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Quiz about The Top Hits of 1968
Quiz about The Top Hits of 1968

The Top Hits of 1968 Trivia Quiz


We'll recap the Billboard Hot 100 hits for 1968 based on their chart performance. From the biggest song of the decade to records you never hear anymore, we cover the gamut!

A multiple-choice quiz by maddogrick16. Estimated time: 10 mins.
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Author
maddogrick16
Time
10 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
222,100
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
20
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
14 / 20
Plays
8352
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (15/20), Guest 51 (13/20), burnsbaron (20/20).
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Question 1 of 20
1. The top ranked song of 1968 should need no introduction since it also prevailed as the number one song of the decade. Here's the statistical scoop - 19 weeks in the Hot 100, all of them within the top 40; 14 weeks in the top 10; nine weeks at Number One. Total points based on weeks on the chart and chart placement - 2618 points, 104 more than the second ranked song of the decade, "Theme From A Summer Place", recorded in 1960 by Percy Faith. Only one group could have created these sorts of numbers (The Beatles) and it can only be one song. Go ahead and type it in!

Answer: (Two Words (3, 4 letters) no punctuation)
Question 2 of 20
2. No lyrical clues for the second ranked hit of 1968 because there were none... it was a lovely instrumental composed and recorded by Paul Mauriat. It charted for 18 weeks, 10 of those within the top 10 with five weeks at Number One, scoring 1482 points. What was this worldwide hit? Hint


Question 3 of 20
3. Ranked number three for 1968 with 1348 points was another song that topped the charts for five weeks during a 15-week tenure in the Hot 100. More than any other song that ranked highly that year, it is either fondly regarded as one of the most touching songs of the era or alternatively, deeply reviled as one of the sappiest songs of all time. Name it after reviewing this lyric segment that pretty much captures the overall tenor of the song.

"She wrecked the car and she was sad
And so afraid that I'd be mad
But what the heck
Though I pretended hard to be
Guess you could say she saw through me
And hugged my neck"
Hint


Question 4 of 20
4. "You should see what a lovely, lovely world this'd be
If everyone learned to live together,
Seems to me such an easy, easy thing this would be
Why can't you and me learn to love one another"

Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati of The Rascals composed these lyrics. The song was highly politically charged, anti-war, pro-civil rights and written in protest over Martin Luther King's assassination earlier in the year. It only charted for 14 weeks but five of them at Number One to garner 1316 points and fourth spot in the year-end rankings. Do you remember it?
Hint


Question 5 of 20
5. The fifth ranked record for 1968 topped the charts for four weeks on its way to 1313 points. If you know what was the first song ever during the rock era to become a posthumous Number One hit, then you know this song's title already but here's a snippet of the lyric to assist you if you don't.

"Look like nothing's gonna change, everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do so I guess I'll remain the same"
Hint


Question 6 of 20
6. "I started school in a worn, torn dress that somebody threw out
I knew the way it felt to always live in doubt
To be without the simple things
So afraid my friends would see the guilt in me"

This song, Number One for a couple of weeks in 1968, gathered 1242 points, enough to finish the year ranked number six. Lyrically, it was quite a departure from the type of songs this group had become famous for, 10 of which were Number Ones. But what song was this?
Hint


Question 7 of 20
7. "Tell me now, is it so?
Don't let me be the last to know
My hands are shaking
Don't let my heart keep breaking 'cause
I need your love, I want your love"

These lyrics from "This Guy's In Love", the seventh ranked song of 1968, marked the singing debut of an artist who had already made his mark as an instrumental recording artist. It was Number One for four of the 14 weeks it spent in the Hot 100 earning 1168 points in the process. Who was the vocalist?
Hint


Question 8 of 20
8. Ranked at number eight for 1968 was another instrumental release, this time by Hugo Montenegro. Although it only peaked at Number Two for one week, its 22 week run within the Hot 100 resulted in 1118 points ensuring its place within the top ten for the year. This piece was utilized as the title song for one of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood... but which one? Hint


Question 9 of 20
9. The record that ultimately ranked ninth for 1968 with 1094 points popped on to the Hot 100 for 14 weeks during the spring peaking at Number 36. Later in the year, the album that featured this song was released, did well, and spurred further interest in this single. It returned to the Hot 100 for a further 12 weeks and moved all the way up to Number Five. Many people point to this release as the template for "power" rock, a genre that would become more popular a decade or so later. Time to make your choice! Here's a slice of the lyric.

