My Favourite 45s of the Year: 1967 Quiz

Answer: The Association

In the summer of 1967 the "sunshine pop" band the Association were riding high after their singles "Cherish" and "Windy" both got to number one in the US. Their follow-up, "Never My Love", was an even better song with wonderful harmonies, brilliant musical arrangement and instrumentation (courtesy of the Wrecking Crew), and an overall mood of slightly melancholic wistfulness.

It got to number two in the US Billboard Hot 100 but surprisingly failed to chart in the UK, so it was a real treat to hear its occasional playing on Radio 1. I loved this song then and I love it now - it's almost the perfect love song.

After its first recording by the Association it was covered by many other artists, to such an extent that in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) announced that it was the second most played song on American media in the 20th Century with over seven million performances.

Answer: The Box Tops

The Box Tops formed in 1967 in Memphis, Tennessee, and featured the precocious talents of 16-year-old Alex Chilton on lead vocal and guitar. In the summer of 1967 they released their first single, "The Letter", a gem of a record under two minutes long.

It's particularly notable for Chilton's gruff vocals - he certainly sounds a lot older than 16 - and the dubbed-on sound of an aeroplane taking off at the fade-out of the record. It went on to sell four million copies, reaching number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number five in the UK Singles Chart.

A great pop record, small but perfectly formed. The Box Tops went on to have a US number two with "Cry Like a Baby" the following year, but soon broke up after that. Alex Chilton, however, went on to have a remarkably career.

He founded the power pop band Big Star in 1971, and although the band had limited commercial success it was highly influential on many other bands such as REM and the New York proto-punk scene. Chilton went on playing in all sorts of groups until his death in 2010.

Answer: Small Faces

The Small Faces got together in East London in 1965, and boosted by their Mod image and excellent high energy pop approach they soon racked up a string of hits, including a UK number one in 1966, "All or Nothing". However, after an acrimonious split from Decca in early 1967 they were signed by Andrew Loog Oldham for his new Immediate label - and the band blossomed! After their next two singles, "Here Come the Nice" and "Itchycoo Park", they came up with "Tin Soldier" - one of the best pop singles ever.
Steve Marriott originally wrote the song to be performed by P. P. Arnold, but liked it so much he kept it for the group to perform. Graciously, P. P. Arnold consented to sing backing vocals on the track. It's a real chunk of raw R&B, building to a wonderful climax. There's a wonderful video on YouTube of the band and P. P. Arnold performing this song on French TV - it's just so amazingly passionate. It got to number nine in the UK Singles Chart and to number 73 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart; sadly, it received very little promotion in the US.

Remarkably anyone buying this record got a real bargain, because the B-side, "I Feel Much Better", is also a brilliant song! It starts with a great bass guitar riff then launches into a grinding R&B song complete with "shanga langa" backing vocals. There follows a false ending and then at 2'46" the song bounces back with a tremendous coda which Led Zeppelin would have been proud of. Heavy Metal possibly started with this record.

The band went on to record the superlative album "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake", after which Marriott left. Looking for a new singer and guitarist, Lane and MacLagan recruited Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart - and the rest is history.

RIP: Steve Marriott (1947-1991), Ronnie "Plonk" Lane (1946-1997) and Ian MacLagan (1945-2014)

Answer: The Kinks

Here in the UK "Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks is one of the most famous and highest-rated songs of the 1960s. Set to a gentle, rhythmic background, Ray Davies sings wistfully of Terry and Julie crossing the River Thames via Waterloo Bridge, and of their hopes and fears for the future.

It got to number two in the UK Singles Chart; it was released in the US but it failed to chart - no taste, these Americans - or perhaps the song is just too "English". However it was ranked at number 14 on the 2021 "Rolling Stone" list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and when Ray Davies played it at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics here in London I shed a wee tear.

Answer: The Doors

The Doors got together in Los Angeles in 1965, and after working out a set of music they became the house band at the Whiskey A Go Go club. They were spotted by the president of Elektra Records who signed them up for their first album, which was released in January 1967.

