Top 40 Songs of 1965

Only a few years in pop and rock history are remarkable enough that their achievements marked unshakeable and significant paths to the overall timeline. 1955 may be the first and most monumental of the era, the Big Bang of rock music; 1977 and 1991, the years punk and alternative rock stirred new revolutions, are also part of that chronology.

On a slightly smaller, but no less important, scale, there’s 1965, when so much great, exciting music – by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Motown, to name just a few – made not only headlines but important inroads for everything that followed.

The list below of the Top 40 Songs of 1965 highlights several great and culturally seismic tracks from the year’s biggest artists. Songs by many acts that never repeated their showcase moments in the spotlight can also be found. They, too, are part of the story of 1965, a year that drew a dividing line between the music that shaped the decade. You can almost hear the changes coming in these songs.

40. The Righteous Brothers, “Unchained Melody” (From Just Once in My Life)

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” was a global hit for the Righteous Brothers and producer Phil Spector in 1964. The next year, the team reworked a decade-old song originally included in the forgotten noir film Unchained, “Unchained Melody.” There’s some dispute over who produced the recording: Spector or Bill Medley; either way, it’s prime Wall of Sound. It returned to the charts in 1990 thanks to another movie, Ghost.

39. The Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” (From Turn! Turn! Turn!)

Less than six months passed between the Byrds‘ first album and the follow-up. Like the first single on the debut LP, its lead single gave the album its name and also went to No. 1. As with “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Turn! Turn! Turn!” was a cover, this time from folk singer Pete Seeger. The Byrds gave it a folk-rock arrangement, featuring Roger McGuinn‘s 12-string guitar. With the Vietnam War making headlines, it resonated.

38. The Animals, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (From single)

Originally written for the Righteous Brothers by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (who penned “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”), “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” ended up instead in the hands of the Animals, who took it to No. 2 in their native U.K. At the time, it was part of pop music’s push to venture beyond the usual boy-girl-car themes; it has since become a calling card for the disillusioned that has crossed generations.

37. The Who, “The Kids Are Alright” (From My Generation)

Written for the Mods and later used for the title of the 1979 documentary about the Who, “The Kids Are Alright” kicks off Side Two of the band’s debut album, My Generation. It was an early showcase for Pete Townshend‘s songwriting range, radio-friendly pop versus the pent-up frustration of “My Generation.” Its popularity with fans led record companies in the U.S. and U.K. to release the LP track as a single.

36. Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row” (From Highway 61 Revisited)

The 15 months between Bringing It All Back Home and Blonde on Blonde are among the most cherished in rock history, with three classic albums arriving between breaths for air. Highway 61 Revisited, from August 1965, is the centerpiece of the whirlwind period, and no song encapsulates Bob Dylan’s work pace and imagination like “Desolation Row,” the 11-minute closer that wraps in history, myth and self-reference.

35. The Beatles, “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” (From Rubber Soul)

The Beatles were moving faster than anyone else in 1965; by the end of the second full year of Beatlemania, they leaped even further with Rubber Soul. “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” was written mostly by John Lennon about an extramarital affair. Still, the spotlight is seized by George Harrison, who plays a lead sitar line that marked pop music’s first foray into Indian music. From here on out, anything was possible.

34. Nancy Sinatra, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” (From Boots)

Nancy Sinatra was best known for her roles in a handful of beach movies and, of course, as Frank Sinatra’s daughter before she became a pop star with “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” The No. 1 song, written by Lee Hazlewood, was inspired by a line from one of her dad’s films. With its defiant tone and perky melody, “Boots” launched a career later highlighted by more work with offbeat bedfellow Hazlewood.

READ MORE: Top 40 Songs of 1975

33. The Beatles, “In My Life” (From Rubber Soul)

The Beatles accelerated into 1965 at such a pace that their sixth album, Rubber Soul, became the fertile ground for many emerging thoughts. The music found room for new instruments and structures, and they were moving beyond lyrical themes that were commonplace a year earlier. John Lennon was especially proud of “In My Life,” his look back at the people and places that shaped him, recorded within days after he turned 25.

32. James Brown, “I Got You (I Feel Good)” (From I Got You [I Feel Good])

Like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” James Brown‘s other seismic hit from 1965, “I Got You (I Feel Good)” helped set the stage for funk, which he’d help introduce with force in a few years. Tight, confident and spiked with greasier R&B that would come to dominate his music later in the ’60s, the song – Brown’s all-time biggest pop hit at No. 3 – mapped the template for soul music’s next decade. The revolutionary shift was in the beat.

