One of one hundred, 1965 

Songs that enter the Billboard Hot 100 at #100 are obviously at a huge disadvantage when it came to getting airplay and therefore selling records, but a few become unlikely success stories or just have an interesting narrative around them. Here are seven such records from 1965, listed by song title, artist and the date it entered the Hot 100.

Whipped Cream – Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass (2/20/65): The title cut of the ubiquitous album whose cover mesmerized us kids who frequented record stores. There’s a video on YouTube featuring one those guys who go around haunting thrift shops and garage sales for records showing off the literally dozens of copies of this album that he's picked up over the years. Never to be confused with Pat Cooper’s excellent parody.

The Mouse – Soupy Sales (4/24/65): Even with Soupy promoting the song (and dance) on Ed Sullivan, The Mouse wasn’t the national hit that I thought it was, only charting up to #76, but it hit #6 on New York City radio (WABC). The Mouse wasn’t much of a dance, mostly a lot of face-twitching but it was even easier to do than the Twist.

From A Window – Chad & Jeremy (7/10/65): From a Window was written by Paul McCartney, attributed to Lennon- McCartney, and a big hit for Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas. For some reason, World Artists thought it would be a good idea to release Chad & Jeremy’s cover less than a year later; it peaked at #97. 

The “In” Crowd – Ramsey Lewis Trio (7/31/65): The Ramsey Lewis Trio featured Lewis on piano, drummer Redd Holt and bassist Eldee Young. The In Crowd reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, sold more than one million copies, won a Grammy and gave Lewis entrée to record a slew of jazzed-up pop songs (A Hard Day’s Night, Hang On Sloopy, Wade in the Water), and a music career model that guitarist Wes Montgomery tried to follow, but with much less success. Holt and Young formed their own Young-Holt Unlimited and had a hit record with the Ramsey Lewis soundalike, Soulful Strut.   

What Are We Going To Do – David Jones (8/14/65): David Jones was from Manchester when it was cool to be a Brit, personable, photogenic and had a singing contract with the record company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. As Davey Jones, he was an easy call to be cast as one of the Monkees. 

Jenny Take A Ride – Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (12/11/65): Second only to You Lost That Lovin’ Feeling as the year’s best white soul record. 

Uptight – Stevie Wonder (12/18/65): One of Motown’s signature songs with a horn riff said to be inspired by Satisfaction and 15-year old Stevie’s committed vocal. Why this didn’t debut any higher on the charts is a mystery. Maybe Motown was spending most of its resources promoting the Supremes?