#1 pop hits of 1966

two by the Beatles, two by the Supremes

Here are the #1 pop hits of 1966. Well, some of them. All will be made clear eventually.

I’m A Believer – the Monkees, #1 for 7 weeks. The first week actually started on the last day of 1966. Written by Neil Diamond. 

The Ballad of the Green Berets – s/Sgt Barry Sadler, #1 for five weeks. Also #1 AC (adult contemporary) for 5 weeks, and #2 CW (counry) for two weeks. Four years ago, I wrote a whole post about the song.

(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration – the Righteous Brothers, #1 for 3 weeks, #2 RB (rhythm and blues). One of the relatively few singles I owned.

Monday, Monday – the Mamas and the Papas, #1 for 3 weeks. “Can’t trust that day.”

Summer In The City – the Lovin’ Spoonful, #1 for 3 weeks. I played this (poorly) on my grandmother’s piano.

Cherish – the Association, #1 for 3 weeks, #38 AC

We Can Work It Out– the Beatles, #1 for 3 weeks. I was always fond of this because it was so clearly a Lennon-and-McCartney song. From the Yesterday… and Today album, which I bought at a Rexall drug store for $2.99, the first Beatles album I did NOT get from the Capitol Records Club.  

Winchester Cathedral – the New Vaudeville Band, #1 for 3 weeks. Also #1 AC for four weeks. If I pinch my nose with two fingers, I can sort of approximate the vocal stylings of the song.

My Love – Petula Clark, 2 weeks at #1, #4 AC

When A Man Loves A Woman – Percy Sledge, 2 weeks at #1; #1 RB for four weeks 

Paint It, Black – the Rolling Stones, 2 weeks at #1. This is the lead track of the first Stones album I ever purchased, Aftermath, though the song does NOT appear on the UK version of the LP.

Hanky Panky – Tommy James and the Shondells, 2 weeks at #1; #39 RB

Wild Thing – the Troggs, 2 weeks at #1. “But I wanna know for sure.”

Motown

You Can’t Hurry Love – the Supremes, 2 weeks at #1; also #1 RB for two weeks. This was on The Supremes A Go-Go, which my sister Leslie owned. Much later, I bought it on CD.

Reach Out I’ll BBe There – the Four Tops, 2 weeks at #1; also #1 RB for four weeks.. This was on the great The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland album, which I owned.  

You Keep Me Hanging On – the Supremes, 2 weeks at #1; also #1 RB for four weeks. I owned this on the great The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland album.  

The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel, 2 weeks at #1 . It’s the title song of an album I didn’t buy until after I got Bookends (1968).  The original version, which appeared on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., I didn’t purchase until well after I bought the Bridge Over Troubled water album in 1970.  From Wikipedia: Throughout the month of January 1966 “The Sound of Silence” had a one-on-one battle with the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” for the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. “The Sound of Silence” was number one for the weeks of January 1 and 22 and number two for the intervening two weeks. “We Can Work It Out” held the top spot for the weeks of January 8, 15, and 29, and it was number two for the two weeks that “The Sound of Silence” was number one.

Paperback Writer – the Beatles, 2 weeks at #1. Though it was recorded during the Revolver sessions, it was a stand-alone single (b/w Rain). I didn’t own it until I bought the peculiar Beatles Again/Hey Jude album when it came out in 1969. Oh, today is Ringo Starr’s 86th birthday. 

I will revisit the topic soon with the one week at #1 pop songs, PLUS other #1s on non-Billboard charts. 

Movie review: The Sheep Detectives

crimessolvers

My daughter and I saw a Wednesday matinee of the film The Sheep Detectives at the Spectrum Theatre in late May. Initially, we were the only people in the theater, but eventually two groups of three joined us.

One of the television ads featured a pull quote calling the movie a cross between Babe and Knives Out. That was a useful observation, as it let me know that we would have a bunch of talking animals. 

“George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. As they follow the clues and investigate human suspects, they prove that even sheep can be brilliant crime-solvers.”

Of course, it is easier to solve a book crime than an actual one, as sheep Lily (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the others (voiced by, among others, Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, and Regina Hall) soon discover. And then, how do they convey the information to Officer Tim, the only cop in town?    

There are a half dozen suspects: a couple of competing farmers, the shopkeeper who steals something from the letter carrier, maybe even the minister. How about that young woman new to town? Is the lawyer (Emma Thompson) on the up-and -up? 

