The Music Of 1969

A weekly look at America’s top singles in the year of ‘Sugar, Sugar’, ‘Aquarius’/‘Let The Sunshine In’, ‘Something’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Woodstock.

De: Ken F. Jarrell

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

As the decade comes to an end, the AM dial is filled with hits from almost every musical genre imaginable and that variety is captured by Billboard’s ranking of the Year End Hot 100 Singles Of 1969 that had ‘Sugar, Sugar’ by the cartoon band, The Archies, at #1. After that, and in order, we see ‘Aquarius’/‘Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)’ by The 5th Dimension, ‘I Can’t Get Next To You’ by The Temptations, ‘Honky Tonk Women’ by The Rolling Stones, ‘Everyday People’ by Sly & The Family Stone, ‘Dizzy’ by Tommy Roe, ‘Hot Fun In The Summertime’ by Sly & The Family Stone again, ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again’ by Tom Jones, ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ by The Foundations and ‘Crimson And Clover’ by Tommy James and The Shondells. Other famous songs in the Top 100 singles of 1969 include ‘Suspicious Minds’ by Elvis Presley, ‘Something’ and ‘Get Back’ by The Beatles, ‘Proud Mary’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival, ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond, ‘Time Of The Season’ by The Zombies, ‘These Eyes’ by The Guess Who, ‘Galveston’ by Glen Campbell, ‘A Boy Named Sue’ by Johnny Cash and ‘It’s Your Thing’ by The Isley Brothers. No less than 4 songs from the musical ‘Hair’ reach the Top 5 in 1969: ‘Aquarius’/‘Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)’ by The 5th Dimension, ‘Hair’ by The Cowsills, ‘Good Morning Starshine’ by Oliver and ‘Easy To Be Hard’ by Three Dog Night and all of them are in the Top 100 singles of 1969.
There were 17 songs that reached #1 in 1969 with 7 of them by artists who topped the Hot 100 for the first time and what a mix of artists that 7 is. We see folk legends Peter, Paul and Mary (‘Leaving On A Jet Plane’), conductor and arranger Henry Mancini and His Orchestra (‘Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet’), studio bands The Archies (‘Sugar, Sugar’) and Steam (‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’), funk and soul band Sly & The Family Stone (‘Everyday People’), one hit wonders Zager & Evans (‘In The Year 2525’) and the pop quintet, The 5th Dimension, who did it twice (‘Aquarius’/‘Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)’ and then ‘Wedding Bell Blues’). Only The 5th Dimension and The Baetles reached #1 more than once.
Making their first appearances on the Hot 100 in 1969 are several artists who will soon be among the biggest names in pop music. These include Led Zeppelin, The Jackson 5, Isaac Hayes, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Grand Funk Railroad, Santana, Kool & The Gang, Three Dog Night, and The Iveys (soon to be renamed Badfinger). Among the artists making their last Hot 100 appearances are such former big hit makers as, The Cowsills, The Zombies, Gary Lewis and The Playboys, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Manfred Mann, Spanky and Our Gang, Peter, Paul and Mary and the indescribable talent known as Tiny Tim. The year also sees the last #1 hits from Diana Ross and The Supremes (‘Someday We’ll Be Together’), Elvis Presley (‘Suspicious Minds’), Tommy James and The Shondells (‘Crimson And Clover’) and Tommy Roe (‘Dizzy’).
Besides the artists that had #1 hits, the Hot 100 had many acts that had huge years without scoring a chart topper. Both Creedence Clearwater Revival and Blood, Sweat & Tears reached #2 three times in 1969 while Three Dog Night placed three songs in the Top 10. Other acts with multiple big hits include James Brown, The Guess Who, Marvin Gaye, Glen Campbell, Oliver, Tom Jones and Aretha Franklin.
In ‘The Music of 1969: A weekly look at America’s top singles in the year of ‘Sugar, Sugar’, ‘Aquarius’/‘Let The Sunshine In’, ‘Something’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Woodstock, I examine the Billboard Hot 100 singles for each week of 1969. In each of those weekly chapters, I look at the #1 song, the rest of the Top 10, fast rising chart entries and the debuts that week. I examine more closely a selection of the artists, songs and songwriters of that week to reveal interesting stories and connections behind the hits. I hope this book brings back memories of some of your favourite songs from this era of great music.