s kid almost certainly still knows them by heart today.

“Strangers In The Night” by Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra made “Strangers In The Night” the title track of a record he also released in 1966. The chart-topping single was written by Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, and Eddie Snyder. “Strangers In The Night” began as an instrumental track, written by Kaempfert for the film A Man Could Get Killed. Singleton and Snyder later added the lyrics.

“Strangers In The Night” says, “Strangers in the night / Two lonely people, we were strangers in the night / Up to the moment when we said our first hello, little did we know / Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away.”

The year 1966 was a big year for Sinatra. In addition to “Strangers In The Night”, Sinatra also had hits with “Summer Wind” and “That’s Life”. One year later, in 1967, Sinatra had his final No. 1 single with “Somethin’ Stupid”, a duet with his daughter, Nancy Sinatra.

“I Am A Rock” by Simon & Garfunkel

On Simon & Garfunkel’s sophomore Sounds Of Silence record is “I Am A Rock”. “I Am A Rock” was written by Paul Simon.

A song about loneliness, “I Am A Rock” says, “I am a rock / I am an island / I’ve built walls / A fortress, steep and mighty / That none may penetrate.”

“I Am A Rock” also appears on The Paul Simon Songbook, Simon’s first solo album, released in the United Kingdom. Simon wrote all but one of the 11 songs on Sounds Of Silence. Nine he wrote by himself, and one, “Somewhere They Can’t Find Me”, he wrote with Davey Graham.

“Coming On Strong” by Brenda Lee

The title track of a record Brenda Lee released at the end of 1966, “Coming On Strong” was written by Little David Wilkins. 

The only single from Coming On Strong, the song begins with, “Coming on strong, coming on strong / I can feel the heartaches / Coming on strong.”

Also in 1966, Don Bryant released “Coming On Strong”, although his version was not a big hit. In 1980, Barbara Mandrell included this song on her Love Is Fair project. “Coming On Strong” was Lee’s final Top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a pop artist. In 1971, Lee released “If This Is Our Last Time”, marking her switch to country music.

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