Various Artists - NOW Yearbook Presents - The 60s - Volume 2: 1963-1964 Various Artists

The 60s story continues with NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 2, the next essential chapter in the Yearbook Presents series. Celebrating the explosion in pop music during 1963 and 1964, this collection brings together 88 iconic recordings across 4 CDs, showcasing a golden age of chart-topping pop alongside timeless soul, rock ’n’ roll energy and unforgettable ballads.

CD1 kicks off with The Kinks’ groundbreaking UK No.1 ‘You Really Got Me’, a track that helped define the British Invasion era, followed by equally unforgettable tracks ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ from The Animals, ‘Shout’ from Lulu And The Luvvers, and Dusty Springfield with ‘I Only Want To Be With You’. The disc is packed with instantly recognisable chart gold, from Roy Orbison’s signature ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ to Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’, alongside timeless pop classics including, from the U.S., The Beach Boys and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, plus British favourites The Hollies, The Searchers, Gerry & The Pacemakers and Cilla Black.

Disc 2 showcases the unstoppable rise of soul and sophisticated pop, led by Petula Clark’s international smash ‘Downtown’, a record that conquered charts on both sides of the Atlantic, followed by Sandie Shaw and Dionne Warwick who both scored huge hits with timeless songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Motown greats feature prominently with The Supremes’ breakthrough No.1 ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and Marvin Gaye’s unforgettable ‘How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)’, alongside era-defining hits from Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and Mary Wells. Chart favourites from The Shadows, Lesley Gore and Peter And Gordon are included with Skeeter Davis closing the disc with her enduring classic ‘The End Of The World’.

CD3 opens with the legendary ‘Be My Baby’ by The Ronettes and continues with The Crystals’ ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ and The Shangri-Las’ ‘Remember (Walkin’ In The Sand)’, followed the jazz-influenced ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ by Stan Getz, João Gilberto & Astrud Gilberto; a Grammy-winning hit that brought bossa nova to the mainstream. The CD closes with a run of easy-pop from Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Doris Day and Dean Martin and finishes in unforgettable style with Louis Armstrong’s ‘Hello, Dolly!’, No.1 in the US.

The final disc delivers wall-to-wall classics, opening with Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams’, and Bobby Vinton’s ‘Blue Velvet’. ‘You Don’t Own Me’ by Lesley Gore is as popular now as then, and The Supremes’ huge No.1 ‘Baby Love’, one of Motown’s biggest-selling singles, still sounds fresh more than 60 years on. Second appearances from Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Dusty Springfield, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and The Kinks leads to a pair of cinematic showstoppers, both from ‘James Bond’ movies: Matt Monro with ‘From Russia With Love’ and Shirley Bassey’s iconic and instantly recognisable ‘Goldfinger’. The collection closes with a timeless anthem with Gerry & The Pacemakers’ emotive and chart topping ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 2 - a vibrant celebration of these years — packed with the songs that shaped popular music forever. An essential companion to Volume 1 and a must-have for fans of classic hits, timeless songwriting and one of the greatest eras in music history.

The 60s story continues with NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 2, the next essential chapter in the Yearbook Presents series. Celebrating the explosion in pop music during 1963 and 1964, this collection brings together 54 unforgettable tracks across a 3-LP set pressed on white vinyl, showcasing a golden age of chart-topping pop alongside timeless soul, rock ’n’ roll energy and unforgettable ballads.

LP1 kicks off with The Kinks’ groundbreaking UK No.1 ‘You Really Got Me’, a track that helped define the British Invasion era, followed by equally unforgettable tracks ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ from The Animals, ‘Shout’ from Lulu And The Luvvers and Dusty Springfield with ‘I Only Want To Be With You’. The side is packed with instantly recognisable chart gold from Manfred Mann, The Hollies, Freddie & The Dreamers and The Searchers. Flip the LP over for The Beach Boys classic ‘I Get Around’, Roy Orbison’s signature smash ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ and Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’, with timeless pop gems from Brian Poole & The Tremeloes, Bobby Vee, The Chiffons, and completing the first LP, The Cascades with ‘Rhythm Of The Rain’.

LP2 showcases the greatest in sophisticated pop, opening with Dionne Warwick’s peerless ‘Walk On By’ before Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ – a song that conquered charts worldwide. Motown greats feature prominently with The Supremes’ ‘Where Did Our Love Go’, Marvin Gaye’s timeless ‘How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)’, Mary Wells’ ‘My Guy’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Fingertips, Pt. 2’. Over on the other side there’s a stellar line-up of cinematic and easy-pop classics, with ‘James Bond’ themes from Shirley Bassey with the iconic ‘Goldfinger’ and Matt Monro’s ‘From Russia With Love’ opening, ahead of the Grammy-winning ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ by Stan Getz, João Gilberto & Astrud Gilberto, and huge hits from Cilla Black, Dave Berry, Doris Day, and closing the LP Tony Bennett with ‘The Good Life’.

The Supremes’ huge No.1 ‘Baby Love’, one of Motown’s biggest-selling singles, still sounds fresh more than 60 years on and kicks off the final LP followed by legendary tracks from Martha & The Vandellas, The Crystals and ‘Be My Baby’ from The Ronettes. The Four Seasons are up next, followed by a second appearance from The Beach Boys that opens a trio of ‘surfin’ tracks – the others from Jan & Dean and The Surfaris and it’s over one last time to the collections’ final run of hits including from Bobby Vinton, Sandie Shaw, Lesley Gore with the enduringly popular ‘You Don’t Own Me’, plus The Honeycombs, Herman’s Hermits and the Lennon & McCartney penned ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret?’ from Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas which leaves the last word to Gerry & The Pacemakers with their anthemic and emotive #1 ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 2 - a vibrant celebration of these years — packed with the songs that shaped popular music forever. An essential companion to Volume 1 and a must-have for fans of classic hits, timeless songwriting and one of the greatest eras in music history.