1967 Reflection

Wow! talk about an increase in quality! 1964-1966 all had an extraordinary amount of good #1 songs and very few weak or bad ones. 1967 on the other hand, I would be happy to have all eighteen of the songs I I reviewed in my record collection. That's right, not a single one of these songs was bad, and even the weaker ones still had enough charm to make me want to re-listen to them again. 

     Now granted, there were a number of songs reviewed that stood on a higher plain than some of the others. There were also a number of classics from this year that didn't get covered. I would've loved to review a Jefferson Airplane song or even another Doors record. Alas, we must remember once again that these charts never are a true indication of longevity. Will people in 50 years likely be listening to "Ode To Billie Joe?" No, they'll look back on 1967 and think of "Sunshine Of Your Love" or "Somebody To Love"...Hmm...guess 1967 really was the year of "Love". 

     Out of the lucky eighteen that topped the charts in '67 (Not including "I'm A Believer", which started its chart run in '66), I've narrowed down a best and weakest song. It was tougher than I would have ever imagined. Here's the results - 

Best #1 Hit Song Of 1967  - "Respect" - Aretha Franklin. 

     Oh boy, picking the best #1 song from this year proved to be not only my greatest challenge yet, it also may be the hardest decision I'll ever make. "Light My Fire" was the other song I had considered to be the best. In fact, it's one of my favorite songs from this era. I also found "Respect" to be an extraordinary song. 

    The problem is, both "Light My Fire" and "Respect" are two entirely different song genres, with two entirely different meanings, and have two totally different sounds. It's the epitome of apples and oranges. Both songs are among the best of all time, in different ways. So what made me go with "Respect"? Simple, a technicality. 

     You see, the version of "Light My Fire" that hit #1 was the butchered single edit. I can't consider a version of the song that ruins how its creators originally intended it, to be the best song of the year. So it is by that reason only that "Respect" wins best song of the year. Besides, Aretha isn't known as "Lady Soul" for nothin'. 

Weakest #1 Hit Song Of 1967 - "The Happening" - The Supremes. 

     This was for the longest time a toughie. I could not think of any song that qualified for worst, or even weakest for that matter. I eventually considered songs like "Windy" and "Daydream Believer", only because they are much lighter-weight than some of the other #1's. Then, I re-listened to "The Happening" and remembered my initial beef with the song - It sounds woefully inauthentic. 

     When I think of a "Happening", the first thing that comes to mind is a gathering of hippies, where music, love, and art are on full display. The song "The Happening" reminds me of lavish Hollywood and wealth, due to its rich music arrangement. It's not bad, it's not even a weak song, it just comes across as the most corporate of the #1's. For that reason, I hesitantly give it the "Weakest" award.



Things are really going to change from this point out. If you've missed me bashing bad songs, you're going to get your wish sooner than you think. We're going to enter 1968, one of the worst years in American History, and at the same time, one of the most interesting in American music. If 1967 was the year of love, 1968 was the year of revolution. 

                           Coming Up Next - 1968 Overview. 

             Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, and I'll see you in '68!