Friday, June 14, 2013

1968's BEST NUMBER ONE'S


Editors Note: In honor of the great new 1968 Exhibit at The National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia we sent our DJ the list of the 16 number records from that year.

This was also the year that he was born so, we asked the man to pick five of the number one's and tell us why they are still important sounds.

FYI: We will have some one from The National Constitution Center on radio show very soon to discuss the exhibit.

In the meantime here are 5 number 1's from 1968.


Not only am I a man of my time, but musically I consider myself a man of all time.
It's not unheard of for me to work in a song or two from well before my birth as I'm spinning. On my personal listening devices my music library goes back well to before my dad was born.


So when I heard The National Constitution Center in Philly was doing a exhibit honoring the year 1968, I was very excited. 

Let me tell you about 5 of the great records that were Bill Board number one's.

HEY JUDE BY THE BEATLES
 

Now you may not have heard of this little group from Liver Pool England called The Beatles. I have to tell you that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harris and Ringo Star are 4 pretty talented people.
I really think that their band will be big one day.
Remember you heard it hear first.

Hey Jude is a prime example of great song writing and a special something they don't teach in music class.

Every time I hear Hey Jude I just wonder how they decided to pull the whole thing together and why after all these years a song that could have sounded like a mess is still a classic.

SITTING ON THE DOCK OF THE BAY by Otis Redding



Mr. Otis Redding, the first singing to hit number one after his death.
Easily his biggest hit captures what it's like to feel like you've found the answer to happiness and freedom.
I still feel bitter knowing that Mr. Redding never got to enjoy the benefit of his biggest hit.
Still for those who came after...it's still the best anthem for freedom and the whistling just adds icing to this bitter sweet musical cake.

MRS. ROBINSON By PAUL SIMON AND ART GARFUNKLE



From the film The Graduate, Mrs. Robinson is a love letter to 1968 and the world that was in flux.
Everything in 1968 from voting rights to dating do's and don'ts to marriage and divorce was in full tilt, turning upside down and toppling the status quo WAS STATUS QUO.

Mrs. Robinson was the song that captured that spirit clearly while the words are somewhat abstract.
It's a great song from 1968 for anyone that knows anything about 1968.

HARPER VALLER PTA By JEANNIE C. RILEY




Today the lines between Country and POP are as think as The Great Wall Of China. In 1968 however, pop music had room for a lot of different sounds. One way to break through a genre like country was to come up with a compelling story and song. Hence Harper Valley PTA. The song was so popular it spawned a film  and then a TV show.

If you like this, also check out Bobbie Gentry's Ode To Billie Joe, and if you like that I may do a whole column on story songs.


LOVE CHILD By Diana Ross and The Supremes
 

LOVE CHILD would create a ruckus if it were released in 2013. How they got this past Barry Gordy in 1968 I don't know but I am sure the story is a hum-dinger.

In 1968 Motown was still proudly THE SOUND OF YOUNG AMERICA...this song about a woman born out of wedlock herself telling her man she will love him but won't have a baby out of wedlock herself? POWERFUL. Where is The Love Child song for this generation....PAGING LAURYN HILL, JILL SCOTT back to your recording studios.



The 1968 Exhibit at The Constitutional Center celebrates the whole year from TV, Music, politics and more.

You can get tickets and more information at http://constitutioncenter.org/ 

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