My first knowledge of popular music was right after we got our family’s console stereo for Christmas 1964. I was 9, just barely. I remember thinking Downtown was the greatest song ever and wondered if it might be number 1 forever.
I still enjoy listening to “Downtown”, or anything she recorded. What a talent!
By the same token, my first female shock was Rachel Welch in “100 Rifles”.
At the time, I thought that You've Lost That Loving Feeling by the Righteous Brothers was the greatest song ever. As 1964 came to a close, it reached #1 in Southern California. Shortly afterwards, "Downtown" began to shoot up the charts, all the way to #2. For weeks the two songs battled it out for the top spot, with Petula remaining at #2--and I was rooting for the Righteous Brothers. Finally, "Downtown" began to fade, with the Righteous Brothers still at #1. But in early March 1965, "My Girl" by the Temptations finally knocked them out of the top spot.