OK, I’ll admit, in 1968, I was only seven years old. My siblings were all older than me; my big brother was nineteen, and I spent a fair amount of time annoying him by hanging around when he was at home. And, as you might expect, I got exposed to a lot of the music of the day, not just on my own little transistor radio but while listening to the records my brother and sisters played.
1968 was a tense year for the United States, and some of the music reflected that, but for this selection, I tried to eschew protest songs or anything overtly political – with one possible exception. Instead, I picked six songs from 1968 that I remember hearing when I was a little kid and, for whatever reason, made some kind of an impression on my little-kid mind that stuck with me.
So, without further ado:
The Beatles: Hey Jude. One of The Beatles’ better-known songs, this one should have ended about a minute before it does. It’s a good enough song, but boy howdy does the ending just drag on and on and on. My brother, however, was and still is a big fan of The Beatles, like many of his age (born 1949) and I can’t hear this song without remembering riding around in his shiny-new 1969 Chevelle SS with this playing from the under-dash 8-track. Of course, I could barely hear it over the roar of that 427 cid L-88 motor, but still.
Cream: Sunshine Of Your Love. While I really like Frank Zappa’s cover of this song, I suppose it’s more appropriate to present the original, from the album “Disraeli Gears” which to this day I consider to be Cream’s best album. Note the fine Clapton guitar work accompanying Ginger Baker on drums on this one.
See Related: Start Your Weekend Right With 6 Great Songs From The Monkees
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown: Fire. This is a strange one, but it’s iconic and unusual, with a rather bizarre, kind of dark feel to it. The video, shot in the days before music videos really became a thing, just makes the Crazy World of Arthur Brown all the much crazier.
The Rolling Stones: Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Setting aside for the moment the more latter-day connotations of the term “Crossfire Hurricane,” this was one of the first Rolling Stones concert mainstays that really showed Mick Jagger’s on-stage charisma. Few could command a stage like Mick – maybe David Lee Roth – but this was an early piece where you can tell Mick was still learning the ropes.
Blue Cheer: Summertime Blues. Again with the rather odd video, from well before most bands did this! “Summertime Blues” has some pretty good technical guitar work, some hammering drums, and some lyrics that border on politics. OK, they more than border on it, but it’s still an interesting piece.
See Related: Start Your Black Friday Weekend Right With Five Great Songs From the Sixties
Donovan: Hurdy Gurdy Man. Some folks might not know this, but a hurdy-gurdy is a real musical instrument. Some years back I spent a Saturday afternoon strolling around the historic areas of Boston, as I was working in the area, and in a small park near the Old North Church, I happened across an old man grinding away at a hurdy-gurdy. It was neat to hear, and he was pretty good, so I dropped a fiver in his donation bucket.
1968 sure seems like a long time ago now. It was a troubled time in many ways; Lyndon Johnson was president, while Vietnam and the advent of color television brought war for the first time into everyone’s living room. The music of the time reflects some of that tone, escapist at times, and rebellious at others.
Any favorites of your own from the late ‘60s? As always, the comments are yours.
