1968 Super Greats!

While the world was in turmoil in 1968, Dion made a major comeback with his poignant, 'Abraham, Martin & John' in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Perhaps as a reaction to all the negativity in the news, Bubblegum's finest hour occurred that same year with hits by the Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company and Kasenetz-Katz. Instrumentals were still among the popular favorites with smashes from Paul Mauriat, Mason Williams and Cliff Nobles & Co. charting high. Ironically, Herb Alpert had his only #1 hit up to that point singing on, 'This Guy's In Love With You'.

After the studio experimentation with their, 'Sgt. Pepper' album the previous year, the Beatles, wanting to 'get back' to a simpler recording process released the double LP quickly known as the 'White Album'. None of the diverse collection of songs were released as singles (though a fast version of, 'Revolution' would appear as a 'B' side) . On the 'A' side of that single, a track recorded in the same sessions but not included on the album went on to become their biggest selling 45 ever, 'Hey Jude' which launched their own label, Apple Records. That same year, the animated film, 'Yellow Submarine' appeared in theaters to critical acclaim though the band had little to do with it other than the songs used in it.

Psychedelia continued in 1968 with tuneage from Steppenwolf, the Chambers Brothers, Status Quo, Max Frost, Arthur Brown and the Amboy Dukes, who went on a 'Journey To the Center Of Your Mind' while the Apollo 8 astronauts went on a journey around the moon. Music from the movies included, 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' and 'Mrs. Robinson', while the film, 'Bonnie & Clyde' inspired a hit from Georgie Fame. The opposite occurred later when Jeannie C. Riley's, 'Harper Valley P.T.A.' was turned into a TV movie.

Television also played a role in not one, but two separate novelty songs both titled, 'Here Comes the Judge' based on the bit on 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh In', one by Pigmeat Markham and the other which made the year end survey by Shorty Long. And it was hits by Glen Campbell such as, 'Wichita Lineman' that year which would soon lead to his own TV series.

Motown was bigger than ever with numerous hits from the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Stevie Wonder, the Miracles and the biggest of all, the Supremes who had three hits including the #1 song of the year with the socially relevant, 'Love Child'. As a soloist, Marvin also found his greatest success thus far with his signature song, 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'.

Newcomer, Bobby Goldsboro pulled the heartstrings with a tune many listeners thought was real with, 'Honey'. Other new acts included Mary Hopkins who yearned for the past and likewise made an emotional connection with the record buying public on, 'Those Were the Days'. And the sense of loss was all the more pronounced on the first posthumous #1 hit in the history of Rock & Roll with Otis Redding's, '(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay'. Hear Davy Jones countdown the WPGC Top 100 of 1968:

 

(Special thanks to Davy Jones for the audio above).

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