1966 Music Hits: Top Songs, Radio Favorites, and Pop Classics

1. Summer Wind – Frank Sinatra
2. I’m a Believer – The Monkees
3. When a Man Loves a Woman – Percy Sledge
4. Wild Thing – The Troggs
5. Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett
6. This Old Heart of Mine – The Isley Brothers
7. Devil with the Blue Dress – Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
8. Yellow Submarine – The Beatles
9. Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptations
10. Jenny Take a Ride – Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

1966 Music Hits by Style

Beyond the Top 10, 1966 music shows pop culture right in the middle of a major shift. Motown, soul, garage rock, folk rock, British Invasion bands, sunshine pop, traditional pop, novelty instrumentals, and movie themes were all competing for space on radio. The result was one of the most colorful music years of the 1960s.

1966 Soul, Motown, R&B, and Dance Hits

Soul and Motown were major forces in 1966, with The Supremes, The Temptations, Wilson Pickett, Four Tops, Sam & Dave, James Brown, The Miracles, and The Marvelettes helping define the sound of the year. These songs brought rhythm, gospel energy, sharp vocals, and dance-floor excitement to pop radio.

These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra
Get Ready – The Temptations
You Can’t Hurry Love – The Supremes
Hold On! I’m a Comin’ – Sam & Dave
Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over) – Four Tops
Going to a Go-Go – The Miracles
Oh How Happy – Shades of Blue
But It’s Alright – J.J. Jackson
Don’t Mess with Bill – The Marvelettes
Cool Jerk – The Capitols
Knock on Wood – Eddie Floyd
Land of 1,000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
You Keep Me Hangin’ On – The Supremes
It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World – James Brown
(I’m a) Road Runner – Jr. Walker & The All Stars
My World Is Empty Without You – The Supremes
Reach Out I’ll Be There – Four Tops

1966 British Invasion, Garage Rock, and Rock Radio Hits

Rock music in 1966 was getting louder, stranger, and more confident. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Troggs, The Kinks, The Animals, The Standells, The Shadows of Knight, and The Bobby Fuller Four helped push rock toward garage bands, psychedelia, and sharper guitar-driven sounds.

Good Lovin’ – The Rascals
Paperback Writer – The Beatles
Hanky Panky – Tommy James & The Shondells
Time Won’t Let Me – The Outsiders
My Generation – The Who
I Fought the Law – The Bobby Fuller Four
Mother’s Little Helper – The Rolling Stones
Gloria – The Shadows of Knight
Summer in the City – The Lovin’ Spoonful
Sunny Afternoon – The Kinks
Lies – The Knickerbockers
Little Latin Lupe Lu – Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Paint It, Black – The Rolling Stones
Lady Jane – The Rolling Stones
19th Nervous Breakdown – The Rolling Stones
Gloria – Them
Day Tripper – The Beatles
It’s My Life – The Animals
Dirty Water – The Standells
My Little Red Book – Love
We Can Work It Out – The Beatles
Nowhere Man – The Beatles
Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love) – The Swingin’ Medallions

1966 Folk Rock, Singer-Songwriters, and Counterculture Sounds

Folk rock and more thoughtful songwriting were also central to 1966. Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Donovan, and The Mamas & The Papas helped bring poetic lyrics, social tension, and acoustic influence into mainstream pop. This is where 1966 started sounding less like early-decade pop and more like the late 60s arriving early.

Homeward Bound – Simon & Garfunkel
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 – Bob Dylan
Just Like a Woman – Bob Dylan
Mellow Yellow – Donovan
Monday, Monday – The Mamas & The Papas
California Dreamin’ – The Mamas & The Papas
Eight Miles High – The Byrds
Sunshine Superman – Donovan
I Want You – Bob Dylan
The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
Mr. Spaceman – The Byrds
Homeward Bound – Simon & Garfunkel
I Am a Rock – Simon & Garfunkel

1966 Pop, Sunshine Pop, and Harmony Hits

1966 pop was bright, melodic, and full of harmony. The Beach Boys, The Monkees, The Association, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Happenings, The Cyrkle, The Vogues, and The Mindbenders helped make the year catchy and radio-friendly. Some songs were cheerful, some were dreamy, and some sounded like summer vacation had a recording contract.

Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ’Bout Me) – The 4 Seasons
Barbara Ann – The Beach Boys
Along Comes Mary – The Association
Sweet Talkin’ Guy – The Chiffons
God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
See You in September – The Happenings
Working My Way Back to You – The 4 Seasons
Caroline, No – The Beach Boys
Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys
Black Is Black – Los Bravos
Daydream – The Lovin’ Spoonful
A Groovy Kind of Love – The Mindbenders
Cherish – The Association
Last Train to Clarksville – The Monkees
Red Rubber Ball – The Cyrkle
Sloop John B – The Beach Boys
Five O’Clock World – The Vogues
Sunny – Bobby Hebb

1966 Traditional Pop, Standards, Crooners, and Movie Themes

Traditional pop was still very much alive in 1966, even as rock and soul were changing the charts. Frank Sinatra, Roger Williams, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Herb Alpert, Dusty Springfield, and Roger Williams helped keep standards, movie themes, jazz-pop, and polished vocals in the mix.

Born Free – Roger Williams
It Was a Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra
That’s Life – Frank Sinatra
Crying Time – Ray Charles
Secret Agent Man – Johnny Rivers
Strangers in the Night – Frank Sinatra
Spanish Flea – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Second Hand Rose – Barbra Streisand
Tijuana Taxi – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Guantanamera – The Sandpipers
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In) – The T-Bones

1966 Girl Group, Pop-Soul, and Dramatic Vocal Hits

Girl groups, dramatic pop-soul vocals, and polished romantic singles still had a strong place in 1966. Nancy Sinatra, The Supremes, Dusty Springfield, The Chiffons, The Righteous Brothers, and The Association all brought big hooks and memorable vocal performances to the year.

Friday’s Child – Nancy Sinatra
(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration – The Righteous Brothers
Sugar Town – Nancy Sinatra
As Tears Go By – The Rolling Stones
Sweet Talkin’ Guy – The Chiffons
You Keep Me Hangin’ On – The Supremes
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield

1966 Novelty, Instrumentals, TV Themes, and Pop Culture Curveballs

1966 also had plenty of songs that do not fit neatly into one box. Novelty records, instrumentals, spy themes, film music, and oddball pop hits helped give the year personality. This is the category where the radio dial gets a little unpredictable, which is usually where the trivia gets better.

Yellow Submarine – The Beatles
Secret Agent Man – Johnny Rivers
Spanish Flea – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Tijuana Taxi – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach’s In) – The T-Bones
Guantanamera – The Sandpipers