Record Collecting: 1964 (other notable records)

The contenders (The Rolling Stones, Horace Silver, Irma Thomas, and more!), the bubble, and your inclusions

Mar 22, 2025

Welcome to my series on record collecting, where we select 30 albums to target for each year between 1960 and 2020. You can find the manifesto here, including links to other entries. In short, as I map my own thinking on how to invest in building a record collection, I hope it will be a useful guide in thinking about yours. The goal is a personal collection that doubles as a modern art musical library with, you know, killer tunes. Apologize in advance for the massive gaps in my musical knowledge. That’s what the comment section is for.

The year is 1964. “Louie Louie” is declared pornographic by the governor of Indiana. Top of the Pops premieres in the UK. The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show and make up 60% of the entire singles market in the United States, according to Billboard. The Supremes start their run of number one hits. Buck Owens owns the country charts with “Love’s Gonna Live Here.” Pete Townshend accidentally breaks his guitar on stage and many find inspiration. Eric Dolphy dies in Europe, reportedly because physicians, assuming he was a junky jazz musician, mistreat a diabetic coma. Sam Cooke is shot dead, while a plane piloted by Jim Reeves crashes. Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway. Vince Guaraldi composes “Linus and Lucy.”

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

See all of the 1960s selections

See all selections listed by artist

1964

Part 4

The Contenders

the final cuts to the 30 selections

Andrew Hill - Black Fire (Blue Note)

Hill’s debut for Blue Note. His piano playing—searching, spontaneous, challenging—fully matured already. Fronts a solid quartet, with Roy Haynes, in particular, game for matching the complex rhythmic ideas of the leader.

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Barbra Streisand - People (Columbia)

Streisand returns to the level she achieved with her debut and captures a Grammy for her performance. Her choice of tunes keeps the album interesting, culminating with the grandiose title track, a mix of poetic sensibility and vocal chops.

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The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones (Decca)

The Stones appear, with a songbook full of their blues favorites and all the charisma you can handle. The guitars already sound great and Jagger likely came out of the womb swaggering. “Tell Me” is the first original song of note, a ways to go but an admirable start.

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Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder (Blue Note)

Near-peak Blue Note hard bop. Grooves for days. The title track, in particular, a classic of boogaloo soul jazz, even achieving crossover success in its edited-down version. So popular that it provides a needed cash injection for Blue Note, keeping the label afloat and inspiring a legion of copycats.

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Horace Silver Quintet - Song for My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai) (Blue Note)

Another set of premier Blue Note hard bop. This one incorporating more influences from outside the United States, mainly Brazil, as well as his father’s West African origins. The title track is a legendary cut, Joe Henderson and Carmell Jones in complete sync above the syncopated Brazilian rhythm and Cape Verdean folk melody.

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Shirley Scott - Soul Shoutin’ with Stanley Turrentine (Prestige)

Steaming set of soul jazz-leaning hard bop from the “Queen of the Organ” and her then-husband, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Hard-swinging, humid-night, shack-shaking grooves.

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Irma Thomas - Wish Someone Would Care (Imperial)

Though she had been releasing singles for years, this is the debut full-length for the “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” The title track is her biggest national hit at the time, but it’s the closer that deserves your attention: the Jackie DeShannon co-penned “Break-a-way” is a two-and-a-half minute sprint of irresistible pop-soul.

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