Hay Mr Gunkle! I was suggested one of your posts quite randomly, I subscribed right away. Hearing that you are basically the same age as I (October 1964 for me) was a plus. I've always been a huge fan of music from the 50's and 60's, and I do enjoy behind-the-music trivia and especially old clips. You have definitely covered both well. I am hoping you have more posts in the works. I may not agree with all of your opinions but I am enjoying the station! Cheers from Minnesota!

Barry McGuire was a catalyst for both the mamas and the Papas and Scott McKenzie, so in the music world he has an intrinsic value. And he was one of the main voices behind “the new Christy minstrels” hit, “green green.” His unmistakable voice is on there.

I love “What’s New Pussycat”, but the Pete Puma reference had me spitting out my coffee. Hilarious! I’m patiently waiting for the next video. ❤

I think most people only know "I'm Henry the 8th, I Am" from when Patrick Swayze sang it in the movie Ghost.

That Laurie song is an urban legend; the girl is named Lavender and the sweater is found the next day hanging on her tombstone.

One of the problems with older music is that many great songs were on small independent labels. If you were to check out when some of those songs charted on local radio station lists you could almost track the road trips the label reps took throughout the country. Since they did not peak about the same time in enough markets, they did not make it to the national charts. If you were to look at their overall sales they probably should have.

Regarding Laurie, I always heard it was based on a local legend named Resurrection Mary. Basically, Resurrection Mary was a woman from Chicago who died and yet allegedly still haunts near where she is buried (Resurrection Cemetary) which happens to be near a dancing place she used to dance (and legend has it still does).

"You think of all the hate in Red China-- I think I'll pack my things and move to Regina,"

No mention of the bizarre pants / boots combination McGuire is wearing ???

I see your point about Patty Duke being groomed by her producers to be the next Lesley Gore: both songs of hers seemed to be retreads of You Don't Own Me. I was also intrigued by the comparison of her own voice singing It's Impossible (Andre and Dory Previn's song from Valley Of The Dolls) with the dubbed version.

Your clip of Barry McGuire has far better resolution than the one on That's 60s (UK nostalgia channel), and we get to see the guy wearing riding boots when Steve Hackett (much admired for his when he was in Genesis) was probably a nipper!

I really liked Eve of Destruction

These are great, Mark !!!

I enjoy your honesty and although I don't agree with all of your picks for various reasons I appreciate that you are a lover of good classic music ....I am a little bit older than you by about 3 & 1/2 years and many of my friends and family don't always care for my taste in music I like when I can connect with another person who shares my passion for the 60's music .... keep up the good work.

Mark, check out Steve Goodman's Born to be Wild/Teen Angel/Tell Laura I Love Her. Goodman's take will have you in tears!!🤣🤣🤣

Your expression when "You Turn Me On" started 😂😆👍🏾 Fun commentary!

I noticed Age Of Corruption by Alan Klein (not the man who ripped the Beatles off) was missing from your list of answer songs to Eve Of Destruction.

found you by accident. enjoyed this very much. i subscribed.

As a Dementite who was born in 1965 on Thanksgiving day, no less ... This was a jarring but hilarious top 10 of infamy! 1965 was the first year of "Generation X" of which I have no idea what that even means... Lol. Through your videos, I've learned a lot about music I thought I knew.... Thank you and keep them coming! (I think "Wooly Bully" was 1965's #1 song of the year? I may be wrong on that.... )

I suspect Elvis Presley's Do The Clam may have inspired Bill Oddie to write Taking My Oyster For Walkies (heard in I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again and also recorded for The Goodies' Beastly Album.)

Very cool idea for a video....Peace and Love, Terry Tutor

So did Dickey Lee write Rocky (the song) as well? I knew the version by Austin Roberts that got a fair bit of UK airplay.

l like your analysis of #2. Peter Noone sad voice: ah-ah-ah Peter Noone angry voice: ah-ah-ah Peter Noone horny voice: ah-ah-ah Pam from The Office: It's all the same voice!

The Shangri-Las’ other ‘death disc’ was ‘’Give Us Your Blessings’’ a decent hit (#29) that no one ever plays on the radio.

