It was the Summer of Love. The Vietnam War was in full swing. The Apollo 1 spacecraft exploded on the launchpad, killing all three of its occupants. And these were the songs that folks were listening to. Psychedelic rock was all the rage, but Beatlemania and Motown weren't going away anytime soon. A unique time in American (and world) history, but one that was absolutely chock full of great tunes. Part 1 of 4 of the Popular Songs of 1967 begins now... Enjoy! ~ JH
1) The Beatles ~ “Penny Lane”
2) The Doors ~ “Light My Fire”
3) Aretha Franklin ~ “Respect”
4) The Buckinghams ~ “Kind Of A Drag”
5) Merle Haggard ~ “Branded Man”
6) Dionne Warwick ~ “(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls”
7) The Tremeloes ~ “Silence Is Golden”
8) Arthur Conley ~ “Sweet Soul Music”
9) Jefferson Airplane ~ “White Rabbit”
10) The Rolling Stones ~ “Ruby Tuesday”
11) The Casinos ~ “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye”
12) Lulu ~ “To Sir With Love”
13) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles ~ “I Second That Emotion”
14) Spencer Davis Group ~ “Gimme Some Lovin’”
15) Peaches & Herb ~ “Close Your Eyes”
16) Jackie Wilson ~ “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”
17) Buck Owens & The Buckaroos ~ “Your Tender Loving Care”
18) Petula Clark ~ “This Is My Song” (Fun fact about this lovely song: It was written by none other than the great silent-film comic actor, Charlie Chaplin.)
19) Engelbert Humperdinck ~ “Release Me”
20) Brenton Wood ~ “Gimme Little Sign”
21) Spanky & Our Gang ~ “Sunday Will Never Be The Same”
22) Strawberry Alarm Clock ~ “Incense & Peppermints”
23) Keith ~ “98.6”
24) Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra, Jr. ~ “Somethin’ Stupid” (The hit song was actually sung by Nancy and her father, Frank Sr. But I couldn’t find a video of them singing it together, so there’s this.)
25) Aaron Neville ~ “Tell It Like It Is”
