Great Hits from the 1967 Era (4)
Here it is... this is what helped shape our culture into what it is today. It was history in the making, back in the day.
Use the song titles on the left to navigate to more info, then click on the photos to get to the videos. It's been organized into multiple pages for ease of use.
Oldies But Goodies
Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl
Sir George Ivan Morrison, known as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and producer. In 2016, Morrison was knighted for his musical achievements and his services to tourism and charitable causes in Northern Ireland.
Known as "Van the Man", Morrison started his professional career when, as a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish Snowbands covering the popular hits of the day. He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R & B band Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria". His solo career began under the pop-hit oriented guidance of Bert Bens with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967.
Remember GLORIA? That was Van Morrison.
Janis Joplin: Piece of My Heart
Janis Lyn Joplin was an influential female American singer of the 1960s; her raw, powerful and uninhibited singing style, combined with her turbulent and emotional lifestyle, made her one of the biggest female stars in her lifetime. She died of an accidental drug overdose in 1970 at age 27, after releasing three albums. A fourth album, Pearl was released a little more than three months after her death, reaching number 1 on the charts.
Joplin rose to fame in 1967 during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, as the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco rock band Big Brothers and the Holding Company. After releasing two albums with the band, she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist.
She appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. Five singles by Joplin went into the Billboard Top 100, including "Me and Bobby Maggee", which reached number 1 in March 1971.
Joplin, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, was well known for her performing ability. Audiences and critics alike referred to her stage presence as "electric". Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
She remains one of the top-selling musicians in the United States, with Recording Association of America certifications of 15.5 million albums sold in the USA.
Black Sabbath: Paranoid
Ozzie Osborne - God Father of Heavy Metal Rock. In 1967, Geeze Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, and soon recruited Osbourne to serve as vocalist. The band played two shows, then broke up. Osbourne and Butler reunited in Polka Tulk Blues. They renamed themselves Earth, but after being accidentally booked for a show instead of a different band with the same name, they decided to change their name again. They finally settled on the name Black Sabbath in August 1969, based on the film of the same name.
The band had noticed how people enjoyed being frightened; inspired, the band decided to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics.
Though Ozzie's first start in Rock was in 1967, no music videos of Ozzie with Rare Breed (not The Rare Breed) are available at this time. Some rock experts claim that Black Sabbath formed in 1967 in Birmingham, England by Tony Iommi (guitar), Ozzy Osbourne (voice), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums).
Actually it was closer to 1968 at which time they started releasing their heavy metal compositions. Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. They have also won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance.
The Turtles: Happy Together
The Turtles are an American rock band. The band had several Top 40 hits beginning with their cover version of Bob Dylan's "It ain't me babe" in 1965.
They scored their biggest and best-known hit in 1967 with the song "Happy Together".
Bobbie Gentry: Ode to Billie-Joe
In 1967 Bobby Gentry produced her first single, the country rock "Mississippi Delta". However, the flipside, "Ode To Billie Joe", with its sparse sound and controversial lyrics, started to receive airplay in the U.S. Capitol's shortened version added to the song's mystery.
Questions arose among the listeners: what did Billie Joe and his girlfriend throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge, and why did Billie Joe commit suicide? Gentry herself has commented on the song, saying that its real theme was indifference: Those questions are of secondary importance in my mind.
The story of Billie Joe has two more interesting underlying themes. First, the illustration of a group of people's reactions to the life and death of Billie Joe, and its subsequent effect on their lives, is made. Second, the obvious gap between the girl and her mother is shown, when both women experience a common loss (first, Billie Joe and, later, Papa), and yet Mama and the girl are unable to recognize their mutual loss or share their grief.
In a 2016 article, a Washington Post reporter indicated she currently lives a private life about a two-hour drive from the site of the Tallahatchie River bridge that made her famous.
The Hollies: Bus Stop
The Hollies are an English pop/rock group, best known for their pioneering and distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. The Hollies became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s (231 weeks on the UK singles charts during the 1960s; the 9th highest of any artist of the decade) and into the mid 1970s. It was formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in 1962 as a Merseybeat type music group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns north of there. Graham Nash left the group in 1968 to form the super group, Crosby Sills and Nash.
They are one of the few British pop groups of the early 1960s, along with The Rolling Stones and The Who, that have never disbanded and continue to record and perform. In recognition of their achievements, The Hollies were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
The Doors: Light My Fire
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison. The Doors released eight albums between 1967 and 1971.
Light My Fire" is a song originally performed by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967. It spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard's Hot 100, and one week on the Cashbox Top 100. It was re-released in 1968, peaking at #87. The song was largely written by Robby Krieger, and credited to the entire band.
"Light My Fire" also achieved modest success in Australia, where it peaked at #22 on the ARIA chart. The single originally reached #49 in the UK in 1967, but experienced belated success in that country in 1991 when a re-issue peaked at #7. The re-issue occurred on the back of revived interest in the band following Oliver Stone's film biopic "The Doors". The single has been certified in 1967 a gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The song is #35 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.It was also included in the Songs of the Century list and was ranked number 7 in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of All Time list.
Pink Floyd: Money
Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, extended compositions and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in the history of popular music. Pink Floyd were founded in 1965 by students Syd Barrett on guitar and lead vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, and Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals.
They gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles and a successful debut album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967). "Arnold Layne" — released on 11 March 1967 — reached number 20 in the charts while "See Emily Play" — released 16 June 1967 — made it to number 6, their highest charting single in the UK until the release of "Another brick In The Wall, (part 2)" in 1979. "Apples and Oranges" — from 18 November 1967 — was largely overlooked, with Roger Waters blaming its poor sales on bad production.
"Money" is a song by Pink Floyd from their 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon. Written by Roger Waters, it opened side two of the LP.
The Young Rascals: Groovin'
"Good Lovin'" was a number one hit single for The Young Rascals in 1966. "Good Lovin'" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 songs that shaped rock and roll, and was ranked #333 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. The song has been performed and recorded by a number of artists.
The Who: My Generation
The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. Their classic line-up consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide and holding a reputation for their live shows and studio work.
Their first single as the Who, "I Can't Explain", reached the UK top ten, followed by a string of singles including "My Generation", "Substitute" and "Happy Jack". In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released the US top ten single "I can See For Miles", while touring extensively.