"It's getting near dawn when lights close their tired eyes
I'll soon be with you my love to give you my dawn surprise
I'll be with you darling soon, I'll be with you when the stars start falling"
Hint


Question 10 of 20
10. With 1069 points based on a peak charting position of Number Four and 17 weeks on the Hot 100, the tenth ranked song for 1968 was the debut hit for the Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett. Identify it with this lyrical assistance.

"Have you got cheating on your mind, on your mind
A woman wears a certain look when she is on the move
And a man can always tell what's on her mind
I hate to have to say it but that look's all over you"
Hint


Question 11 of 20
11. John Fred and His Playboy Band claimed the 11th spot on the 1968 year-end rankings with their only top 40 hit ever. It hit Number One for two weeks during a 16-week run in the Hot 100. It was a weird song that didn't make a lot of sense but at the end we know the singer was going to take a young lady's glasses. We'll only speculate as to his motivation but what was the lass's name? Hint


Question 12 of 20
12. "So hurry home to your mama, I'm sure she wonders where you are
Get out of here before I have the time to change my mind"

This is a piece of the lyric from the song ranked number twelve for 1968. Also by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, it charted for 15 weeks stalling at Number Two for three weeks and scoring 1020 points in the process. Look at the lyric once more and name the song.
Hint


Question 13 of 20
13. Ranked number 13 for 1968, this song marked the return of a musical genre that had disappeared after Chubby Checker and others had a lot success with it in the early 1960s - the dance song. The song starts with a spoken introduction that explains what the band was up to.

"Hi everybody. I'm Archie Bell and the Drells from Houston, Texas. We don't only sing but we dance just as good as we walk. In Houston we just started a new dance called the ___________" Here are your choices to fill in the blank, the song's title.
Hint


Question 14 of 20
14. Rated number 14 for 1968 was a song featured in one of the classic movies of 1967. It was Number One for three weeks, in the Hot 100 for 13. Just one line should suffice for you to name the song.

"Jesus loves you more than you will know"
Hint


Question 15 of 20
15. Rounding out the top 15 for 1968 was a Number Two song that spent 17 weeks on the charts to garner 1003 points. Another more country based version also charted at Number 39 that year. Identify it with this lyrical clue.

"And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime
And there's no such thing as Doctor Seuss
Or Disneyland and Mother Goose, no nursery rhyme"
Hint


Question 16 of 20
16. Among the recordings that just missed reaching the elite 15 for 1968 was this Number Three hit, a Jim Webb composition sung by one of his favorite vocalists, Glen Campbell. Let's see if you can identify it with this lyrical clue. It ranked number 18 for the year.

"I know I need a small vacation but it don't look like rain
And if it snows that stretch down south won't ever stand the strain
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time"
Hint


Question 17 of 20
17. "Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we would do"

The song represented by these lyrics didn't quite reach the top of the Billboard charts, stuck at Number Two for three weeks. It was a huge hit in the U.K. however, Number One there for six weeks. What was this song, ranked number 19 in the year-end recap for 1968?
Hint


Question 18 of 20
18. Mason Williams had four of his recordings chart in the Hot 100. Let's forget about three of them - they barely eked onto the chart at Number 96, 99 and 90. The other was a different story. Two weeks at Number Two and a Number One Adult Contemporary hit, it was ranked the 41st biggest hit of 1968. What was the name of this guitar masterpiece? Hint


Question 19 of 20
19. "Well I know I was wrong
But I was just a fool
Too blind to see
You were the only girl for me-e-e
Ah, but now I see the light
And everything's gonna be all right"

A new musical genre made an appearance on the Billboard charts with this song in 1968 - reggae. Johnny Nash recorded it and it became a Number Five hit that year as a prelude to his smash Number One hit "I Can See Clearly Now" in 1972. What song, ranked number 53 for the year, was it?
Hint


Question 20 of 20
20. What sort of song would be ranked Number 100 for a year? In 1968, it was a song that has become a standard for lounge lizards ever since. At the time, it charted for 15 weeks but could only forge its way up to Number 15 on the Hot 100. Hopefully, you'll identify it from this slice of lyric.