31. Wilson Pickett, “In the Midnight Hour” (From In the Midnight Hour)

Though released on Atlantic Records, “In the Midnight Hour” was 100% Stax at heart. Cowritten by Stax cofounder Jim Stewart and ace session guitarist Steve Cropper, and recorded at the fabled Memphis studio, the song outlined the Stax label’s use of the hard backbeat to drive its songs. Wilson Pickett gets top billing, but M.G.’s Cropper, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn and drummer Al Jackson, Jr. share the credit.

30. Otis Redding, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)” (From Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul)

The greatest soul album of the ’60s? Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul is a chief contender. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)” is a primary reason. Cowritten by Redding and Jerry Butler, and produced by Steve Cropper for Stax sister label Volt, the song simmers to a scorching burn as the singer, backed by Booker T. & the M.G.’s, notches up each verse: pivotal 1960s soul and performance for the ages.

29. The Mamas and the Papas, “California Dreamin'” (From If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears)

John and Michelle Phillips wrote “California Dreamin'” in 1963 and sang backup on the first version of the song, recorded by Barry McGuire, who had a hit with Dylan-sounding “Eve of Destruction” in 1965. The Phillips’ group, the Mamas and the Papas, rerecorded lead vocals over the same instrumental track, and by 1966, their take reached No. 4 and opened Side Two of their debut album, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears.

28. The Beatles, “Ticket to Ride” (From Help!)

Even to casual observers, the Beatles’ growth as songwriters and performers just months after Beatlemania gripped the world was astounding. The soundtrack to their second film, Help!, contains many such grown-up moments; musically, “Ticket to Ride” may be their greatest vault at this point. Chiming 12-string guitar, an innovative drum pattern and a deeper take on personal relationships ring throughout the track.

27. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, “Wooly Bully” (From Wooly Bully)

A brief fling with an earlier time in pop music (say, 1963), “Wooly Bully” skirts the edge of the American garage rock scene. Nonsense lyrics, full, driving organ and a midsong sax solo are haphazardly splashed all over Texas group Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs’ first and biggest hit. The band, which dressed in turbans and robes and would travel to gigs in a 1952 hearse, scored again with 1966’s “Li’l Red Riding Hood.”

26. The Beatles, “Yesterday” (From single)

Frequently cited as one of the most recorded songs of all time, “Yesterday” was Paul McCartney‘s creation from the start: He wrote the song, helped outline its arrangement and, a Beatles first, recorded it solo without help from his bandmates. He recorded “Yesterday” on the eve of his 23rd birthday, revealing depth and sensitivity beyond his years. Bolder new worlds for McCartney and the group were peeking on the horizon.

25. Jackie DeShannon, “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (From This Is Jackie DeShannon)

Jackie DeShannon had been making records for a decade when she logged her first Top 10. Already an established songwriter (she wrote “When You Walk in the Room” and, later, “Bette Davis Eyes”), the Kentucky native was tapped by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David to record “What the World Needs Now Is Love” after regular muse Dionne Warwick turned it down for being “too preachy.” Healing is more like it.

24. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “Ooo Baby Baby” (From Going to a Go-Go)

Smokey Robinson was one of Motown’s most prolific songwriters in the mid-’60s, penning songs for others like “The Way You Do the Things You Do” and “My Girl.” But he saved some of his best songs for his Miracles: “Shop Around,” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” etc. Robinson received top billing on Going to a Go-Go, a rare Motown album from the period with no filler. The gorgeous “Ooo Baby Baby” is a killer.

23. The Standells, “Dirty Water” (From Dirty Water)

“Dirty Water” is no tribute to Boston, the name-checked subject city of the garage-rock favorite by the Los Angeles-based band the Standells. A reference to the polluted Boston Harbor and Charles River gives the song its title, but following lines about “frustrated women [who] have to be in by 12 o’clock” and the Boston Strangler, writer and producer Ed Cobb gets personal, too, recalling an incident when he was robbed.

READ MORE: Top 40 Songs of 1985

22. The Seeds, “Pushin’ Too Hard” (From The Seeds)

The mid-’60s garage rock scene is often pinpointed as a ground zero for punk a decade later. The conversation isn’t possible without the Seeds’ 1965 scuzzy “Pushin’ Too Hard,” a starting line for punk’s development over the last few years of the ’60s going into the 1970s. Like many bands in the influential Nuggets compilation from 1972, the Seeds never eclipsed their best-known song, an unsurpassable hurdle for anyone.

