My parents bought us a GE record player and we rushed to the store. We used to buy 45's back then, which sold for 69 cents! (Gas was 19 cents!)
1968 was a very crazy political year. It was reflected in the music. I don't remember any love songs that summer. The music was rough but it was also great rock.
Let's start with the greatest record of the summer of '68. Years later, this is still one of the best rock songs of the rock era. It was also one of the last songs that included Brian Jones, who died in '69 in an accident.
Let's start with Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones:
"I was born in a cross-fire hurricaneMy second selection is "White Room" by Cream. This was a group created by Eric Clapton, along with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. They didn't record a lot of LP's but this was their greatest single.
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,But its all right now, in fact, its a gas!But its all right. Im jumpin jack flash, Its a gas! gas! gas!"
It was a summer for hard rock bands. However, The Bee Gees gave us wonderful harmonies in "I've gotta get a message to you". This is still one of my favorite songs from The Brothers Gibb.
The Beatles' "Hey Jude" was released later or at the end of summer. It actually charted in the fall. Nevertheless, it was the #1 song of the year!
It was a good summer to collect records!
The Beach Boys recorded a lot of interesting songs in 1967, such as "Good Vibrations" and "Darlin"! In 1968, they went back to their beach sound with "Do it again"!
The Seekers had a pop-folk flavor. They were probably too romantic for the crazy summer of '68. However, they recorded many songs and "I'll never find another you" was my favorite:
I guess that the events made in Prague made The Rascals' "People got to be free" a little more than just a song:
It was indeed a good summer to collect records!
I did not care that much for Sergio Mendes but the girls were very attractive. They took the Beatles' "Fool on the hill" and gave it a different sound:
Looking back, it was indeed a great summer for a couple of teens to collect records.
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