It is a holiday weekend for most, and for many of us, it signals the real end of summer, even though we actually have a few weeks to go in the season.
For me, it is just another weekend, as I have to labor on Labor Day.
Yes, on Monday, I will be working, and all indications are that this will be the final Labor Day I will be working for this company.
Unless there is some type of miracle, we are limping toward the finish line, and a couple more indications of our impending doom were parceled out at work yesterday.
When are they going to tell us for sure that we are done? Will the door of our office be bolted?
Will the higher ups say, "Merry Christmas" to us, and then say, "And by the way, we are out of business."
And that is even if we last this long.
Fifty years ago today, on August 31, 1968, I was 11 years old, and my only worry was that school was about to start, and I needed to get all my stuff together to begin the upcoming school year.
Who would have known that so far in the future, I would be preparing myself to the fact that my job and company were both about to end, and I would need to get all my stuff together to end this part of my life as best that I could?
The Billboard Hot 100 for the week of August 31, 1968 was truly a magical cornucopia of amazing tunes that would truly stand the test of time a half century into the future.
The No. 1 single in the country was "People Got To Be Free" by the Rascals, one of the biggest hits of the 1960s, with five weeks spent at No.1. This week represented the third week of this run.
At the No. 2 spot was "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, another classic tune that has stood the test of time. It never reached No. 1, but is really the perfect counterpoint to the Rascals tune.
A former No. 1 song, the Doors' "Light My Fire," was at the No. 3 spot, with another Doors' tune, "Hello, I Love You," which sounded so much like "All Day and All of the Night" by the Kinks to many of us, at No. 4.
The so-called British Invasion was over by this point in time, but Cream came in strong at No. 5 with "Sunshine of Your Love," followed by Vanilla Fudge's slowed down and metal-ed up version of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" at No. 6.
The fast-rising novelty/protest tune, "Harper Valley P.T.A.," was in at No. 7 this week. This Jeannie C. Riley song would eventually supplant "People Got To Be Free" in the No. 1 spot. The song was also the biggest mover of the week, jumping all the way from No. 81, where it was on the previous week's chart.
Motown was represented in the Top 10 by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need To Get By" at No. 8, followed by Archie Bell and the Drells' "I Can't Stop Dancing," their followup to their No. 1 "Tighten Up," solidly at No. 9.
Rounding out the Top 10 was solid Chicago soul with the Dells' "Stay In My Corner" at No. 10.
The highest debuting single on the chart was Herb Alpert's "To Wait For Love," which came in at No. 63. This was another solo effort by Alpert, but not one of his best, and it stalled a few weeks later at No. 51.
So there you have it, the Top 10 most popular singles in the country 50 years ago today.
What a lineup of songs! And "Hey Jude" was just around the corner ... .
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday, Labor Day.
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