Personal top ten - January to December 1965: the final batch

In 1965 great records continued to be released at a rapid rate but many soul and blues classics were ignored by the general public, with few becoming hits. Access to this music had become much greater as a result of the emergence of the pirate radio station with more airplay for American gems sitting alongside the standard top 40 fare. Radio Caroline, Radio Atlanta, 'Wonderful Radio London' and Radio 390, where Mike Raven hosted a regular blues show, were my stations of choice at various times. This, the final batch of personal top tens, reflects the store of great music which had become available.
List 369 had the Righteous Brothers at number one with Sam Cooke's 'Shake' entering at number two. At the time I was unaware of its B side which later became the anthem of the Civil Rights movement.There was also  a new entry by Marvin Gaye. List 370 sees the arrival of Joe Tex's 'Hold What You Got' which became my highest scoring record of the year, plus new entries by Shirley Ellis, Del Shannon and the Shangri-Las. The Impressions had a new entry in list 371 and Alvin Cash and the Crawlers entered in list 372.

List 373 had new entries by Nina Simone, the Kingsmen and Dobie Gray, and list 384 saw the entry of a future number one by Bobby Bland and others by James Brown and the Ab-Libs. The Temptations' 'My Girl' entered in list 375 on its way to number one and there was a new one by Martha and the Vandellas. List 376 had new Chess label entries by the Radiants (which eventually reached number one) and Jackie Ross.

For once my top ten matched the regular charts in list 377 with the entry of Roger Miller's 'King of the Road' which reached number one, plus an entry by Little Anthony and the Imperials. Bobby Goldsboro and the Beach Boys had new entries in list 378 and in list 379 there were duets by Anna King and Bobby Byrd and Bobby McClure and Fontella Bass. List 380 had new ones by the Supremes and the Temptations.

April saw the entry of a future number one by the Impressions ('People Get Ready') in list 381 plus a new one by Maxine Brown. In list 382 there were new entries by Solomon Burke and Shirley Ellis and list 382 had the latest by Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke and a re-entry by Maxine Brown. There were four new entries in list 384 - by Fats Domino, the Miracles, Wilbert Harrison and Little Milton.

Otis Redding's 'Mr Pitiful' entered in list 385 on its way to number one and there was a new entry by the Ikettes. List 386 had new entries by the Everly Brothers and Tony Clarke, and list 387 had new records by Johnny Cash, Little Milton and the Supremes. List 388 had new ones by Bobby Goldsboro, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs and Gene Pitney.

In list 389 there was a future number one by the Four Tops plus new ones by Jan and Dean and Maxine Brown and Chuck Jackson. List 390 had a new entry by Otis Redding, 'I've Been Loving You Too Long', while his previous release was still at number two. List 391 had both sides of the new Solomon Burke record enter, plus a re-entry by Sam and Sham, and in list 392 there were new entries by Gene Chandler and the Anglos.

 The influence of the pirate stations came to the fore in list 392 when the Ovations' 'It's Wonderful To Be In Love' entered at number one. I thought it was Sam Cooke initially but the Goldwax single by Louis Williams and co was never released in the UK. There were also new ones by the Impressions, Major Lance and the Marvelows. List 394 had Otis Redding's B side (or A side) 'Respect' enter along with one by Junior Walker. List 395 had a future number one by Wilson Pickett ('In The Midnight Hour') enter, plus new ones by James Brown and the Four Tops. There were four new ones in list 396 - by Nine Simone, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley.

There was a new one by the Beach Boys in 397 plus one by the Temptations and one by Maxine Brown. List 398 had new entries by Freddie Cannon, Joe Williams (a now forgotten classic) and Chuck Jackson, and list 399 had new entries by Arthur Prysock (which made it to number one) Joe Tex and the Tams.The 400th edition had a new entries by Roy Head, heading for number one, and Solomon Burke.

There were new entries by Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson in list 401 and new ones by Bessie Banks and Bobby Darin in list 402. Len Barry, on his way to number one, entered in list 403 as did Ben E King, and in list 404 there were new ones by Bobby Bland and Jan and Dean's 'I Found A Girl' (misnamed in the chart).

And so we move to the last four personal top tens, taking us, just, into December, 1965. By this time I was beginning to get review copies of singles as a trainee journalist on the Croydon Advertiser and no longer had time for my lists. List 405 had Otis Redding's version of 'My Girl' enter and that song became the only one to reach number one by two different artists. There were also new entries by Fontella Bass, an old recording by Wilson Pickett and Jackie Wilson. List 406 had new ones by Wilson Pickett and the Temptations and list 407 had new ones by O V Wright and the Four Seasons. The final list, number 408 on December 1st, 1965, had five new entries. These were by Willie Mitchell, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Marvin Gaye, the Mad Lads and the Miracles. A great top ten (actually 11) to finish with.