1965 was an important year for me personally and musically. I graduated from high school and started college. It meant moving from a village in northern Indiana to the largest university in the state. I met new people, made new friends, and left behind most of the people I had grown up with. It marked a new, and I think, better phase of my life. One thing, however, remained constant. I listened to Top 40 radio stations.

Despite being exposed to many new styles of music and different artists, I still clung to keeping up with what was popular. Along with regular Rock and Roll and Folk Music, there were a couple of other styles that I was drawn to. Folk-Rock was a term that I disliked, though I don’t remember why. Most of the music, however, was good. I particularly liked The Byrds, Jackie DeShannon, and Bob Dylan. Like a Rolling Stone became my personal anthem as a college freshman. It felt like it was written for me.

It felt like The British Invasion hit its peak in 1965. Along with The Beatles were The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Zombies, Gerry & The Pacemakers, as well as others covered here. Of course, there were other artists that are not in this playlist.

I have also added in a few other personal favorites. I hope that you enjoy this mixtape.

As part of my new mixtapes project, I have asked select friends to curate playlists for me. This mixtape is specially curated for us by Norm. He quickly became a true friend and confidant 7 years ago when I correctly recognised a floppy disk for what it was. Since then, he has seen me through all my ups and downs through perfectly timed memes, several postcards, lessons on the American presidency, and music, music, music. When not spreading positivity by sharing his song of the day on Twitter, you can find him blogging at Classical Gasbag.