Since this is Rant #1,967, I figured I would look at the year 1967, and this very week, the song that serves as part of the title of this Rant was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It was a song by the Beatles, and I guess its sentiments continue to ring true 50 years later.
"All You Need Is Love," and all you still need is love in this mad world we live in.
We were right in the middle of the so-called "Summer of Love," and this song pretty much set the tone for the summer.
For the week of August 19, 1967, another anthem of that summer "Light My Fire" by the Doors, followed at No. 2. It had been the top song on the chart the previous week.
The most popular rock act in the world came in at No. 3, with probably their best song, although it never made No. 1 with such stiff competition in front of it. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by the Monkees was No. 3 on the chart, another anthem of that summer that many discount as a "Summer of Love" anthem, but that is just what it was.
One of the many hits by Stevie Wonder was at No. 4 for the week. "I Was Made To Love Her" was one of his best tunes, and its high placement showed the sheer talent of this still young teenager, who would have many other hits over the next several decades.
Another great rhythm and blues tune, "Baby I Love You" by Aretha Franklin, rounded out the Top 5, and this singer, who was originally molded as a black Barbara Streisand, was right in the middle of an incredible run of hits, now that her talent was fully understood.
One of the most popular acts in the country during 1967 was the Buckinghams, and they had one of their biggest hits this week with "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," which came in at No. 6.
"Ode to Billie Joe," one of the great story songs of all time, came in at No. 7. Bobbie Gentry, who both wrote and sung this tune, went on to an interesting career, and she was as hot as a pistol, both figuratively and literally, with this tune on the charts.
James Brown had many, many chart hits, and one was "Cold Sweat," which hit No. 8 this week. The so-called "Hardest Working Man in Show Business" would have hit singles into the 1980s.
If someone was looking for something different on the singles charts this week, they would have found it in the atmospheric tune "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum, which hit No. 9 this week.
Rounding out the Top 10 was the Young Rascals' "A Girl Like You," a great mix of soul and rock that was the specialty of this New York Metropolitan Area band, who would soon drop the "Young" from their name.
The highest debut on the chart at No. 76 was Peter, Paul and Mary's "I Dig Rock and Roll Music," the name-dropping song that would eventually reach No. 9. It was also the trio's next to last Top 10 single.
The biggest mover on the chart--the song that picked up the most mileage on the chart, moving from one place to another during the period of the previous week to the current week--was Diana Ross and the Supremes' "Reflections," which moved from No. 61 to No. 20 during the span. It would soon hit the top of the charts, becoming one of the Motown trio's biggest and most loved hits.
So there you have it. These were the songs people were listening to way back when, and there isn't a lemon in the bunch.
In fact, I would say that there are a few classics in this list, a few songs that have stayed with us and endured for 50 years, and probably will continue to do so for at least 50 more.
That was really some summer, and all you had to do was to turn on the radio, and you would be musically taken to that time and place.
Me, I was in camp, but even after camp or on the weekend, I probably had a stick ball game to play, or I went to the mall to the card shop to get the latest issue of the "Superman" comic book, or even maybe to get a pack of baseball cards.
Maybe I was even getting a dreaded hair cut, or picking up a slice of pizza and a Coke at King George Pizza in the mall.
Whatever the case, 1967 was a good year for this 10 year old, and the summer was as hot as could be.
Peter, Paul, and Mary had a no. 1 song in '69 with "Leaving On A Jet Plane".
ReplyDeleteSorry Larry,
ReplyDeleteYou meant The Mamas and The Papas song, and not P,P,and M.
Sort of correct. "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" was in fact a Peter, Paul and Mary song, but yes, they did have one more hit, and it was "Leaving on a Jet Plane," which did hit No. 1 in 1969. "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" hit No. 9 in 1967. So, let's say I made half an error, and I will fix it in the blog post. Thanks for alerting me to it.
ReplyDelete