"I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window
I saw the flickering shadow of love on her blind
She was my woman
As she deceived me I watched and went out of my mind"
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The top ranked song of 1968 should need no introduction since it also prevailed as the number one song of the decade. Here's the statistical scoop - 19 weeks in the Hot 100, all of them within the top 40; 14 weeks in the top 10; nine weeks at Number One. Total points based on weeks on the chart and chart placement - 2618 points, 104 more than the second ranked song of the decade, "Theme From A Summer Place", recorded in 1960 by Percy Faith. Only one group could have created these sorts of numbers (The Beatles) and it can only be one song. Go ahead and type it in!

Answer: Hey Jude

In the Beatles hit "All You Need Is Love", there's a line that goes "There's nothing you can do that can't be done". When it comes to Beatles music and "Hey Jude", I feel like saying "There's nothing that I can say that hasn't been said" about this hit. So, I'll just give you the raw data and you can just think about the enormity of this song at the time.

It topped the U.S. Charts on Sept. 28 and stayed there for nine weeks, as noted. In Canada, it hit Number One on Sept. 14 for seven weeks. In Australia, how about this... Number One from Sept. 28 to Jan. 10, 1969, a total of 15 weeks. The U.K.? Just two weeks at Number One starting on Sept. 14. "Hey Jude" was the first record they released on their own label, Apple, and the song was ousted from Number One in the U.K. by the second song released on the Apple label, Mary Hopkin's "Those Were The Days". I think that's way too ironic! Altogether, it's been reported that this record was Number One on the charts of 15 different countries and probably the Number One song of the year in most of them. Not the U.K. - the song deemed to be the biggest song for 1968 there was Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World", a song that couldn't even chart in the Top 100 in America! What a "whacky world" would describe these peculiarities!
2. No lyrical clues for the second ranked hit of 1968 because there were none... it was a lovely instrumental composed and recorded by Paul Mauriat. It charted for 18 weeks, 10 of those within the top 10 with five weeks at Number One, scoring 1482 points. What was this worldwide hit?

Answer: Love Is Blue

All the other choices were also Number One hit instrumentals: "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" for Perez Prado in 1955, "Love Theme From 'Romeo And Juliet'" by Henry Mancini in 1969 and "Love's Theme" in 1974 by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra.

Mauriat was born in France in 1925 to a family with a long lineage in classical music. He was destined to follow this path himself until he became enraptured with American jazz music in the early 1940s. Despite WWII, he formed his own orchestra in 1942 and started touring Europe. He caught the attention of Charles Aznavour who hired him to be his conductor/arranger. He carried on in that capacity for Aznavour and other French artists for over 20 years. His first big break occurred in 1962 when a song he had co-written in French, "Chariot", became a huge hit for Petula Clark in France. In 1963, the song was adapted to English and became a major hit for Little Peggy March - "I Will Follow Him". Then came this huge hit that was originally intended as Belgium's submission for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963. He never had another big hit, at least in North America, but continued to tour and sell boatloads of albums around the world well into the new millennium. As of 2005, his last recorded CD was from a live concert entitled "Sayanora" released in 2003. Perhaps, as the title suggests, it was his swansong to the masses of his fans.
3. Ranked number three for 1968 with 1348 points was another song that topped the charts for five weeks during a 15-week tenure in the Hot 100. More than any other song that ranked highly that year, it is either fondly regarded as one of the most touching songs of the era or alternatively, deeply reviled as one of the sappiest songs of all time. Name it after reviewing this lyric segment that pretty much captures the overall tenor of the song. "She wrecked the car and she was sad And so afraid that I'd be mad But what the heck Though I pretended hard to be Guess you could say she saw through me And hugged my neck"