Big thumbs up

I adored this movie. It was smart and compassionate. The description one sheep made to others about the nature of God and the church was LOL funny to me. Those sheep had their own myth about death, which is no weirder than the one people you know have. The sheep have to get out of their comfort zones, physically and otherwise.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it received 95% positive reviews from critics and 96% from audiences. Recommended for someone 8 to 80. Warning: you may get a little teary-eyed. 

2026 NYS Primary voting

Also: June 21 talk about the impact of SCOTUS’s latest decisions on voting by Mark Mishler

voting.womanThe 2026 NYS Primary voting has already started! Early voting continues now through Sunday, June 21. Primary election day is Tuesday, June 23, at the general election polling places, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. As a polling place employee back in 2021 (or 2022?), I know it’s going to be a slow day in some parts of the state.

I will admit that, when I don’t have enough information for a race, I rely on trusted sources. In previous elections, I have even used specific neighbors’ lawn signs as a gauge.

As an Albany Democrat, I only have two races to consider. (Other Albanians have hyperlocal additional choices.) Absent other reliable sources, I’ve opted to repost here the Facebook comments of Mark Mishler, whom I’ve only known for about four decades and who has the bona fides (see below) for me to look to his opinions. I’ve not always gone with his picks, but I’m doing so here.

NYS COMPTROLLER – DREW WARSHAW.
“The long-term incumbent, Tom DiNapoli, has to go. There are multiple reasons, including his intentional use of NYS pension funds to support the government of Israel. He has purchased Israel Bonds (which provide the Israeli government with unrestricted resources to continue the brutal genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.) DiNapoli supports the Israeli government unequivocally.
“DREW WARSHAW has relevant experience; he has a progressive vision for the office that is focused on human needs and sound investment strategies; and he will end the use of NY’s pension fund to support foreign governments, including the government of Israel.
“There’s another candidate in the primary, Raj Goyle, who also opposes the purchase of Israel Bonds. I strongly believe DREW WARSHAW is the best of the two challengers and urge people to vote for him. “
I’ve only received info from DiNapoli, both mailer and on Facebook.
Here Comes The Judge
The only other race I have to consider is ALBANY COUNTY COURT JUDGE:
Mishler: “I strongly support TINA SODHI in this three-way primary. She would bring 20 years of experience representing low-income people facing criminal charges. She also would bring to the bench her experience as a woman of color and as an immigrant.
“I have practiced in this court for many years. There is a long and shameful tradition of Albany County being one of the harshest sentencing counties in all of NY State, with a consistently high rate of long state prison sentences, a burden disproportionately experienced by the Black community in Albany County. A fresh perspective is sorely needed. https://tinaforcountycourt.com/“
I’ve received literature from Tina K. Sodhi and from John M. Czajka, but not, to date,  from  Joseph J. Meany.
As I often say, yet possibly not enough, I ALWAYS vote.
Disenfranchisement
The Anti-Racism Committee of 1st Presbyterian Church, Albany, 362 State Street, has invited Attorney Mark Mishler to join us after Sunday worship on June 21 to speak about the impact of the Supreme Court’s latest decisions on voting.

While this decision especially impacts minorities whose representatives in Congress are being “redistricted” out, it will have an enormous effect on the entire country. Will our votes count? Will our voices be heard?

Please join us to learn about how this decision affects YOU and US. We will meet from 10:45 AM to noon. A light brunch will be served. This is important, so spread the word.

* Mark Mishler has practiced civil rights (police misconduct, employment discrimination, and housing discrimination) and criminal defense law in the capital region since 1981. He has served on the Executive Board of the Albany NAACP, was Co-President of the Albany City-Wide PTA, and has served on the steering committees of the Capital District Coalition Against Apartheid and Racism, Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration, and Jewish Voice for Peace, Albany.

Mark developed and taught courses on the law of mass incarceration at Albany Law School and at the UAlbany School of Criminal Justice. Mark has also, since 2019, served as Counsel to NYS Senator Julia Salazar, who chairs the NYS Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime & Correction, and, in that capacity, has been involved in statewide criminal legal system reform and corrections policy, among other areas. He has written about the Supreme Court’s efforts to dismantle the Voting Rights Act.

June rambling: Pride Now

Amy Grant?

