1962 R&B Hits Collection / Various 1962 R&B Hits Collection / Various CD

This continues the strand of R&B and country collections associated with Acrobat's highly popular "America's Greatest Hits" series, this one focusing on the top R&B records in the US Billboard charts during 1962. This great value 103-track 4-CD anthology includes, with a few exceptions, just about every record which peaked in the Billboard R&B Top 10 during that year. By this time, the R&B scene had evolved considerably as the rock 'n roll scene had matured and Tin Pan Alley had marketed it's teen-oriented offshoots, and there was an exciting feel to the charts, with substantial crossover into the pop charts through artists like Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, The Crystals, The Four Seasons, Booker T & The MGs, and The Marvelettes. There was also a significant weight of other records from the increasingly powerful Motown, Tamla and other labels producing material which would have a significant influence on emerging talent across the pond in the UK, like The Beatles, who absorbed some of the songs in this anthology into their repertoire, sowing the seeds of the British invasion which was soon to transform the pop landscape once more. With the blurring of the boundaries between the genres, the more traditional blues and R&B artists whose music had helped lay the groundwork for rock found it harder to reach the top positions in the R&B chart, and the foundations of the soul boom of the late '60s and 70s was clearly in evidence in many of the hits included here. As with all these collections, it provides a window onto a dynamic and exciting musical environment, and includes a number of unfamiliar names and recordings of which even enthusiasts of the genre may not be too aware, and which will be welcome additions to their collections. It contains a 12,000+ word booklet featuring background notes on every record.

1. Unchain My Heart - Ray Charles and His Orchestra 2. The Twist - Chubby Checker 3. But on the Other Hand Baby - Ray Charles and His Orchestra 4. I Know (You Don't Love Me No More) - Barbara George 5. Poor Fool - Ike ; Tina Turner 6. If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody - James Ray 7. Peppermint Twist Pt.1 - Joey Dee and the Starliters 8. The Lion Sleeps Tonight - the Tokens 9. Lost Someone - James Brown and the Famous Flames 10. Duke of Earl - Gene Chandler 11. I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) - the Ikettes 12. Dear Lady Twist - Gary U.S. Bonds 13. Jamie - Eddie Holland 14. Baby Don't Leave Me - Joe Henderson 15. Letter Full of Tears - Gladys Knight and the Pips 16. Cry to Me - Solomon Burke 17. Hey! Baby - Bruce Channel 18. Twistin' the Night Away - Sam Cooke 19. Let Me in - the Sensations 20. Tuff - Ace Cannon 21. Smoky Places - the Corsairs 22. Slow Twistin' - Chubby Checker 23. Something's Got a Hold on Me - Etta James 24. Soul Twist - King Curtis and the Noble Knights 25. Ain't That Loving You - Bobby Bland 26. Our Anniversary - Shep and the Limelites 27. At the Club - Ray Charles and His Orchestra 28. Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp 29. Love Letters - Ketty Lester 30. Annie Get Your Yo-Yo - Little Junior Parker 31. Tra la la la la - Ike ; Tina Turner 32. I Found a Love - the Falcons 33. The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells 34. Hide 'Nor Hair - Ray Charles and His Orchestra 35. Night Train - James Brown 36. The Town I Live in - McKinley Mitchell 37. I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles 38. Don't Play That Song (You Lied) - Ben E. King 39. Stranger on the Shore - Acker Bilk 40. Playboy - the Marvelettes 41. It Keeps Right on A-Hurtin' - Johnny Tillotson 42. Walk on the Wild Side (Part I) - Jimmy Smith 43. Snap Your Fingers - Joe Henderson 44. Having a Party - Sam Cooke 45. The Wah Watusi - the Orlons 46. Need Your Loving - Don Gardner ; Dee Dee Ford 47. You'll Lose a Good Thing - Barbara Lynn 48. Bring It on Home to Me - Sam Cooke 49. Roses Are Red (My Love) - Bobby Vinton 50. Ahab, the Arab - Ray Stevens 51. Party Lights - Claudine Clark 52. The Locomotion - Little Eva 53. Stop the Wedding - Etta James 54. Beechwood 4-5789 - the Marvelettes 55. Lookin' for a Love - the Valentinos 56. You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles 57. Rinky Dink - Dave 'Baby' Cortez 58. Green Onions - Booker T. And the M.G.'s 59. You Beat Me to the Punch - Mary Wells 60. Sheila - Tommy Roe 61. Sherry - the Four Seasons 62. Lie to Me - Brook Benton 63. Stormy Monday Blues - Bobby Bland 64. Yield Not to Temptation - Bobby 'Blue' Bland 65. Don't You Worry - Don Gardner ; Dee Dee Ford 66. Do You Love Me - the Contours 67. Ramblin' Rose - Nat King Cole 68. Patches - Dickey Lee 69. Someday, Someway - the Marvelettes 70. Monster Mash - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt Kickers 71. Sweet Sixteen Bars - Earl Grant 72. I've Got a Woman (Part 1) - Jimmy McGriff 73. Stubborn Kind of Fellow - Marvin Gaye 74. Anna (Go to Him) - Arthur Alexander 75. I'll Bring It Home to You - Carla Thomas 76. Big Girls Don't Cry - the Four Seasons 77. He's a Rebel - the Crystals 78. Nothing Can Change This Love - Sam Cooke 79. Somebody Have Mercy - Sam Cooke 80. Return to Sender - Elvis Presley 81. Release Me - Little Esther 82. Don't Hang Up - the Orlons 83. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby - Little Eva 84. Ride! - Dee Dee Sharp 85. You Are My Sunshine - Ray Charles 86. Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker 87. Hotel Happiness - Brook Benton 88. My Man - He's a Lovin' Man - Betty Lavette 89. See See Rider - Lavern Baker 90. Tell Him - the Exciters 91. Strange I Know - the Marvelettes 92. Chains - the Cookies 93. Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah - Bob B. Soxx ; the Blue Jeans 94. Telstar - the Tornadoes 95. Two Lovers - Mary Wells 96. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes - Bobby Vee 97. Don't Make Me Over - Dionne Warwick 98. Mama Didn't Lie - Jan Bradley 99. You've Really Got a Hold on Me - the Miracles 100. Loop de Loop - Johnny Thunder 101. Call on Me - Bobby Bland 102. Hey, Paula - Paul ; Paula 103. Walk Right in - the Rooftop Singers