I don’t like these lists. I like a lot of these songs, I just don’t get how people can take a song and not understand the context of when it was recorded. And many of these songs went to number one which means that they usually sold about 1 million copies so obviously people like the song

Sonny Bono was indeed a rebel in the mid-1960s in regards to his outlandish clothes, and he and Cher were among the very first music stars to dress outrageously like that. He was also not a Republican yet at that point. He was a lifelong Democrat until he married his fourth (and final) wife Mary Whitaker, who converted Sonny to be a Republican, in a very similar way to how Nancy Davis converted Ronald Reagan from a Democrat to a Republican. You don't seem to realize Dickie Lee's song "Laurie (Strange Things Happen)" was intended to be a silly novelty song, not to be taken seriously. "Henry The VIII I Am" is similarly a comical novelty tune, not intended to be taken seriously. These were done just as fun things. What's the matter, don't you like fun? The bouncy beat of Herman's Hermit's charming version of Silhouettes is absolutely not "awkward" to dance to at all. You are supposed to do The Pony to that song, which is the perfect galloping beat for it. And come on, The McCoys, Hang On Sloopy, Cannibal & The Headhunters' Land of A Thousand Dances, Dave Clark Five's I Like It Like That, and The Kingsmen's Jolly Green Giant are totally wonderful. You might as well not like Rock and Roll at all if you don't like these. Not liking it just because it was a copy of Big Boy Pete has nothing to do with whether or not it's a fun song. Leader Of The Laundrymat is from Dec 5th 1964, and is not from '65 at all. (And it's hilarious!) A lot of these songs are by no means the worst of 1965 (also the year I was born) and some of these I actually love.

I really did hate some of the words, though...🤑🤷🙄 Jack is an insipid phony, I agree. In fact I agree most of your opinions...😳🙄🤷

the tommy wiszo comment killed me. thank you

About sonny and Cher they talk about it on David Lettermen. Look it up. Almost gained a bit of respect.

As always, can't argue with your analysis. I still like Henry the Eighth but yeah, you're right that really is stupid bad. But how does Turn Me On not battle for top spot? Then I heard the rest of the list. Okay, maybe it should be 3 or 4. Wow, how do you maintain your sanity listening to so much bad music? Great research, subscribing now. PS - Love your sense of humor.

The Laurie song was included on an album, that was sort of presented as if a radio show, by the late great Kenny Everett, as The World's Worst Records. When at school (high for the US, Comprehensive for the Brits) we had a teacher who when it was time for the form assembly would play us a different track from this album. I was very disappointed you never played the first line of the last verse, which goes "A strange force drew me to the Graveyard!"

Love your channel. Regarding "Silhouettes on the Shade", I heard the Hermits version first and couldn't understand how he could mistake the house until it was explained to me that due to the German bombing, large tracts of identical row housing was necessarily built and that even people who lived there would sometimes mistake their houses. I took the bouncy beat and the lack of angst as a teeny bopper telling a funny but embarrassing story about himself.

I like the concept, Mark. Here's a list of worst songs I'd do for my birth year, 1987, mostly based off of the Billboard Hot 100 (June is my birth month). 10. "Shake You Down" - Gregory Abbott 9. "Respect Yourself" - Bruce Willis 8. "I Want Your Sex" - George Michael 7. "Can't We Try" - Dan Hill ft. Vonda Shepherd 6. "Carrie" - Europe 5. "Somewhere Out There" - Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram 4. "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" - Glenn Medeiros 3. "Lean on Me" - Club Nouveau 2. "The Next Time I Fall in Love" - Peter Cetera ft. Amy Grant 1. "Funkytown" - Pseudo Echo

you are so entertaining; and correct.

28:50 Dialog that doesn't respond to what was previously said is a hallmark of hack writing. I've only gotten to here, and I'm already done. 48:58 Elvis, "Do the Clam" ??? Now we know why Elvis began using. My god! My only disagreement with you is on "I am Henry VIII, I am." It's just a silly fun, very short song. True, an adaptation/steal from the 1910 original, but it helped people named Henry who married widows to be careful about signing life insurance contracts. I don't hate either "Louie, Louie" or "Eve of Destruction," but I think the first is way overrated, and "Eve" always seemed to me to be trying too hard, and thus lacking credibility.

In the number eight entry, is it just me or does Frankie Valli sound like he's trying to do a voice impression of Elmo.

You gonna slam Barry McGuire from your Lazyboy chair? Wasn't that the point of the song? People/sheep denying reality? Hokey Smokes!!!

Lots of the songs that were popular back then were pre bad, but we liked it anyway.. 🤷😁😁😁🤗😘😻💋💖 I was born in 1951. Listen to stuff that's older and you could see why we liked it... 🙄

Siskel and Ebert couldn't pick a movie to save their soul.

