Best Songs Of The 60s
On The Acoustic

A Summer Song was released in the summer of 1964 with low expectations that the song would have much impact. Even Ringo Starr judged the song as a flop. But the US market loved the song to put it a #7 and #2 on two different charts. The song also reached #7 in Canada and has appeared in several films over the years.

The song went on to be covered by different artists and even in different languages. The duo were on again and off again with several reunions and finally packed it in in 2016. In 2020, Chad Stewart passed away from pneumonia.

I play this with a capo 2nd fret to stay in the original key using the chords G, Bm, C, D, Em, B7, Am, D7, A# and an E. You can play a root down up root up down up  rhythm pattern in standard tuning with a few riffs.

A World Without Love was the very first single ever released by the British duo Peter And Gordon way back in 1964. Paul McCartney actually wrote this song.

The song was a #1 in the UK and the US.

McCartney was dating Peter's sister at the time and moved in with her when he was 16. Paul didn't think the song was good enough for his new band The Beatles so he gave the song to Peter Asher who had just landed a recording contract with his duo partner Gordon Waller.

The song is found on their album of the same name.

The first rhythm pattern is a root down up root up down up and the second is a quick shuffle using a root down up down up root up down up. A little picking in this one and playing the chords E, Ab, Dbm, Am, Gbm, B7 and  C in standard tuning.

Count Me In was a single released in 1965 and reached #2 in the US and #6 in Canada.

The song hails from their album "A Session With Gary Lewis & The Playboys".

This one has a steady down down up down up down up rhythm pattern with a few chords in standard tuning. Chords here are an F, A#, Db, C, Am, C7 and a Gm. A little bit of lean here in standard tuning.

Don't It Make You Want To Go Home made it onto three separate charts when it was released back in 1969 including Pop, Country and Adult Contemporary.

Joe South recorded this with his brother Tommy and sister-in-law Barbara as backup musicians know as The Believers. The song was a top 30 in the US and a top 15 in Canada and Australia.

Brook Benton, Bobby Bare and Glen Campbell are just a few artist who have covered the song through the years. The song can be found on the album of the same name.

You can play this one with the chords G, Am, D, D7 and a C in standard tuning and then up to an E, A and Bm near the end. I do have a little picking in this while you play the rhythm root down up down up down up and repeat.

Games People Play was a huge hit for Joe South in 1968, picking up two Grammy Awards. The song was a top in the UK and a #12 in the US. It reached #1 in South Africa.

The song hails from Joe's debut album "Introspect".

I play this one lower in the key of G, C and D in Drop D tuning with a down down up down up pattern and repeat. I've also added in a lead break.

Goodbye was written by Paul McCartney and released by Mary Hopkin in 1969. It would have reached number one but had to settle for number two a a pesky song by The Beatles called Get Back took the #1 spot on the UK charts.

She played acoustic on the track while McCartney played bass and the acoustic intro and solo.

This one has a root down up down up down up rhythm pattern with a few chops in it and a short picking break. The chords here are D, Gbm, Bm, Bm/A, G, A7 and A in standard tuning with a capoed 2nd fret.

I Go To Pieces is a song written by Del Shannon and was a hit for Peter And Gordon back in Feb 1965. These guys were touring with Del Shannon in the fall of 1964 in Australia. Del sang the song to

The Searchers in their dressing as they were touring also, but they passed. But Peter And Gordon heard the song from another dressing room and asked Del if they might record the song, which he agreed.

The track is on the album of the same name.

This one you can play a root down up down up root up down up rhythm pattern with the chords E, Abm, A, B7, Dbm, Am, Gb and a B7. No lead here and in standard tuning.

I Like It reached #1 in the UK in the summer of 1963 and peaked at #17 in the US. It was also used in an Australia mini-series called "Peter Alien: Not The Boy Next Door".

This track can be forun on their 1964 album "Gerry And The Pacemakers 2nd Album".

This one has a fast paced steady down up down up rhythm pattern with a G, C/G, C, Am, Em, D, Bm and an Em. No lead here but one riff to learn in standard tuning.

I'm Telling You Now became a #1 hit back in 1965. The song was released in the UK a few years earlier and reached #2.

You can find the track on the album of the same name.

You'll find the chords change quickly in this song with a basic root down up root up down up rhythm pattern in standard tuning. A little picking in this one with the chords G, C, D, Am7, D7, Em, G6 and an F.

Lady Godiva was released as a single in 1966 and reached #16 in the UK and #6 in the US and hit #1 in Australia and Canada.

The song can be found on their album of the same name released in 1967.

One small riff near the end of this one in standard tuning you can play with a root down up root up down up rhythm pattern. The chords you'll need are D, A, G, Em, A7, D7, B7 and an E7.

Make Me An Island was a single released back in 1969 from the album of the same name.

It became one of Dolan's signature hits and helped establish him as an international artist. The song was written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, who were also responsible for several other popular tracks of the era.

"Make Me An Island" reached the number 3 position on the UK Singles Chart, marking Dolan's highest-charting single in Britain. It also performed well in other European countries, reaching number 1 in Ireland and the Netherlands.

I play a down down up down up down up rhythm pattern here in standard tuning with the chords Dm, A7, D7, Gm, G, D, A#, D# and a G#m. No lead work in this one.