Rant #2,184: Grazing In the Grass with Lady Willpower and Jumping Jack Flash

Today is Thursday, but I am going to write this Rant as if it was Friday.

I won't be at this perch tomorrow, as I am taking the day off to be with my wife, who has been out of the work the entire week on vacation.

So it will be my one-day vacation from the drudgery of my job, which is creeping closer and closer to oblivion.

Yesterday, we got the formal word that one of our publications is no more. That leaves us one more down and one step closer to the inevitable.

The thing I told you yesterday about one of those job-posting companies actually helping me to find a job fizzled out, as I knew it would, when they couldn't back their bark with any bite.

I kind of figured, and without telling you the name of the company, I will tell you that their claims are monstrous, their delivery feeble.

But anyway, tomorrow is July 20, so why not look back at the most popular 45 RPM singles 50 years ago to the day based on the Billboard Magazine charts? It's what people were listening to around the country way back when, and I am sure that you will find a wealth of great tunes in the list that I am going to roll off right now,

So for the week of July 20, 1968, the No. 1 record in the country was "Grazing in the Grass," the instrumental version by Hugh Masekela. The song is infectious, and you still hear it played as background music today, and yes, it was followed by the vocal version of the song by the Friends of Distinction, but that song came later.

The No. 2 song was "Lady Willpower" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, one of the string of hits the act had during this period, where they sold more singles than the Beatles or any other performer did.

The Rolling Stones came in with the No. 3 song on the chart, and their "Jumping Jack Flash" truly is one of their best tunes, featuring in its short length everything that has made this band so popular over the last 50-plus years.

Herb Alpert's solo turn, "This Guy's In Love With You," the previous week's No. 1 record, stayed relatively strong this week at the No. 4 spot. Alpert would do a few other vocals, but this one is the best and most remembered, and spawned a female version by Dionne Warwick later on.

One of the great one-hot wonders follows at No.5. Cliff Nobles & Co.'s "The Horse" probably isn't a song you know very well just by its name, but when you hear it, you know it.

The 5th Dimension had become one of America's favorite vocal groups during this period, and one of their best songs, "Stoned Soul Picnic," was at No. 6 this week. Were there better singers during this period of time than Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.?

Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was at No. 7 for the week. Although his lyrics were hard to decipher at times, his music was infectious, and this tune was certainly one of his best, proving once again that he was far more than a Bob Dylan rip-off.

Mason Williams' one hit was "Classical Gas," and it came in at No. 8 this week. With his writing work on "The Smothers Brothers Show" and one of the first frequently seen videos, this instrumental had it all, and is one of my personal favorites of that genre.

The Doors once again brought their alternative rock sound to the Top 10 with "Hello, I Love You," pretty much a rip-off of the Kinks' prior hit "All Day and All of the Night" but just as enjoyable. It reached No. 9 this week, and within two weeks, would reach the top of the charts.

Rounding out the Top 10 for the week was "Indian Lake" by the family group the Cowsills. Certainly one of the creators of the "Sunshine Pop" genre, the act, led by their mom, was the real-life inspiration for the Partridge Family, but in my mind, oh so much cooler than David Cassidy and Co. could ever be.

The highest debut single of the week was "People Got To Be Free" by the Rascals, which came in at No. 64 but didn't stay there for long, and within a month, it would reach the No. 1 spot.

The single that was the biggest mover of the week--the song that jumped the most places on the chart from the previous week to this week--was the instrumental "Soul-Limbo" by Booker T. and the MGs, which moved up 32 places, from No. 84 to No. 52 on this week's chart. The song would eventually rise to a No. 17 high point for the Memphis group, and become the act's second gold record in the process.

So there you have it. There was some great music in the Top 10 for this week, great summer music that soothed the soul back then and still does today.

Again, I won't be here tomorrow, but I will speak to you again on Monday, so have a great weekend and I will see you then.