Let’s lead off the top ten with the biggest hot take I have regarding 1963, best or worst.

In 1963, a little band from Hawthorne, California called The Beach Boys scored three hit songs.  The biggest of them is a song you are probably all familiar with, “Surfin’ U.S.A.”  Although the song never reached number one, it was the number two song of the year, behind “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs.

“Surfin’ U.S.A.” will not be on this list.

In fact, I nominated 31 of the 100 eligible songs for this countdown.  And “Surfin’ U.S.A.” was not one of them.

How could I make such a controversial decision, leaving off arguably the most well-known hit song of the year?  Simple.  It’s a complete copy of “Sweet Little Sixteen” by Chuck Berry.

And I’m not talking a sample, like with “Blurred Lines” copying a small part of “Got To Give It Up.”  Brian Wilson, as much as he truly was a genius, took the entire song.  The vocal melody for both “Sweet Little Sixteen” and “Surfin’ U.S.A.” is identical, and the three chord guitar patterns in the verses both move in the same progression, with the same rock and roll cadence.  Even the lyrics, which defenders of “Surfin’ U.S.A.” use to claim that the two songs are not the same, follow a similar geographic theme.  “Sweet Little Sixteen” discusses the massive throngs of people in Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and “Frisco Bay” desperately wanting to dance with the titular “sweet little sixteen,” while “Surfin’ U.S.A.” discusses how everyone has gone surfing at numerous California beaches.  

One thing I’m going to be quite frank about when we get to the nineties is that I’m a massive fan of Oasis, a band known for cribbing numerous hit songs for their own songs.  But there is a difference.  In songs like “Cigarettes & Alcohol” and “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” Noel Gallagher took part of an existing song and built an entirely new song around that riff.  With “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” Brian Wilson took an entire song and claimed it as his own.

Do I like “Surfin’ U.S.A.?”  Well, yeah.  It’s a fun song.  But when you completely copy another song, don’t expect to earn many points from me when it comes to making a best list of mine.

So what twenty songs could possibly be better than arguably the most famous song of the year? Well, let me start by saying that there was a song I initially left off the top ten that would have arguably been an even bigger snub from the best list. When I initially ranked the songs last year, this song was the original #11, the last cut from the best list. I initially had another Beach Boys song, “Surfer Girl,” on the best list partially to make up for the absence of “Surfin’ USA.” But then when I revisited this list, it became harder for me to justify the song as one of the ten best of the year in large part because of its lyrical content, and thus a spot opened up. And I couldn’t pass up the second opportunity to honor the Man in Black.

“Ring Of Fire” – Johnny Cash

#17 peak
#80 year-end

Do I really need to tell you how great this song is?  Well, to begin, those blazing horns coming in at the beginning of the song, with its simple yet legendary riff.  Whenever they’re on, I keep imagining they’re introducing a rider at a rodeo, rather than a love song.  And then there are those galloping guitars that never step out of rhythm and never lose momentum throughout the song.  

And then there are the lyrics.  Judging by the title alone, it’s easy to assume that the song would be about Cash’s drug problems.  But it’s about falling in love.  

Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire

Upon learning that Cash’s future wife June Carter co-wrote the song, that’s the only thing this song could be about.  I mean, they made it through 35 years, even with Cash’s drug addiction and the wear and tear of showbiz.  A lot of couples in the music and entertainment industries can’t say that.  The only way for the two to make it through with each other, in my opinion, was for their love to be so intense it could burn down a building.  And that’s what “Ring Of Fire” is about in my opinion: eternal love.

UP NEXT: We go from a nearly controversial snub to probably the biggest reach on the top ten at #9.

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Album cover from Amazon