The Number One Hits of 1968
In 2008 millions of people will hit the milestone of turning 40-years old. So in honor of them I thought I would take a musical look back to 1968.
1968 was an incredible year of upheaval, accomplishment and transition in America. The nation was caught up in the Vietnam War, which divided the country much like the war in Iraq is today.
The civil rights movement was also on the forefront of the American conscious and Martin Luther King was shot dead by an assassin's bullet in April.
The Apollo 8 spacecraft entered orbit around the moon marking a truly historic event in the annals of humankind.
With all these major events, both optimistic and dreadful, music continued to push forward. And the Beatles led the way.
The single "Hello Goodbye" from the fab four's 1967 US release of Magical Mystery Tour hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the last week of 1967 and stayed there for the first two weeks of 1968. Later in the year the Beatles would hold the top spot for 9 weeks with the song "Hey Jude". This song also held the distinct honor of being the only single over 7 minutes in length to ever hit the number one spot. That is until 1993 when Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" also hit number one.
The songs that reached number one in 1968 fell into three camps -- those that appealed to the hippy counterculture, those that appealed to the mainstream and those with crossover appeal.
This playlist includes all 16 tracks that reached the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart in 1968. Please note that the Beatles tracks and the Herb Alpert track are not available for streaming online, so I have included alternate, or cover versions until such time they become available. Also, in many cases I did not include the original album on which the songs appear.
The Number One Hits of 1968
1. Hello Goodbye - The Beatles
2. Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) - John Fred & His Playboy Band
3. Green Tambourine - The Lemon Pipers
4. Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat
5. Dock Of The Bay, The (Sittin' On) - Otis Redding
7. Tighten Up - Archie Bell & The Drells
8. Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
9. This Guy's In Love With You - Herb Alpert
10. Grazing In The Grass - Hugh Masekela
11. Hello, I Love You - The Doors
12. People Got To Be Free - The Rascals
13. Harper Valley PTA - Jeannie C. Riley
14. Hey Jude - The Beatles