21. The Impressions, “People Get Ready” (From People Get Ready)

As the decade progressed, Curtis Mayfield became increasingly political in his work; by the time he released his solo debut in 1970, he had already carved out his future path in the Impressions. The socially aware protest “People Get Ready” arrived in 1965 as a gospel hymn thinly disguised as Chicago soul. As a civil rights anthem transcending time, “People Get Ready” still matters, eternal in words and music.

20. Bob Dylan, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (From Bringing It All Back Home)

The first song greeting listeners to Bob Dylan’s emerging electric era was a two-and-a-half-minute talking blues that tears through era-specific references (“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows“) that don’t matter much. “Subterranean Homesick Blues” is a look ahead to Dylan’s, and by turn, pop music’s, future. The album Bringing It All Back Home divides electric and acoustic halves, and this shot was fired.

19. Four Tops, “I Can’t Help Myself” (From Four Tops Second Album)

Motown’s songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland knew a great hook when they heard one and rarely resisted the urge to recycle their best work. “I Can’t Help Myself” was based on a similar structure as the Supremes‘ “Where Did Our Love Go” (Lamont Dozier admits as much with the title); in turn, the song’s chord changes were reversed for Four Tops’ next hit, the great but self-incriminating “It’s the Same Old Song.”

18. The Rolling Stones, “Get Off of My Cloud” (From single)

Like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” the single that preceded it, “Get Off of My Cloud” was recorded in Los Angeles, still a rarity for the English group. The Rolling Stones were experiencing a new level of success, and “Get Off of My Cloud” was their reaction to these new pressures of fame. It went to No. 1 worldwide, riding on one of Charlie Watts‘ greatest performances, his drums sliding in and out of the rhythm without pause.

17. Yardbirds, “For Your Love” (From single)

The song that pushed Eric Clapton out of the Yardbirds was also the band’s first Top 10 hit. It’s no coincidence: Blues purist Clapton despised the pop direction the group was headed in early 1965 and left, soon replaced by Jeff Beck and his quest for more adventurous recordings. The Yardbirds didn’t even play on much of “For Your Love,” leaving the stylized baroque pop backing to adept session players.

16. Stevie Wonder, “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” (From Up-Tight)

It’s easy to forget Stevie Wonder‘s prolific work in the mid-’60s that came between the “12-year-old genius” and the revolutionary music he made in the ’70s. He amassed a dozen Top 10 hits before Music of My Mind; “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” was the first after “Fingertips – Part 2” to go to No. 1. Cowritten by Wonder, 15 at the time of the song’s release, “Uptight” also awarded him the first of his many Grammy nominations.

15. Sonny and Cher, “I Got You Babe” (From Look at Us)

Sonny Bono was firmly established in Phil Spector’s creative circle in 1965, a producer and songwriter who learned his trade while working with some of the industry’s best musicians. Sonny and Cher had reached the Top 10 in 1964 with their debut single, “Baby Don’t Go,” but “I Got You Babe” was the bigger and better song for the married couple, a No. 1 single and a linchpin record of the blooming folk-rock scene.

14. The Beach Boys, “California Girls” (From Summer Days [And Summer Nights!!])

Brian Wilson had recently wrestled control of the Beach Boys from his manager dad and the occasional label interference, and soon realized his dream of becoming the next Phil Spector. He had already revealed the influence in some earlier records, but with “California Girls,” Wilson went full sink. He and the group were a year away from the milestone Pet Sounds, but the seeds of his masterpiece were planted here.

13. The Beatles, “Help!” (From Help!)

“The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension,” John Lennon told Playboy in 1980. “I was subconsciously crying out for help.” As his first song to go beyond pop music’s normal template, “Help!”‘s message was fairly obvious, even with that deceptive sprightly melody pushing it along. Lennon and the group would make even greater leaps on Rubber Soul later in 1965, but this is a first big step.

12. The Supremes, “Stop! In the Name of Love” (From More Hits by the Supremes)

“Stop! In the Name of Love,” like many of the great songs from Motown’s songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, had some roots in the truth. With the Supremes’ fourth No.1, inspiration struck Lamont Dozier after a fight with an unfaithful girlfriend. It’s a key part of the song, along with the Funk Brothers’ expert-as-usual backing, but the three Supremes drive it home with one of their best performances, led by Diana Ross.

11. James Brown, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (From single)

“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” logged several firsts for James Brown: his first Top 10 on the pop chart (he previously got there on the R&B chart), his first Grammy and the first time he successfully pushed the emphasis on the first beat of each measure to the front, effectively setting the funk template, to be sharpened later. The Godfather of Soul broke much new ground during his career; this song is a landmark in many ways.