Answer: Honey

Bobby Goldsboro moved to Alabama to study music at Auburn University in the early 1960s. After his sophomore year, he was presented the opportunity to tour with Roy Orbison, quickly seized it and was on the road for three years from 1962 to 1964. He recorded one of his own compositions in 1964 that worked its way into the top 10, "See The Funny Little Clown", and he would ultimately release 11 top 40 songs over a ten-year period, none bigger than "Honey". Starting in the 1980s, Goldsboro got involved in the writing and production of kid's TV shows and continues working in that field with the new millennium.

The music and sentimental lyrics, maudlin to the song's critics, were written by Bobby Russell who wrote a number of big hits around that time, among them "Little Green Apples", "The Joker Went Wild" and "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia". He died of a heart attack in 1992 at the age of 51. In BMI's study of the most played radio songs of the 20th Century, "Honey" was number 25.
4. "You should see what a lovely, lovely world this'd be If everyone learned to live together, Seems to me such an easy, easy thing this would be Why can't you and me learn to love one another" Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati of The Rascals composed these lyrics. The song was highly politically charged, anti-war, pro-civil rights and written in protest over Martin Luther King's assassination earlier in the year. It only charted for 14 weeks but five of them at Number One to garner 1316 points and fourth spot in the year-end rankings. Do you remember it?

Answer: People Got To Be Free

Jerry Wexler, the president of Atlantic Records, had grave misgivings about releasing this record initially. Indeed, it was quite a departure for The Rascals following on the heels of their previous hits like "Good Lovin'", "Groovin'" and "A Beautiful Morning" and Wexler was concerned that the statement they were making with this record might run contrary to feelings of their fan base.

The Rascals insisted on its release since it espoused the values they held dear and years later, the band collectively agreed that it was the best recording they ever made.

It's conjecture now but perhaps Wexler was right. The group never had another top 20 hit and broke up by 1972. However, it's more likely that personal friction among the members, a drop off in the quality of their subsequent work and a conscious effort to make their music "jazzier" played a more significant role in their later lack of success than the message of this song.
5. The fifth ranked record for 1968 topped the charts for four weeks on its way to 1313 points. If you know what was the first song ever during the rock era to become a posthumous Number One hit, then you know this song's title already but here's a snippet of the lyric to assist you if you don't. "Look like nothing's gonna change, everything still remains the same I can't do what ten people tell me to do so I guess I'll remain the same"

Answer: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Otis Redding and four members of his backing band, The Bar-Kays, perished in a plane crash on Dec. 10, 1967 just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. Three days earlier, he recorded this song for the Stax label and it may very well have gone unreleased had it not been for the diligent efforts of Steve Cropper, lead guitarist for Booker T & The MG's and co-composer of the song with Redding. Upon Redding's death, he returned to the studio and finalized the production work based on the track Redding recorded. Originally, executives at Stax were reluctant to release the record but when they heard it, they relented and by March 1968, it was Number One. BMI has concluded through their research that this was the 6th most played radio song of the 20th Century.

The whistling heard at the end of the song was not meant to be. Redding and Cropper were still working on a final verse for the song when the recording session was scheduled. Redding decided to whistle at the conclusion of the song and come back to the studio to record the final verse later once it was composed. Cropper wisely decided to leave the whistling in and it became a poignant and memorable conclusion to the song.
6. "I started school in a worn, torn dress that somebody threw out I knew the way it felt to always live in doubt To be without the simple things So afraid my friends would see the guilt in me" This song, Number One for a couple of weeks in 1968, gathered 1242 points, enough to finish the year ranked number six. Lyrically, it was quite a departure from the type of songs this group had become famous for, 10 of which were Number Ones. But what song was this?

