On September 2, '60s On 6 program director Ken Merson replaced Lou Simon as host of the weekly Sixties Satellite Survey countdown show. Ken cut the countdown from 40 songs to 30, plus a few extras. He also cut the '60s Channel playlist and is focusing on top-20 hits. He believes the majority of listeners will not be familiar with lower-charting songs. I disagree. Here are some low-charting songs which I think every '60s music fan remembers:
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley (69/1968)
Always Something There To Remind Me - Sandie Shaw (52/1964)
At Last - Etta James (47/1961)
Baby Driver - Simon & Garfunkel (101/1969)
Batman Theme - Neal Hefti (35/1966)
Boom Boom - Animals (43/1964)
Break On Through - Doors (126/1967)
Bring It On Home To Me - Animals (32/1965)
California Sun - Joe Jones (89/1961)
Don't Let Me Down - Beatles/Billy Preston (35/1969)
Foxey Lady - Jimi Hendrix (67/1967)
Harlem Nocturne - Viscounts (52/1959, 39/1965)
Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl (44/1963)
I Don't Want To Spoil The Party - Beatles (39/1965)
In The Misty Moonlight - Dean Martin (46/1967)
It's Gonna Take A Miracle - Royalettes (41/1965)
Just One Look - Hollies (98/1964, 44/1967)
Mas Que Nada - Sérgio Mendes/Brasil '66 (47/1966)
New York's A Lonely Town - Trade Winds (32/1965)
No Milk Today - Herman's Hermits (35/1967)
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix (65/1967)
Pushin' Too Hard - Seeds (36/1966)
Show Me - Joe Tex (35/1967)
Sugar & Spice - Cryan' Shames (49/1966)
Sugar & Spice - Searchers (--/1963, 44/1964)
What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong (116/1968, 32/1988)
When You Walk In The Room - Jackie DeShannon (99/1964)
When You Walk In The Room - Searchers (35/1964)
You're No Good - Betty Everett (51/1963)
409 - Beach Boys (76/1962)
And SiriusXM subscribers deserve to hear all the songs that charted in the 1960s, not just the hits that made the top 20. Being able to hear hundreds of songs that are not being played on FM radio is one of the main reasons we subscribe to SiriusXM.
Ken was a DJ at WCBM, WBSB and WQSR in Baltimore and WIAD in Bethesda/Washington DC -- not all at the same time, of course. I know he would love for all of us to hear how "The Merson Person" sounded in 1975 on WCBM (where he was also the music director):
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FcIsZ8EAQ2w