READ MORE: Top 30 Albums of 1975

10. Simon and Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence” (From Sounds of Silence)

“The Sound of Silence” first appeared as an acoustic song on Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel‘s 1964 debut, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. After folk-rock hits by the Byrds and the Lovin’ Spoonful stirred radio interests, producer Tom Wilson remixed the track, adding drums and electric guitar; the new version shot to No. 1 in early 1966. The hit song rescued Simon and Garfunkel from a stalled career and opened a new chapter.

9. The Byrds, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” (From Mr. Tambourine Man)

For the follow-up to their No.1 debut single “Mr. Tambourine Man,” the Byrds went with another Bob Dylan cover, “All I Really Want to Do.” The song grazed the Top 40, but its B-side now ranks among the band’s best and most enduring originals. Written and sung by Gene Clark, the sublime “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” is constructed on a folk-rock riff borrowed from the Searchers’ “Needles and Pins” to land at a divine place all its own.

8. Bob Dylan, “Positively 4th Street” (From single)

Bob Dylan’s 1965 was so productive that a leftover song released between two of his greatest albums became one of his few Top 10 hits. The subject of “Positively 4th Street” has been debated for years; most fingers point at the folk-scene purists who scoffed at Dylan’s electric conversion. Dylan has never opened up about the target of his (tuneful) scorn. “You’ve got a lotta nerve to say you are my friend,” he sneers.

7. Bobby Fuller Four, “I Fought the Law” (From I Fought the Law)

It’s probably not a coincidence that Buddy Holly super-fan Bobby Fuller had his biggest hit with a song written in 1960 by Sonny Curtis, a member of Holly’s Crickets, included on the group’s first album following Holly’s 1959 death. The Texas-based Bobby Fuller Four’s discography also includes the great “Let Her Dance” from 1965, before the frontman died in Hollywood a year later under mysterious circumstances at 23.

6. The Lovin’ Spoonful, “Do You Believe in Magic” (From single)

The Lovin’ Spoonful‘s debut single, a cornerstone record of the folk-rock movement, was written after John Sebastian spotted a young girl in the crowd at one of their regular Greenwich Village folk performances. Sensing a shift in their audience and music, the song celebrates pop’s expanding horizons – be it “jug band music or rhythm and blues.” “Do You Believe in Magic” was a thunderbolt moment for the band and scene.

5. The Who, “My Generation” (From My Generation)

The impact of popular music, and the seismic changes it was undergoing in 1965, can’t be downplayed. The words and music in pop songs were becoming more sophisticated, as artists branched into new territories. The Who’s “My Generation” is a top contender for one of the year’s most important songs, a declaration of independence for the group and an anthem of enduring defiance for a legion of fans.

4. The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” (From Mr. Tambourine Man)

The Byrds were at the center of a pop music revolution in 1965, tapping into the growing folk-rock scene and Bob Dylan’s widening influence. Their debut album featured four Dylan songs, with their abridged take on “Mr. Tambourine Man” leading the LP and their chart run. Better arranged and executed than Dylan’s original, the Byrds’ version invites everyone to join in. Folk rock at its absolute peak.

3. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, “The Tracks of My Tears” (From Going to a Go-Go)

It’s not a reach to believe that Bob Dylan once called Smokey Robinson America’s greatest living poet, even if the quote can’t be verified. One listen to Robinson’s output with the Miracles in the ’60s, particularly this, his greatest composition, and the praise is far from hyperbolic. “The Tracks of My Tears” is a masterwork by any grade; sung and produced by Robinson, it may be the crown jewel of Motown’s golden era.

2. The Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (From single)

It’s the riff above all other riffs, the guitar line that launched dozens of covers and imitators. But the Rolling Stones’ first U.S. No. 1 opened a new period for the band that transformed them from an above-average British blues group to the Rolling Stones. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is the starting point for the Stones to carve out an identity and pull away from their peers, and a pinpoint moment in their evolution over the years.

1. Bob Dylan, “Like a Rolling Stone” (From Highway 61 Revisited)

Even within the confines of the cultural-shaping and -shifting music of 1965’s landscape, Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” is an outlier. Clocking in at more than six minutes, with verses that are as incomprehensible as they are a concise summation of the social turmoil going on around the world at the time, the opening track on Highway 61 Revisited introduced fans to another side of pop music – one that wasn’t about to hold your hand through its twisty legend. Both personal and universal, straightforward and oblique, “Like a Rolling Stone” wasn’t merely the greatest song to come from a year blessed with an abundance of them; it’s a lasting testament to popular music’s ability to transcend previous limits and open up whole new kaleidoscopic worlds with an endless storm of inspiration and insight.