Answer: Love Child

From the first Supremes release in late 1963 up to 1968, all their hit songs (17 top 40s) were composed by the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and virtually every one of them dealt with the tribulations of being in love, or losing love, or wanting love, or... well you get the idea.

In 1968, those writers left Motown records in a salary dispute and "Love Child" was composed by four other staff writers, one of whom was R. Dean Taylor, familiar as the artist who recorded "Indiana Wants Me" in 1970. These lyrics about growing up as a child born out of wedlock was a bit controversial at the time but the Supremes pulled it off.

It was the 11th and penultimate Number One song of their career.
7. "Tell me now, is it so? Don't let me be the last to know My hands are shaking Don't let my heart keep breaking 'cause I need your love, I want your love" These lyrics from "This Guy's In Love", the seventh ranked song of 1968, marked the singing debut of an artist who had already made his mark as an instrumental recording artist. It was Number One for four of the 14 weeks it spent in the Hot 100 earning 1168 points in the process. Who was the vocalist?

Answer: Herb Alpert

Alpert first performed the song on a TV special "Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass" as a serenade to his wife. The public response to the song was so overwhelming that he was obliged to record and release it as a single. Alpert first entered the music business as a composer and producer in the 1950s.

In partnership with Jerry Moss, he founded the A&M record label in 1962 and created The Tijuana Brass to get the company some exposure. Their style of Mexican-Latin instrumentals proved very popular with the masses but more so as part of albums rather than individual releases. From 1962 through 1968, the group recorded 11 consecutive million selling LPs, six of which were Number One on the Billboard album chart. Over the same period, 20 singles made an appearance on the Hot 100 chart but only two cracked the top ten, the biggest their debut release, "The Lonely Bull", which peaked at Number Six. Alpert later became the first recording artist to have an instrumental Number One and a vocal Number One when his instrumental release "Rise" topped the charts in 1979.
8. Ranked at number eight for 1968 was another instrumental release, this time by Hugo Montenegro. Although it only peaked at Number Two for one week, its 22 week run within the Hot 100 resulted in 1118 points ensuring its place within the top ten for the year. This piece was utilized as the title song for one of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood... but which one?

Answer: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Montenegro began his musical career in the U.S. Navy during the mid-1940s arranging band scores. He went to College after his discharge then went to work as André Kostelanetz' staff manager with Columbia Records. He slowly moved up the ranks as a conductor/arranger for several of the label's artists, primarily Harry Belafonte in the mid-1950s, then recorded a series of easy listening LPs.

He moved to California in the early 1960s to begin his career writing film scores but strangely enough, this song was not one of his compositions - Ennio Morricone wrote it. Montenegro continued to write a number of movie scores and released several LPs right up to his death in 1981 but was never again able to match the success he achieved with this hit.
9. The record that ultimately ranked ninth for 1968 with 1094 points popped on to the Hot 100 for 14 weeks during the spring peaking at Number 36. Later in the year, the album that featured this song was released, did well, and spurred further interest in this single. It returned to the Hot 100 for a further 12 weeks and moved all the way up to Number Five. Many people point to this release as the template for "power" rock, a genre that would become more popular a decade or so later. Time to make your choice! Here's a slice of the lyric. "It's getting near dawn when lights close their tired eyes I'll soon be with you my love to give you my dawn surprise I'll be with you darling soon, I'll be with you when the stars start falling"

Answer: Sunshine Of Your Love

Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker formed Cream in mid-1966. All were splendid musicians feeling the need to showcase their considerable talents and despite not being particularly renowned at the time, having served their apprenticeships as sidemen in other groups, their formation gave rise to the term "supergroup". Only together for a couple of years, their output was understandably limited... five single releases that charted on the Hot 100, this song being their highest charting effort, and a similar number of studio album releases. But, in some circles, their stuff is legendary. Ultimately, following their split in 1968, Clapton went on to great fame as a solo artist and while the impact of Baker and Bruce was less notable, they too were actively engaged in exploring new musical horizons in the projects they pursued in the fields of rock, jazz and alternative music.
10. With 1069 points based on a peak charting position of Number Four and 17 weeks on the Hot 100, the tenth ranked song for 1968 was the debut hit for the Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett. Identify it with this lyrical assistance. "Have you got cheating on your mind, on your mind A woman wears a certain look when she is on the move And a man can always tell what's on her mind I hate to have to say it but that look's all over you"

Answer: Woman, Woman

Gary Puckett left his home in Twin Falls, Idaho in 1966 and moved to San Diego to study psychology. He abandoned his studies a year later and after a brief stint with another group, put together the Union Gap complete with the civil war uniforms they ultimately became famous for.

