4 Top 40 Hits From 1962 That Every 60s Kid Still Knows by Heart Today

The music in the early part of the 1960s will always sound timeless, regardless of how many years pass. These are four of the best hit songs from 1962. They are all so good, it’s almost certain that every 60s kid still knows them by heart today.

“Return To Sender” by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley had numerous hit singles in the early 1960s, including “Return To Sender”. The song is part of the soundtrack for Girls! Girls! Girls!, a comedic film starring Presley. Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell are the two writers of this Presley hit.

“Return To Sender” says, “She wrote upon it / Return to sender / Address unknown / No such person / No such zone.“

Interestingly, in 1963, the United States Postal Service started using ZIP codes, replacing what were formerly known as postal zones. Unfortunately for Presley, that meant that “Return To Sender” sounded outdated less than a year after it was released.

“Crying In The Rain” by The Everly Brothers

On The Everly Brothers’ The Golden Hits Of The Everly Brothers is “Crying In The Rain”. Carole King and Howard Greenfield are the two writers of this Top 10 single.

“Crying In The Rain” says, “I’ve got my pride, and I know how to hide / All my sorrow and pain / I’ll do my crying in the rain.”

In 1981, Tammy Wynette had a Top 20 country single with “Crying In The Rain”. Also, in 1990, the pop band a-ha released a version of this song.

“Ahab The Arab” by Ray Stevens

“Ahab The Arab” became Ray Stevens’ first Top 10 hit. The song, written solely by Stevens, is part of 1,837 Seconds Of Humor, Stevens’ first record.

The comedic song begins with, “Let me tell you ’bout Ahab The Arab / The Sheik of the burning sand / He had emeralds and rubies just dripping off of him / And a ring on every finger of his hands.”

However, after “Ahab The Arab”, Stevens did not return to the Top 10 again until 1969, with “Gitarzan”.

“It’s Up To You” by Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson’s “It’s Up To You” was released at the end of 1962. The song, written by Jerry Fuller, is part of Nelson’s compilation It’s Up To You record, out in 1963.

“It’s Up To You” says in part, “It’s up to you / No, it’s not for me to say / You love me too / Oh, but I hope you feel that way.“

After “It’s Up To You”, Nelson released more than a dozen singles before he had another Top 10 hit with “For You”, out in 1963. Nelson later returned to the Top 10 one more time in 1972, with “Garden Party”.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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