Music from the mid-1960s will always sound timeless. The list of great songs that came out in that time period is extensive. With that said, these are three of the best Top 10 hits from 1965, which almost every 60s kid likely still knows today.
“What’s New Pussycat?” by Tom Jones
Tom Jones made “What’s New Pussycat?” the title track of his third studio album. It was written by the hit songwriting duo of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
The lighthearted song says, “Pussycat, Pussycat, I’ve got flowers / And lots of hours / To spend with you / So go and powder your cute little pussycat nose.”
This remains one of Jones’s signature songs. So it’s a bit surprising that when the song was first pitched to him, he thought it was a terrible idea. Fortunately, Bacharach was able to change his mind.
“Burt Bacharach explained, ‘I want the big voice to sing this bloody crazy song,’” Jones recalls. “And you put it on, it’s a classic.”
“What’s New, Pussycat?” is Jones’s second Top 10 single in the United States. His first Top 10 came earlier in the year with “It’s Not Unusual”. That song is part of Along Came Jones, his debut album. “What’s New, Pussycat?” also appears in a Woody Allen movie of the same name, sung by Jones.
“Catch Us If You Can” by The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five includes “Catch Us If You Can” on their Having A Wild Weekend record. Clark wrote the song with Lenny Davidson.
“Catch Us If You Can” starts with, “Here they come again / Catch us if you can / Time to get a move on / We will yell with all of our might.”
One of their most notable singles, “Catch Us If You Can” is less than two minutes long. After “Catch Us If You Can”, The Dave Clark Five released “Over And Over”, their first No. 1 single.
“It’s The Same Old Song” by The Four Tops
The Four Tops were still early in their legendary career when they released “It’s The Same Old Song”. The song was written by Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland. “It’s The Same Old Song” is part of their appropriately titled sophomore album, Four Tops’ Second Album.
The chorus says, “Now it’s the same old song / But with a different meaning since you been gone / It’s the same, same old song / But with a different meaning (Since you been gone) / And it breaks me up to hear it.”
The Four Tops’ Duke Fakir later revealed that he and Dozier were both a bit tipsy when Dozier had the idea for this song. Dozier was changing radio stations, and commented that “it sounds like the same old song.”
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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