They had a steady stream of hits in 1968 and actually, their releases outsold the Beatles that year. Their laid back style and the crooning of Puckett didn't stay popular for very long however, and when their efforts in the early 1970s barely made an impact on the Hot 100, they disbanded in 1971.
11. John Fred and His Playboy Band claimed the 11th spot on the 1968 year-end rankings with their only top 40 hit ever. It hit Number One for two weeks during a 16-week run in the Hot 100. It was a weird song that didn't make a lot of sense but at the end we know the singer was going to take a young lady's glasses. We'll only speculate as to his motivation but what was the lass's name?

Answer: Judy

The song was "Judy In Disguise With Glasses". Altogether, John Fred and The Playboy Band released three disks - their first release entitled "Shirley" in 1959 struggled to reach Number 82 on the charts and their final entry, "Hey Hey Bunny" also in 1968, only did marginally better at Number 57. The song was a parody of The Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" but whereas the Beatles' lyrics were ethereal and conjecture was that they alluded to images conjured up during an LSD trip, these lyrics were clearly "bubblegummy", hence the parody.

Fred dissolved the group in 1970 and thereafter, wrote jingles, did some record production and toured, both as a solo act and with various incarnations of The Playboys, mostly in his native Louisiana. He passed away in April 2005 of complications from a kidney transplant that he had a few months earlier.
12. "So hurry home to your mama, I'm sure she wonders where you are Get out of here before I have the time to change my mind" This is a piece of the lyric from the song ranked number twelve for 1968. Also by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, it charted for 15 weeks stalling at Number Two for three weeks and scoring 1020 points in the process. Look at the lyric once more and name the song.

Answer: Young Girl

This was Gary Puckett and The Union Gap's second release and although it ranked lower in this recap based on how the points worked out, it probably was their biggest selling and most popular hit. Jerry Fuller did the production work on the group's first four hits and also was this particular song's composer.

After "Woman, Woman", Fuller was contemplating what song the group should record next and wasn't particularly enamoured with any of the available alternatives. He had written the song some months earlier and thought it fit with the group's low key image.

He, himself, was a performer at one time and wrote the song about the groupies in their mid-teens who would hang around and become appealing to older band members who ought to know better!
13. Ranked number 13 for 1968, this song marked the return of a musical genre that had disappeared after Chubby Checker and others had a lot success with it in the early 1960s - the dance song. The song starts with a spoken introduction that explains what the band was up to. "Hi everybody. I'm Archie Bell and the Drells from Houston, Texas. We don't only sing but we dance just as good as we walk. In Houston we just started a new dance called the ___________" Here are your choices to fill in the blank, the song's title.

Answer: Tighten Up

"Tighten Up" was originally recorded in 1967 shortly before Bell was drafted into the military and assigned to Viet Nam. He was a casualty of battle and recuperating in hospital when the song peaked at Number One for two weeks in May 1968. Prior to Bell's discharge in 1969, he was able to record with the band while on furlough and managed a couple of more successes. "I Can't Stop Dancing" charted at Number Nine and "Showdown" peaked at Number 21. Subsequent releases weren't as successful, at least on the pop charts, although a couple of their releases were hits on the R&B charts during the mid-1970s.