Their first single, "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" made little impact (except surprisingly in France where it got to number eight), but the follow-up, "Light My Fire", sold over a million copies and reached number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 49 in the UK Singles Chart (although a UK reissue of the song in 1991 to coincide with the release of Oliver Stone's film "The Doors" got to number seven). The song itself is mean, moody and very sexy, and has been hailed as one of the first-ever psychedelic rock records. I love Ray Manzarek's organ playing, especially on the much-longer album version of the song.

Answer: Otis Redding and Carla Thomas

Carrying on my devotion to anything issued on the Stax record label, "Tramp" is a wonderful duet between Carla Thomas - criticising her boyfriend's lack of style - and Otis Redding, defending himself on the ground that he's "just a lover". However "Tramp" was originally written in early 1967 by Lowell Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin, and recorded by Fulson who took it to number 52 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song was then pounced upon by Otis Redding, and his recording with Carla Thomas reached number 26 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. The Redding / Thomas version is great fun, with excellent instrumentation and superb drumming.

A great dance record, too!

Answer: Aretha Franklin

Otis Redding wrote and recorded "Respect" in 1965, but his recording didn't do much for me - although the horn section was good, it seemed a bit leaden and I didn't rate his vocal. However in 1967 Aretha Franklin recorded it with a very different arrangement, and the result is one of the best R&B songs ever.

It has also become an anthem for the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements. It reached number one in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number ten in the UK Singles Chart, and it was ranked at number one on the 2021 "Rolling Stone" list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, supplanting Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone". RIP: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, 1942-2018

Answer: The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues had a UK number one hit in 1964 with "Go Now", but following the departure of vocalist Denny Laine (who went on to co-write the execrable "Mull of Kintyre" with Paul McCartney) their career stalled. However they recruited new members John Lodge and Justin Hayward, and in early 1967 released a new single "Fly Me High". This totally failed to chart anywhere, but it's still one of my favourite records - it has a lovely melody, good guitar work and lovely harmonies, all put together in a slightly folk rock cum psychedelic style.
There's a great video on YouTube of the band performing the song totally live on French TV - Hayward's voice and 12-string guitar playing is excellent. And I also had the great fortune to see them play at a college gig in Essex at that time - it was the first song they did when they came on stage and I was knocked out by it.
However more-or-less their next release in November 1967 was the album "Days of Future Passed" (including the hit single "Nights in White Satin"); this achieved massive success as did their subsequent albums, with over 70 million copies sold. Famous for their symphonic style, they're now recognised as one of the pioneering Prog Rock bands, influencing groups like Genesis, Yes and ELO.

Answer: Vanilla Fudge

For about a year Vanilla Fudge were my favourite band, and my best mate at school and I played their first album to death. They specialised in taking pop hits, slowing them down and playing them in a heavy rock arrangement. The standout track on the album was their version of the Supreme's "You Keep Me Hanging On", stretched to 7'.26" long and recorded in one take with added psychedelic-baroque organ and heavy drumming. This was released in a shortened form as their first single, getting to number six in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 18 in the UK Singles Chart.
Rock historians have said that Vanilla Fudge represent the link between psychedelic rock and what became Heavy Metal and Prog Rock. Certainly at the time they were unique - just listen to the first minute of "You Keep Me Hanging On" on any of the YouTube videos!
And I've happy memories of my school mate and I having snogging sessions in his front room with our respective girlfriends Val and Jean, with the Vanilla Fudge album playing in the background. Happy days!

Answer: Keith

"98.6" by Keith is a classic one-hit wonder. It's actually a great, happy pop song, with a catchy melody and great arrangement - a slow piano intro followed by rising horns leading into the song. It reached number seven in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 24 in the UK Singles Chart.
Poor Keith's good times didn't last; while playing a concert in 1968 he was arrested by the US Army for draft-dodging. After getting out of the army he tried without success to revive his career, eventually ending up as a TV executive. But I still remember "98.6"!

Department of Strange Coincidences: about four hours after writing the above, and about an hour after submitting this quiz, I was reading the Sunday supplement in "The Guardian" newspaper (yes, I'm a lefty!). In it there was a photo feature of California living rooms, all bizarrely decorated, and one of them was in the home of Linda Ramone, widow of Johnny Ramone. There was a pile of records on the floor, and the top one was a copy of the 1967 LP "98.6 / Ain't Gonna Lie" by Keith. Spooky or what?