I like this so much, I watched it again and I have additional comments. I totally agree about your song #5, it's awful but I would have liked to have heard your commentary as to why it was so bad. As to #3, it does have one redeeming quality - I know all the words.

Huh, don't disagree with any of your picks. (Def disagree with some of your dishonorable mentions... I've voluntarily played "Leader in the Laundromat" within the last year, though, you should hear, "You Can Never Eat at Home Anymore", also a Shangri-La's parody.

The Dishonourable Mention before Hang On Sloopy sounds more like a copy of Louie Louie, especially that last part played. I think both songs were inspired by it which is funny because it appears in your number 1 choice.

Does this guy think he is the Siskel and Ebert of music,

I prefer the Sebastian Cabot cover of "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)"

All these artists have something you'll never have.. hit records

I like the Jollly green giant. Wow I wrote this right before you put it on. I love this song.

Uncle you are a HOOT! just Fun especially ' Laurie" the ungrateful daughter- Ghosty!

I was with you until DC5. You can never include DC5 in a worst of any year. :( Despite that, I'm really enjoying your channel. :)

I'll go to the mat for Henry The 8th I Am. 😅😅 My dad and I used to sing that together. 🤗 That and the Unicorn song. 😉 Maybe it's a personal nostalgia filter, but I have a deep love for this one. 😁👍🏻

After seeing this review I agree that The Jolly Green Giant song was the worst.

"Silhouettes" was a hit in 1957 for a Black doo-wop group, The Rays; another group, The Diamonds, put out a version around the same time, years before Herman's Hermits' version.

So you're a little older than me. Thanks for representing us! I don't agree with your views on a good number of songs, but on some of them, you are right on the money.

George Jones would be sipping beer AND 15 year old scotch.

Hang On Sloopy is often played at Ohio State Buckeyes football games. Some argue that the band would help them win the national title in 2002 by playing it late in games, which inspired them to move down the field.

I know The Wonder Who were Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons messing about - I still think Valli sounds like, say, Millie Small of My Boy Lollipop fame on this.

big boy pete sound SUSPICIOUSLY like THE JOLLY Green GianT.

Always thought Eve of Destruction got a little too pessimistic. I wasn't exactly sure about The Wonder Who. I had thought originally it was a record that was put out to introduce The Four Seasons to Philips. It sure is different from Dylan's version but I look at it like the girl is just too silly to be with. And always when Peter spells H-E-N-R-Y after the third verse same as the first I spell E-N-E-R-Y because Peter sings Enery the whole way through

The dino desi thing , is that Eric Burden of the animals.

I loved What's Mew Pussy Cat.

"last kiss" another teen death song. J. Frank Wilson

You knock Ian Whitcomb's "You Turn Me On"? That's a great song. Considering Whitcomb's orgasmic moans on this song, it's amazing it wasn't band from the airwaves given 1965 mores. Mae West, of all people, covered it the following year.

I don't like 'Hang On Sloopy' either, Mark. But I love both 'Eve Of Destruction' and Jack Jones. I'm older than you by 5 years!

These song are hot ! 😊

I love EVE OF DESTRUCTION

Glad you didn't put in J. Frank Wilson's Last Kiss in your maudlin, teen death list. Same genre, far superior to the others.

Didn't Patty Duke eventually portray nightmare diva Helen Lawson (allegedly based on Ethel Merman) in Valley if the Dolls? Ok you did mention it.

Jack Jones' version of The Race Is On was the one I heard first - Dave Edmunds did a better version in the 80s.

If you wanted to have a British Invasion song that was released in 1965 on your list of worst songs of that year,why didn’t you include Do the Freddy by Freddy and the Dreamers?That song is A.W.F.U.L awful( my opinion,of course).

Well Guncle, I was born near mid summer of 64. One of the last babies born in a certain hospital.

I have never had so much a laugh for ages. The only song I disagreed with is Barry Maguire's 'Eve of Destruction'. I get what you mean by the 'growly' voice but seeing as it is a protest song I don't see any other way to convey the build up in the song. However! I do agree he looks more like a major league player than a protest song artist. Those boots, not a good look.

There’s not much of a difference between Sam Cookes version of Wonderful World and the Herman’s Hermits version??😮 They’re about as similar as night and day. Totally different groove in the Sam Cooke classic. The Herman’s Hermits version is manufactured throwaway up-tempo pop fare for the American market. Another record company simply cashing in on the British Invasion. That’s not to say that the Herman’s Hermits didn’t make some decent records. But doing Wonderful World in this style is ruining classic Sam Cooke.