This particular group of Drells disbanded in 1979 but in the 1990s, Bell formed a new group of Drells and relocated to the East Coast becoming a fixture on the "beach music" scene with the new millennium.
14. Rated number 14 for 1968 was a song featured in one of the classic movies of 1967. It was Number One for three weeks, in the Hot 100 for 13. Just one line should suffice for you to name the song. "Jesus loves you more than you will know"

Answer: Mrs. Robinson

Mike Nichols directed the movie and was eager to have Simon compose the soundtrack for it. Simon read the script and didn't think much of the movie's prospects but Nichols persisted. Finally, Simon relented. He initially threw in some older, traditional folk songs like "Scarborough Fair" and "April Come She Will" with intentions of writing new, original songs where those songs were placed in the script. Nichols liked them so much that they were left in the movie and Simon was happy since he really was struggling trying to create songs for a project he wasn't terribly committed to. Eventually, Mrs. Robinson was the only original piece of his work he would contribute to the score.

Originally, Simon had created the music long before the movie but was having a difficult time finding an appropriate lyric for the piece. It was at Garfunkel's suggestion that he added some parts of the lyric based on a character of the movie and after the movie was released, Simon went back to work and fleshed out the lyric for its release as a single. If one listens to the movie soundtrack and then the hit version, the differences between the two are immediately recognized. This was another of those most played radio songs of the 20th Century according to BMI's 1999 study - it was number seven.
15. Rounding out the top 15 for 1968 was a Number Two song that spent 17 weeks on the charts to garner 1003 points. Another more country based version also charted at Number 39 that year. Identify it with this lyrical clue. "And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime And there's no such thing as Doctor Seuss Or Disneyland and Mother Goose, no nursery rhyme"

Answer: Little Green Apples

O.C. Smith recorded the hit version, Roger Miller the countrified version. The down home style lyrics were written by Bobby Russell, the same fellow responsible for Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" featured earlier in this quiz.

Smith originally started as a jazz vocalist and sang with the Count Basie band from 1961 to 1963 as Joe Williams' replacement. He dabbled in country music himself after leaving the Basie band and after his follow-up releases to this hit went nowhere on the pop charts, turned to an R&B style. If nothing else, he was versatile. In 1985, he founded his own church in L.A. and split his time between recording, performing and serving as minister to his flock until his passing at the age of 69 in 2001.
16. Among the recordings that just missed reaching the elite 15 for 1968 was this Number Three hit, a Jim Webb composition sung by one of his favorite vocalists, Glen Campbell. Let's see if you can identify it with this lyrical clue. It ranked number 18 for the year. "I know I need a small vacation but it don't look like rain And if it snows that stretch down south won't ever stand the strain And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time"

Answer: Wichita Lineman

This was Campbell's first big hit, a million seller. Prior to this song, Campbell had released 10 other records which managed an appearance on the Hot 100, the highest charting of those being "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" which reached Number 26 about a year earlier.

It would take several more years and 19 more single releases before he would reach the celestial heights of Number One, "Rhinestone Cowboy" in 1975. Webb was inspired to write this piece when he was motoring along the Kansas-Oklahoma border and spied a lone lineman working atop a telephone pole.
17. "Once upon a time there was a tavern Where we used to raise a glass or two Remember how we laughed away the hours And dreamed of all the great things we would do" The song represented by these lyrics didn't quite reach the top of the Billboard charts, stuck at Number Two for three weeks. It was a huge hit in the U.K. however, Number One there for six weeks. What was this song, ranked number 19 in the year-end recap for 1968?

Answer: Those Were The Days

The song was originally composed around the start of the 20th Century and was adopted by Russian Gypsies. Versions were originally recorded in the 1920s in Russia and a Finnish artist, Annikki Tahtiand, recorded a version in 1950 in her native language. Early in the 1960s, Gene Raskin provided an English lyric to the music and apparently Paul McCartney heard Raskin and his wife perform the song in an English pub in 1965 and filed it away as something he'd eventually like to do something with. That opportunity came three years later with the formation of Apple records. Twiggy "discovered" 17-year old Mary Hopkin at a talent show, introduced her to McCartney and when he auditioned her, thought this song would be the perfect fit for her debut release. Right he was! Her follow-up release written by Lennon and McCartney, "Goodbye", charted a respectable Number 13 in 1969 but subsequent releases did not fare as well and she faded from view in America although she has maintained a reasonably high profile in the U.K. right up to 2005.
18. Mason Williams had four of his recordings chart in the Hot 100. Let's forget about three of them - they barely eked onto the chart at Number 96, 99 and 90. The other was a different story. Two weeks at Number Two and a Number One Adult Contemporary hit, it was ranked the 41st biggest hit of 1968. What was the name of this guitar masterpiece?

