2023 marks the 60th anniversary of a pivotal year in popular music – 1963. That year was packed with memorable classics and influential forces that would soon shape the rest of that decade. For the past two Sundays, I’ve featured 21 songs in each program from 1963, and this Sunday is the concluding Part Three of ’63 from 1963′ In this weekend’s edition of ‘Vintage Favourites’ you’ll hear Elvis and Dion, Roy Orbison, Ronnie Hawkins and Bobby Curtola, plus the rarely-heard first recording by future star Andy Kim. I’ll also play the controversial ‘Louie Louie’, the last hit by Patsy Cline before her tragic death, the year’s #1 song, and early indications of the two most important artists of the Sixties: Bob Dylan and The Beatles.
In the show’s first hour (2-3pm.), our new feature ‘Our Sunday Best – A Century of #1 Hits‘ , takes us from the 1930s and 40s with Tommy Dorsey and Bing Crosby, to 80s and 90s with Foreigner and The Eagles. And this weekend’s ‘Story Behind the Song‘ features Stevie Wonder’s landmark ‘Superstition’ – tops 50 years ago this week.