The Beatles: Twist and Shout

The Beatles had their best year in 1967.

There has never been (nor probably will ever be) a year in which a single band produced so much quality material as The Beatles did during the year 1967.

This includes both the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour albums along with all the rest of the band’s output from that year which included recordings for future projects, several promotional videos, a live television special, and their third dedicated film.

The Association: Never My Love

The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard Charts (including "Windy", "Cherish", "Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival.

"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Donald and Richard Addrisi and best known from a hit 1967 recording by The Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success was as the songwriters of "Never My Love".

Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in late 1999 the Publishing Rights Organization Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century.

The Animals: When I Was Young

Tigers Rock! The Animals performed two shows locally. One at St. John's Hall in Biddeford (corner of Main and Elm) and another at The Palace ballroom in O.O.B.

Playing many songs, including their monster hit "The House Of The Rising Sun", "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "Bring It On Home To Me" "See See Rider" and more.

"When I Was Young" is a song released in early 1967 by Eric Burdon and The Animals and was written by five of the band members. The song has been covered by many punk rock and heavy metal bands.

This somewhat autobiographical song told about Burdon's father, who was a soldier during tough times, as well as young Eric's adventures including his first smoke of a cigarette at 10, to his meeting his first love at 13. The final verse shows his disillusionment with society by saying:

"My faith was so much stronger then,
I believed in fellow men,
And I was so much older then.
When I was Young".

Arthur Conley: Sweet Soul Music

"Sweet Soul Music" is a soul song, first released by Arthur Conley in 1967. Written by Conley and Otis Redding, it is based on the Sam Cooke song "Yeah Man" from his posthumous album Shake; the opening riff is a quote from Elmer Bernstein's score for the 1960 movie The Magnificent Seven.

It reached the number two spot on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard R&B Chart and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. J. W. Alexander, Sam Cooke's business partner, sued both Redding and Conley for appropriating the melody. A settlement was reached in which Cooke's name was added to the writer credits, and Otis Redding agreed to record some songs in the future from Kags Music, a Cooke–Alexander enterprise.

Petula Clark: Downtown

"Downtown" is a song recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit, reaching No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 in UK Singles Chart. The song has been covered by many singers, including Dolly Parton and Emma Bunton.

"Downtown" also made Clark the first UK female artist to have a single certified as a Gold record for US sales of one million units. "Downtown" would be the first of fifteen consecutive hits Clark would place in the US Top 40 during a period when she'd have considerably less chart impact in her native UK, there reaching the Top 40 eight times.

Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II. During the 1950s she started recording in French and having international success in both French and English.

During the 1960s she became known globally for her popular upbeat hits, including "Downtown", "I Know a Place", "My Love", "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" and "Don't Sleep in the Subway", and she was dubbed "the First Lady of the British Invasion". She has sold more than 68 million records.

Petula Clark will be 85 years old this year.

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a rhythm and blues / soul song and first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, becoming a hit again in 1970 when recorded by Diana Ross.

Marvin Gaye was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, including "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" and "I Heard It Through The Grape Vine", and duet recordings with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross and Tammi Terrell, later earning the titles "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".

On April 1, 1984, Gaye's father, Marvin Gay Sr., fatally shot him at their house in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. Since his death, many institutions have posthumously bestowed Gaye with awards and other honors—including the Grammy Lifetime Achievemant Award, the Rhythm And Blues Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Donovan: Hurdy Gurdy Man

Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known as Donovan, is a Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia and world music (notably calypso).

In September 1966 "Sunshine Superman" topped America's Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week and went to number two in Britain, followed by "Mellow Yellow" at US No.2 in December 1966, then 1968's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in the Top 5 in both countries, then "Atlantis", which reached US No.7 in May 1969. He taught John Lennon a finger-picking guitar style in 1968 that Lennon employed in "Dear Prudence" "Julia," "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and other songs.

Percy Sledge: When a Man Loves a Woman

"When a Man Loves a Woman" is a song written by Calvin Lewis and Andrew Wright and first recorded by Percy Sledge in 1966 at Norala Sound Studio in Sheffiels, Alabama. It made number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts. Singer and actress Bette Midler recorded the song 14 years later and had a Top 40 hit with her version in 1980. In 1991, Michael Bolton recorded the song and his version peaked at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles chart.

Percy Sledge previously worked as a hospital orderly in the early 1960s, Sledge achieved his strongest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a series of emotional soul songs. In later years, Sledge received the R&B Foundation's Career Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Sonny & Cher: The Beat Goes On

Sonny & Cher were an American pop music duo, actors, singers and entertainers made up of husband-and-wife Sonny and Cher Bono in the 1960s and 1970s. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector.

In 1967 Sonny and Cher released their third album, In Case Your In Love. It peaked at number 45 in the U.S. charts. It contained two hit singles, both written by Bono, "The Beat Goes On" (No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100) and "Little Man" (No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100), that peaked at the number one in five European countries.