Answer: Classical Gas

It was a classical name for a classical song and Williams went on to win two Grammies for Instrumental Performance and Instrumental Composition for his work on this piece. Williams was multi-talented and devoted more of his time to pursue other interests than to playing guitar.

He was a staff writer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and was largely responsible for Pat Paulsen's hilarious presidential campaign during the 1968 elections. He didn't win an Emmy for that effort but did win the award in 1967 and 1969 for the Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety and Music and was engaged in the writing of comedic material for many entertainment performers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Beyond that, he has published several volumes of poetry and prose and has dabbled in artistic photography.
19. "Well I know I was wrong But I was just a fool Too blind to see You were the only girl for me-e-e Ah, but now I see the light And everything's gonna be all right" A new musical genre made an appearance on the Billboard charts with this song in 1968 - reggae. Johnny Nash recorded it and it became a Number Five hit that year as a prelude to his smash Number One hit "I Can See Clearly Now" in 1972. What song, ranked number 53 for the year, was it?

Answer: Hold Me Tight

Johnny Nash was not new to the entertainment world by any stretch, in 1968. Discovered by Arthur Godfrey as a 16-year old in 1956, he appeared destined for stardom early in his career - four Hot 100 entries, national radio and TV appearances and a couple of movie roles, all by the end of the decade. He was to be the new Johnny Mathis but when his pop and R&B recordings did nothing in the early 1960s, he was soon forgotten. While touring in Jamaica in 1967, he met Bob Marley and influenced by the indigenous ska and reggae music, turned his career around, at least for few years. He left the entertainment industry altogether in the 1980s.

One of the song choices I provided as an answer was "Roots, Rock, Reggae". Believe it or not, with all the famous songs that Bob Marley recorded that have become international reggae standards, "Buffalo Soldiers", "I Shot The Sheriff", "No Woman No Cry", to name but a few, "Roots, Rock, Reggae" was the only Bob Marley release to crack the Hot 100 - a lowly Number 51 in 1976!
20. What sort of song would be ranked Number 100 for a year? In 1968, it was a song that has become a standard for lounge lizards ever since. At the time, it charted for 15 weeks but could only forge its way up to Number 15 on the Hot 100. Hopefully, you'll identify it from this slice of lyric. "I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window I saw the flickering shadow of love on her blind She was my woman As she deceived me I watched and went out of my mind"

Answer: Delilah

Overall, based on its chart performance, this song would be rated the seventh biggest of Tom Jones' long and illustrious career but I'd dare say it is now the song that he is most closely identified with. It sure was a good vehicle for him to display that powerful Welsh voice. Since his debut hit "It's Not Unusual" in 1965, Jones has had 30 of his releases chart in the Hot 100 but as of 2005, nary a one was a Billboard Number One.

He still remains a Las Vegas staple and popular concert performer in the new millennium.
Source: Author maddogrick16

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Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series The Top Annual Hits 1960 to 1969:

Quizzes on the highest rated Billboard hits based on chart performance for each year of the 1960s decade.

  1. The Top Hits of 1960 Average
  2. The Top Hits of 1961 Average
  3. The Top Hits of 1962 Average
  4. The Top Hits of 1963 Average
  5. The Top Hits of 1964 Average
  6. The Top Hits of 1965 Average
  7. The Top Hits of 1966 Average
  8. The Top Hits of 1967 Average
  9. The Top Hits of 1968 Average
  10. The Top Hits of 1969 - Part One Average
  11. The Top Hits of 1969 - Part Two Average

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