February 1968 - The Most Diverse Era for Pop Music Ever?

PLAY THE SHOW

I was alive in 1968, and yet I still cannot believe the amount of versatility that the charts exhibited back then. In the intervening years, radio became more and more stratified, while styles became ostracized from one another. Back in ’68, you might have heard any pair of these songs back to back on commercial radio – a minor miracle by today’s standard. The songs featured in today’s show are virtually a random sample of pop music from 1968, and they cover heavy rock, pop rock, love songs, Philly soul, psychedelia, orchestrated instrumentals, country music, and a few that are difficult to categorize at all. I may have been only nine years old, but it’s no wonder that this music left such a strong impression on me.

            Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s show;

1)    Words – The Bee Gees

2)    Sunshine of Your Love – Cream

3)    La La Means I Love You – The Delfonics

4)    Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding

5)    Just Dropped In (To See What Condition Mt Condition Was In) – Kenny Rogers & the First Edition

6)    Love Is Blue – Paul Mauriat

7)    Skip a Rope – Henson Cargill

8)    Some Velvet Morning – Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood

9) Theme from ‘Valley of the Dolls’ – Dionne Warwick

10) Baby Now That I Found You – The Foundations

11) I Can Take or Leave Your Loving – Herman’s Hermits