We get it, 1962 was a long, long time ago. But just because a lot of decades have passed since then doesn’t mean that the songs aren’t worth listening to today. These four forgotten rock songs all came out in 1962, but we still want to listen to them today.
“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” by Neil Sedaka
By the time Neil Sedaka released “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”, he already had several radio hits, including “Calendar Girl” and “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen”. But “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” is noteworthy as well. Written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, it became his first No. 1 hit, although it isn’t as remembered as some of Sedaka’s other songs.
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Still, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” remained a favorite of Sedaka. So much so, he also released a different version of the same song in 1975. It also became a No.1 single for Sedaka.
“She’s Got You” by Patsy Cline
When people think of Patsy Cline songs, they likely think of songs like “Crazy” or “Walkin’ After Midnight”. But in 1962, Cline had a crossover hit with “She’s Got You”. On her final studio album, Sentimentally Yours, the song is written by Hank Cochran.
“She’s Got You” came out right after “Crazy”. It is the final No. 1 single of her career.
“Good Luck Charm” by Elvis Presley
“Good Luck Charm” is a multi-platinum, chart-topping single for Elvis Presley. Unfortunately, it isn’t as well remembered as “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, or some of his other big singles.
Still, “Good Luck Charm” is worth listening to again and again. Written by Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold, “Good Luck Charm” became a multi-week No. 1 hit for Presley. The song is on Presley’s Elvis’ Golden Records, Vol. 3. He is joined by The Jordanaires’ Gordon Stoker on the chorus of the song.
“I remember every duet I did with Elvis,” Stoker later said. “He wanted me on his mike. He’d be standing there looking me in the face, trying to break me up. He would make a face, goose me, just anything. Of course, I was trying to do the best job I could, but he’d say, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ He was a special person to work with.”
“The One Who Really Loves You” by Mary Wells
“The One Who Really Loves You” is the title track of Mary Wells’s sophomore album. The song is written by Smokey Robinson. “The One Who Really Loves You” became a Top 5 hit for Wells. She followed it with “You Beat Me To The Punch”, which became her first No. 1 single.
Robinson wrote a total of five of the ten songs on The One Who Really Loves You, including “You Beat Me To The Punch”.
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