Nineteen sixty-eight was a turbulent and violent year all around the world. If 1967 was the Summer of Love, 1968 was the year of hate – the worst year Americans had experienced in decades if not living memory. The younger generations thought their elders were out of touch, and the older generations thought youths had lost their minds. There were war protests and riots. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated. Many wondered if the world was coming to an end, and Hollywood replied with the release of Planet of the Apes. Another major film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, also premiered, and NASA sent Apollo 8 out to circle the moon.
Music continued its march toward wilder and harder music. Softer styles of pop and pop rock still had their niche, but this was the year that psychedelic rock began to morph into heavy metal. You’ll find two versions of the grandadaddy of heavy metal anthems below: the seventeen-minute chronicle with the famous drum solo, and the 45RPM radio-play rendition of ”In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly. This was also the year that Led Zeppelin formed and gave their first live performance, although their first album wasn’t released until 1969.
Notes: (1) The first three videos may force readers to question the era’s fashion sense and taste. (2) The last video, featuring The Status Quo, was a one-hit wonder in the United States, as it was the only tune from this group to make it into the Top 40. However, they had one other song that charted in the Top 100, and many more songs that charted in the UK where they are considered to be one of that nation’s greatest bands. Thus, they only barely qualify as a one-hit wonder under my special rules, which weren’t hard to fudge because it’s a great song that deserves to be heard again, one more time. Hat Tip to Julie G for bringing it back to the foreground of my mind. (3) Speaking of mind, that’s Ted Nugent playing lead guitar for the Amboy Dukes, ”Journey to the Center of the Mind”, before the Motor City Madman went solo.
“Brooklyn Bridge “Worst That Could Happen” on The Ed Sullivan Show” (3:26):
“John Fred & his Playboys-Judy In Disguise” (2:48):
“Lemon Pipers – Green Tambourine” (2:23):
“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly 1968 {Stereo}” (3:01):
“IRON BUTTERFLY – IN A GADDA DA VIDA – 1968 (ORIGINAL FULL VERSION) CD SOUND & 3D VIDEO” (17:03):
“Human Beinz – Nobody But Me (1968)” (2:18):
“Mason Williams – Classical Gas (1968)” (3:04):
“Amboy Dukes 1968 Journey To The Center Of The Mind” (4:09):
“The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – ”Fire” (1968)” (2:44):
“Status Quo – Pictures of Matchstick Men (1968) [High Quality Sound, Subtitled]” (3:08):
Question Of The Night: What’s the strangest thing in your refrigerator?
