According to their manager, Brian Epstein, The Beatles were asked to
come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by
all nationalities. He said, "It was an inspired song and they really wanted
to give the world a message.”

“Hang On Sloopy” is a 1964 song by Wes Farrell and Bert
Russell, originally titled "My Girl Sloopy". It was named for
singer Dorothy Sloop, who used the name "Sloopy" on
stage. The McCoys version went on to hit number-one
on October 2.

The song was on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three consecutive
weeks. It is ranked number 401 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest
Songs of All Time.

 
 John Benson Sebastian became 69 years old in March

.

This novelty tune by 16 year old Brian Hyland was written by
Paul Vance who said he got the inspiration for the song when
he saw his two year old daughter in a tiny swimsuit while at the
beach.

Brian Hyland will be 70 in November

The Bee Gees scored their first Billboard number one with
"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart". Barry and Robin Gibb
had originally written the song for  Andy Williams, but he
turned it down.