Tossin' and Turnin'

July–August 1961

1961 has had a lot of rock and roll so far. It's a welcome development in my opinion, and the trend continues with this terrific number by Bobby Lewis, which spent a formidable 7 weeks at the top, making it the most successful single of the year.

Who ever thought insomnia could be so much fun? When you think about it, the topic of the song doesn't really fit the tone of it at all. He's so distressed by his lady that he's losing sleep at night; and yet the song itself is a rollicking good time, upbeat, and catchy as sin to boot. But somehow you don't even notice this glaring inconsistency until you slow down to think about it. For whatever reason, it plainly works. I suppose part of the appeal is that it takes a bad experience that practically everyone has had, and makes it sound like a party. How could you resist?

The runaway success of the song is a little strange in retrospect, considering that Lewis almost immediately fell out of the public eye completely. One-hit wonders make it to the weekly #1 spot all the time, but rarely do they score the #1 single of the year. Besides the inevitable, less successful follow-up single ("One Track Mind"), he never made another hit for the rest of his life. The guy is still alive (he's 76), and you've got to wonder what he does with himself. Well, I suppose he can rest easy knowing that he recorded more #1 singles than most of us have. One, to be exact; but boy, was it a good one.

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