Eve of Destruction is still relevant today.

I love "Eve of Destruction", but I disliked all those " answer songs"..... Never liked Sony Bono...Teen tragedy songs are just SAD...ghost songs are worse...Yep, enery the 8th is a horrid song!! Reminds me of "100 bottles of beer on the wall"...I never heard the original of the other one... 🤷 Dr. Demento!! Yea, but the Trogs made a crap song, too!💋💖💋💖😻😻

I always thought that Sloopy was a yachtie, hence the nickname Sloopy.... but then again a yachtie? In Ohio? On Lake Erie? You might have a good point, Mark!

"They don't make 'em like they used to" those who say that disregard that 99% of the items from any era be it furniture, clothes, cars whatever were complete junk, and justify it by pointing to the one surviving item of quality. Same goes for the 'great' music of yesteryear 99% of it was unlistenable.

HYSTERICAL commentary, with the prompting of a CONFESSIONAL..that as an adult I can readily overlook Barry McGuire’s heavy laden song of destructive foreboding, since as an unaware pubescent 12 yr old gay boy, I always looked forward to his prominent basket, which was clearly visible through his signature white leotards, and further complimented with high black boots. There, I’ve said it. With apologies for my candor, but with Barry, I believe I was on the Eve of a Wet Dream!

RE: Hang on Sloopy when this song comes on I have two options; 1) change the station or 2) turn the radio off. Oh, wait, Pandora has given me a third option, a quick, solid thumbs down and it's gone. Now if they play the GOOD song, FEVER - I hit the replay - several times.

JACK JONES A FANTASTIC SINGER AND YES HE IS ALIVE AND KICKING AT 86! HE SINGS THE BEST VERSION OF "THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM" EVER!! ❤❤❤ GO LOOK UP ALL THE THUMBS UP AND RAVE REVIEWS HE HAS❤❤❤

You WOULD pick that part of Rocky! It’s always upset me….. and that’s before hearing the Dickey Lee version.

I'm a bit older than you but alot of these I never heard of, most famous singers have at least a few stinkeroos then there are those famous people who believe that because they can do one thing well, they can do everything well. Not

There's one reason why Al Martino made it on all those talk shows is Mob ties

You can have your apinion and I can have mine. How many hit records have you had and what makes you an expert. You like different things as teenagers as you get older things change. I don't like these songs that are playing today so I'm not qualified to rate them.

I had to turn you off! Some of those you chose were among my favorites. Sorry dude. Recheck those gems!

Anthony Fantano in 40 years:

Eve of Destruction and Tell Her No are great songs. I don't care what you think of them.

Trini Lopez did an interesting version of Don’t think twice it’s all right.

Trini Lopez did a cool version of Don’t think twice it’s all right.

If I could give this a trillion likes I would. I love all these records, yet I also love Guncle Mark's extremely funny critique.

I was born in 1948, so I really am a Boomer. Started listening to rock & roll when I was 10. And yeah, some of these are terrible.

Oh, come on! How can you not laugh at "Laugh At Me"? Although Mott the Hoople does it better.

When I first heard the opening, and saw no, 10 and then I heard tell her NO by the Zombies I thought this video was full of SHIT. ThenI realized that that song was just a lead into the video and the next thought was the Jolly green giant sounds like something Sam the Sham and the Pharaoh's would have done!, And lastly I don't know if Barry Maguire is still around today but I can tell you 1965 was, Dispite everything going on then a hell of alot BETTER than 2023!!!!.But I would just as soon leave it at that🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐🤐

You don’t need bad language!

Ugh, I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing "Laurie." I actually had a cousin by that name who committed suicide. Not because she was jilted, but because her baby-daddy got a life sentence for dealing drugs. That probably would have been too much for a pop song in 1965.

Music so loud. And, narration so soft. How irritating?

What ??!! ....Bye....

How about normalizing the audio, you putz. It's either too soft or too loud

A pox upon you for blaspheming Peter Cetera. And Johnny Crawford had one of the sweetest singing voices. P.s. As a liberal, you should know that YOUR side voted AGAINST the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Pretty much anything by Herman's Hermits sucked.

Sonny Bono was tone def .He had no talent at all .. To say he was a great singer ? Your tone def too .. Cher carried him .