All Americans Need Pride Now

In 1776, Angry New Yorkers Tore Down a Statue of George III With a Revolutionary Fervor. A New Exhibition Lets You Do It, Too

James Madison Speech in the House of Representatives, 8 June 1789, promoting amendments to the Constitution

The Interview: Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ’60 Minutes.’ Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim are staying.

DOD Officially Drops 180 Faiths From Military’s Recognized Religion List

Higher Education Must Not Become a Research Arm of Militarized Power

‘It debases the democratic process’: Sotomayor slams Supreme Court’s Alabama ruling, and it marks brazen reversal of its previous stance

A Shocking Betrayal of Black Americans

Only 50% of the public said they now trust health recommendations from the CDC, down from 77% in spring 2025, according to a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation’s Public Health Listening Lab

US Turnaround on International Vaccines Comes Too Late for Hundreds of Thousands. The State Department finally overruled RFK Jr.’s defunding of a group that vaccinates 60 percent of children globally.

The DOJ came after Daily Kos. Here’s the full story.

EFF Has Just Testified Before Congress on AI

Claustrophobia

Naomi Kritzer’s Obstetrix is a new, tense thriller in the mode of Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and Alderman’s The Power; it’s a beautifully turned, claustrophobic horror novel about an obstetrician who’s been kidnapped by a Christian cult obsessed with fertility.

Researching Juneteenth Celebrations at The New York Public Library

Knicks celebrate NBA victory back in New York City. The team was 4-0 in the finals when he wasn’t there. I still think of that 1973 championship team.  

New College of Florida and UK & Makerfield Election: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Fact-checking the interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’  – Digging into some of his claims about the Iran war, the Jan. 6 riots, California’s primary elections and more.

FOTUS Moved to Eliminate Chemical Safety Board Before Deadly Spill Killed 11

The Art of the Deal — The Art of BS

Everything You NEED To Know About Saturday Night Live, Season 26 (2000-2001)

The Desert’s Night Lights and The Boy and the Blue Cup and How to Steal a House? and A Planely Obvious Punishment 

MUSIC

As – Stevie Wonder

The 6th of January (Yasgur’s Farm) – Amy Grant

Fanfare for the Common Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer

How Do We Get There from Here – Amy Grant featuring Ruby Amanfu.

Memphis Soul Stew – King Curtis

Life On Mars? – David Bowie

John Barleycorn Must Die – Traffic

Bad Time  – Grand Funk

Mr. Brightside – The Killers

Somebody To Love -Jefferson Airplane

I Knew It, I Knew You – Taylor Swift from Toy Story 5 

That’s The Way Of The World – Earth, Wind, and Fire

Favorite Songs By Favorite Artists (Series Four) #6: Yusef Lateef and #7: The Velvet Underground

Ally the Piper does NOT need your misogyny

J. Eric Smith’s Best Albums of 2026 (First Half)

Hymns by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

The Dark Side of Paul McCartney

Feeding the cat

humidifier

Feeding the cat is usually my responsibility. The morning feeding is accompanied by bleating, as though Stormy has never, ever been fed ever in her whole life. I’ve been trying to feed her at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. in Daylight Time (7:30 Standard Time). The transition to DST is tricky for her because she sees her humans consuming nourishment.  The evening meal is similar.

In one of those email factoids, I recently read: “In October 2022, researchers from France published results from an experiment examining the relationship cats have with their owners’ voices. In the study, cats responded more positively to a familiar human voice (swishing tails, pivoting ears, pausing grooming) than when they heard the voice of a stranger.”

Our usual dinnertime ritual involves the feline sitting on the sofa or the cushy chair near me. I say, “Should I feed the CAT?” Her ears perk up, especially when I say “cat.” I stand up and go to the kitchen. She races me there; she always wins.

Mighty hunter

One of her odder traits is that, when my wife fills the humidifier in the dining room with water – we uncharacteristically experienced a lot of static electricity in the winter and early spring – Stormy will run to the open contraption and drink the water there.

I take it to mean that Stormy would rather “hunt” for her water, even though there is sufficient clean water in a bowl next to her food.

Sometimes, she’ll eat something she ought not. We actively keep plants away from her, but sometimes she’ll run up to the attic, where she’s not allowed, and nibble on something verboten. She’ll also chew on plastic – the bags the newspaper comes in, e.g.  In either case, she’ll eventually vomit out the food. We’ve TOLD her not to do that, but she doesn’t listen.

Anyway, we love our tween cat, now a teenager.  

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