Personal top ten - February to August 1962.

The year 1962 saw the beginnings of the popularity of R and B and soul which led to the emergence of the British beat boom based on covers of American blues and soul records. My tastes were by then firmly moving away from home grown imitations in favour of the originals, as my personal top ten of the time increasingly shows.

List 161 saw the arrival of two big 'Baby' hits, by Roy Orbison and Bruce Channel, both of which reached number one in my chart. List 162 had a new entry by Bobby Rydell and 'I Know' by Barbara George, while 163 saw new entries by Del Shannon, Johnny Tillotson and the original version of 'If You Got To Make A Fool Of Somebody' by James Ray. Patsy Cline had a new entry in 164. Gene Chandler's 'Duke of Earl' was a 'pick' but inexplicably didn't make the top ten.

In list 165 there were new entries by Fats Domino and the Piltdown Men; Gene Vincent and Freddie Cannon had new entries in 166; the Tokens, Brenda Lee and Rick Nelson had new records in 167; and in 168 there was a new entry by the Drifters.

Don and Juan's 'What's Your Name' entered in list 169 on its way to number one and there was a new entry by Johnny Burnette. Chubby Checker had an entry in 170 and the Lettermen one in list 171. Neil Sedaka and Curtis Lee had new entries in 172.

There was nothing new in list 173 but four new entries in 174, by Johnny and the Hurricanes, Ketty Lester, the Miracles and Lonnie Donegan. List 175 had a new one from Bobby Darin and Gary (US) Bonds had a second twist song in 176.

Ben E King had a future number one enter in list 177 and there were classic records from Brian Hyland and Clyde McPhatter in 178. Chubby Checker and Billy Fury had new ones in 179 and in list 180 there were new entries by Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Jackie Wilson, Duane Eddy and a future number one by the Shirelles ('Soldier Boy'). Jerry Lee Lewis had a 'pick' in 179 which didn't make the top ten.

Four more new records arrived in list 181, by Dion, Ray Charles, Bruce Channel and Dee Dee Sharp. Nothing new in 182 but in 183 there was a re-entry by Duane Eddy and a new one by Johnny Tillotson. List 184 had new entries by Joey Dee, the Everlies, Bobby Vee and Bruce Channel.

Joe Brown had a new one in list 185; the Lettermen, Fats Domino and Gene Pitney had new entries in 186; Roy Orbison entered with another future number one in 187 and there were also new entries by Dr Feelgood and a re-entry by Joe Brown. Freddie Cannon's 'Palisades Park' entered in 188 and was one of the top scoring records of the year despite not reaching number one. There was also a new entry by Ray Charles.

In 189 there were new arrivals by Brenda Lee and Ray Peterson; list 190 had a new one by Sam Cooke and a re-entry by Johnny Tillotson. 191 had new entries by the Crickets, Jim Reeves and Brook Benton and list 192 had new ones by Neil Sedaka, Patsy Cline and the Fireballs. There was also a new entry for Lee Dorsey's 'Ya Ya' despite it not being released in the UK at the time. This was before the pirate stations revolutionised music so I'm unsure where or how I heard it (AFN possibly).

List 193 had a new entry by Benny Spellman ('Lipstick Traces') which became one of my biggest hits of the year and Pat Boone also had a new entry. Clyde McPhatter, Solomon Burke and Donnie Brooks had new ones in 194; Don Gibson and Tony Orlando had new ones in 195 and Dee Dee Sharp added some 'Gravy' in list 196.

In 197 there were new entries by Bobby Darin, Bobby Rydell and David Rose; list 198 had a new one from Chubby Checker; 199 had new entries by Connie Francis and Gary (US) Bonds and in 200, there were entries by Brian Hyland, Bobby Vinton, and follow ups by the Showmen and James Ray.