Billboard Hot 100 | Top 5 – Week of August 20, 1966
The Billboard Hot 100 for August 20, 1966 kept The Lovin’ Spoonful at #1 with “Summer In The City,” a record that sounded like the season itself. With its pounding rhythm, street-noise atmosphere, and restless energy, the song captured the heat and pressure of urban summer life better than almost any hit of the decade. After reaching #1 the previous week, it held firm and continued to define late-summer radio.
The Top 5 showed just how unusual and varied 1966 could be. Bobby Hebb made a major move from #7 to #2 with “Sunny,” bringing warmth and soul into the runner-up position. Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs remained high at #3 with “Lil’ Red Riding Hood,” while The Troggs’ former #1 “Wild Thing” stayed strong at #4. Napoleon XIV rounded out the Top 5 with the strange novelty hit “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!”
This week’s chart balanced serious soul, garage rock, novelty records, British pop, and emerging psychedelic sounds. The Happenings climbed with “See You In September,” Petula Clark entered the Top 10 with another polished pop performance, and Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” made its first appearance in the upper chart.
By late August, the Hot 100 was moving toward a more experimental period. Summer hits were still everywhere, but the sounds of folk-rock, soul, and psychedelia were beginning to reshape what pop radio could be.
Top 5 Songs
1. Summer In The City – The Lovin’ Spoonful
“Summer In The City” remained at #1 for a second week, continuing its run as one of the defining records of 1966. The song’s urban atmosphere and harder edge set it apart from The Lovin’ Spoonful’s lighter folk-pop hits.
Its success showed the group’s range and gave the summer one of its most vivid musical snapshots. Few songs captured time, place, and mood as clearly as this one.
2. Sunny – Bobby Hebb
“Sunny” surged from #7 to #2, becoming one of the week’s strongest movers. Bobby Hebb’s smooth vocal and uplifting melody gave the chart a warm, soulful contrast to the louder and stranger records around it.
The song’s optimism helped it connect with a wide audience. In a Top 5 filled with garage rock and novelty sounds, “Sunny” stood out for its grace and emotional brightness.
3. Lil’ Red Riding Hood – Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs
“Lil’ Red Riding Hood” slipped from #2 to #3 but remained one of the biggest novelty-flavored rock hits of the summer. Its playful storytelling and memorable delivery helped keep it near the top for another week.
Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs had a unique ability to turn character-driven songs into pop hits. This record continued that tradition with humor, rhythm, and a catchy hook.
4. Wild Thing – The Troggs
“Wild Thing” held at #4 after its recent run at #1. The Troggs’ raw guitar sound and blunt vocal style made the song one of the most influential rock records of the year.
Its continued strength showed how strongly garage-rock energy had connected with listeners. Even as newer records climbed, “Wild Thing” remained a defining sound of summer 1966.
5. They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! – Napoleon XIV
“They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” slipped from #3 to #5 but remained one of the most unusual Top 5 hits of the decade. Its spoken-word style and odd production made it impossible to ignore.
The record’s continued presence near the top showed how unpredictable the 1966 chart could be. A novelty single could sit beside soul, rock, and folk-pop and still become a national conversation piece.
More Weeks at #1 for “Summer in the City”
This song spent multiple weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Explore each chart week below:
🎂 What Was the #1 Song on Your Birthday?
If you were born during the week ending August 20, 1966, this was your birthday song:
🎵 Summer in the City by The Lovin’ Spoonful
▶ Watch and experience this song →
🎂 Born in the 60s? Try your own birthday:
Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 This Week
- Summer In The City – The Lovin’ Spoonful
- Sunny – Bobby Hebb
- Lil’ Red Riding Hood – Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs
- Wild Thing – The Troggs
- They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! – Napoleon XIV
- See You In September – The Happenings
- The Pied Piper – Crispian St. Peters
- Mothers Little Helper – The Rolling Stones
- I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love – Petula Clark
- Sunshine Superman – Donovan
Chart Movers This Week
Why This Chart Week Mattered
This chart week mattered because “Summer In The City” continued to define the sound of late summer 1966 while several new directions pushed upward behind it. Bobby Hebb brought soul warmth with “Sunny,” and Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” hinted at the psychedelic sounds that would become more important as the decade continued.
The August 20, 1966 Hot 100 showed pop music at its most unpredictable: soulful, strange, raw, polished, and experimental all at once. That variety is what made 1966 such a powerful year on the Billboard charts.
