The one hundred and thirty-ninth song: Cry Baby - Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters
From doo wop to soul, here we get something that is heavily influenced by gospel music to sing a love song. There are places were it goes bigger, but never quite hits it. It partially suits the mood of helping this girl when she comes running to the singer after splitting up with her bad boy boy friend. It's just a bit too much between genres to know what to do with itself.
The one hundred and fourtieth song: La javanaise - Juliette Greco
Being in French, you'd soon expect a song in French to be a chanson. And while it feels like there are elements of that in here, the song is sultrier, sweeter. Not upbeat but happier. It draws you in and gives it something sensual.
The one hundred and fourty-first song: Harlem Shuffle - Bob & Earl
There are lods of these dance crazes that lift a specific song that they are trying to create. They are normally associated with more energetic songs than these though, which is a tad slow and doesn't go anywhere. It's a bit too much soul rather than more upbeat pop. The horns stand out here, though, bulking up a song that needs it.
The one hundred and fourty-second song: On Broadway - The Drifters
This is a song that feels... off because of its doo wop roots. There is an energy difference between the lead and the other singers, which feels jarring. Some annoying percussion isn't helping there either. Still, the lead allows some enthusiasm about the idea of getting on Broadway, adding quite a bit of energy to the song that it needs
The one hundred and fourty-third song: Louie Louie - The Kingsmen
Probably the best evidence you don't need understandable lyrics for a good song. There are a whole bunch of reasons for them being slurred, but here it adds to a dirty rocker vibe (something the Kingsmen weren't, really) and there's something raw about the performance that adds energy to the track. It's properly good and loud.
The one hundred and fourty-fourth song: One Fine Day - The Chiffons
I enjoy these happy poppy girl group songs, even if they can be hard to pin down individually - this isn't the only love song like it. It's a pretty good song, though, competently song with a good swinging backing track behind it.
The one hundred and fourty-fifth song: In Dreams - Roy Orbison
This song feels incredibly ambitious. There are many different forms in here, different ways of continuing the song that sound similar, but all verses are somewhat distinct from each other. It's an impressive feat to listen to and makes for a song that feels really good - some rock influences in there, but not as hard as that genre can get.
The one hundred and fourty-sixth song: Sally Go’ Round the Roses - The Jaynets
So to come back to what I said before about girl groups - The Jaynets don't have their own sound for sure. It's good pop though, doing its own thing more than just going with what worked before, building on other songs of its type. It also is happy to go slow and low volume, not going for the bombastic, large songs that you hear from others.
The one hundred and fourty-seventh song: Be My Baby - The Ronettes
Here we immediately have that contrasting song. The vocals are still not the loudest, but the "wall of sound" is there and comes at you throughout. It's good - the song has a brilliant hook and good lead vocals, and it makes for a more upbeat song.
The one hundred and fourty-eighth song: Surfin’ Bird - The Trashmen
I'm not sure where I stand on this song. It sounds good - if it was just the instrumentals, I'd like it. The weird, manic vocals suit that as well, musically it holds up. I'm just not sure what tone it's trying to strike, and that feels aggravating. Not in wanting to know what it's about, but it is trying to be weird, and not always succeeding - it can sound a bit too mocking for that. It's distinctive - that secures its place on the list - but I'm not sure how I feel about it.
The one hundred and fourty-ninth song: Sapore di sale - Gino Paoli
Time for some Italian pop - a song that sounds like it could have come from Eurovision. Musically fine, I find the voice to be a bit uneven for the song - while this is meant to be a happy song, the vocals don't quite reach it. It's, sadly, nearly there, but not quite.