One-Word US Top Forty Hits from 1968. Quiz

Answer: Revolution

With the exception of "Taxman" the Beatles generally refrained from expressing political views in their songwriting. In 1968 there was a lot of unrest around the globe and John Lennon believed it was time to make a statement about what was happening. Several versions of "Revolution" were considered and recorded. Nicky Hopkins played the electric piano on the version that was released with "Hey Jude".

"Because" was not released as a single from the group's 1969 "Abbey Road" album. "Something" was the flip side of "Come Together" in 1969. "Rain" was released in 1966.

Answer: Gene and Debbe

The 1968 album "Hear and Now" was the only album released by Gene and Debbe and contained their only million selling single, "Playboy". Their only other successful single was "Go With Me".
In the early sixties Gene Thomas had minor success with "Baby's Gone" and "Sometimes". When further recording success eluded him he aspired to be a songwriter until meeting Debbe Neville (aka Nevills). The pair began recording in a style emulating The Everly Brothers after they signed with Hickory Records. After the success of "Playboy" the duo failed to chart any further Top Forty singles.

"Lover's Holiday" by Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson made it to Number 31. Billy Vera and Judy Clay had 1968 Top Forty success with "Country Girl-City Man". "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero (The More I Love You)" was a 1968 US Top Twenty single by Rene and Rene.

Answer: Valleri

Session guitarist Louie Shelton contributed the Flamenco style guitar to the Boyce/Hart composition "Valleri" when it was recorded by The Monkees. "Tapioca Tundra" was selected at the flip-side.
Musical supervisor Don Kirshner had requested a girl song for The Monkees to record so Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart quickly improvised "Valleri". The arrangement was polished off prior to recording. The song was included on their "The Birds, The Bees and the Monkees" LP. "Valleri would end up becoming the final US Top Ten single for the band in the sixties.

John Fred and His Playboy Band took "Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)" to Number One in 1968. "Susan" was a Number 11 single by The Buckinghams. "Jennifer Eccles" by The Hollies made it to the Top Forty at Number 40 in 1968.

Answer: True

When "Honey" was released as a single from Bobby's 1968 "Honey" album the song went to Number One where it stayed for five weeks. Although Bobby had enjoyed Top Ten success prior to releasing "Honey", "Honey" would be his only Number One hit of the sixties. Bobby Russell composed "Honey" and had offered it to Bob Shane, formerly of The Kingston Trio.

After Bob Shane's version only became a regional hit in Texas, Goldsboro recorded his version. Florida native Bobby Goldsboro dropped out of Auburn University in pursuit of a musical career.

He landed a job as a guitarist in Roy Orbison's backing band The Candy Men in 1962. He left the band when his single "See the Funny Little Clown" reached Number Nine in 1964 and he continued releasing a string of hit singles.

Answer: Till

"Till" was The Vogues' final entry into the US Top Forty.
The Vogues released their first single, "Launie, My Love", as The Val-Airs in 1959. After the song was released the group changed their name to The Vogues after Vogue Terrace, a popular teen club close to their hometown of Turtle Creek Pennsylvania. After changing names and switching labels the group released a cover of a Petula Clark song titled "You're The One" that went to Number Four nationally. Two months later they followed with "Five O'Clock World". They went on to release a number of chart hits including a cover of Glen Campbell's "Turn Around Look at Me" and "My Special Angel", originally recorded by Bobby Helms.

"Amen" was a 1968 Number 36 single from Otis Redding. Marvin Gaye took "You" to the Number 34 slot in 1968. "Then" was a track from The Vogues' 1968 "Turn Around Look at Me" album that was not released as a single.

Answer: Brown

"Fire" was a million selling single that placed The Crazy World of Arthur Brown on the list of sixties one-hit wonders. The song was the group's second release after the unsuccessful 1967 single "Devil's Grip". Arthur Brown hailed from London and assembled a band to support his conception of an elaborate stage show. When "Fire" became a hit he followed up with a US tour in which the band nearly broke up. After the tour keyboard player Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer left the group in 1969 to form Atomic Rooster.
Carl Palmer would become a founding member of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Crane used his organ skills backing a number of British bands after Atomic Rooster folded.
Brown formed Kingdom Come in the seventies and later embarked on a solo career before getting a master's degree in counseling in the eighties.

Answer: False

"Hush" was Deep Purple's first foray onto the US Top Twenty. It was a single release from their 1968 "Shades of Deep Purple" album. Singer/songwriter Joe South wrote the song.
Deep Purple followed up with their second and final Top Forty US single of 1968, "Kentucky Woman", written by Neil Diamond. It was a release from their 1968 "The Book of Taliesyn" LP.
"Kentucky Woman" was Neil's final single before leaving Bang Records. When he released "Kentucky Woman" in 1967 it reached Number 22 on the US charts.
The fact that Deep Purple's version ran over four minutes may have been why their single only made it to Number 38.

Answer: Monterey

"Monterey" was a collaborative songwriting effort by the members of the group including Eric. By the time the group had become Eric Burdon and The Animals there were no original members of the band remaining in the lineup. "Monterey" was written after the group had performed at a 1967 festival in Monterey and described the atmosphere as well as the acts that were also on the bill. The group followed Johnny Rivers' set. "Monterey" became a regular feature at subsequent performances by the band with Eric often improvising lyrics and adding verses.

"Chained" was a Marvin Gaye single that went to Number 32 in 1968. Etta James had a 1968 Number 35 single with "Security". "Think" by Aretha Franklin reached Number Seven.

Answer: Cycles

Gayle Caldwell composed "Cycles". Gayle was a talented musician who was a member of The New Christy Minstrels in the early sixties. She went on to appear in "Wild on the Beach" (1965) and "Wild Wild Winter" (1966). After a hectic schedule she required some rest and composed "Cycles" during her hiatus. In 1993 Gayle was part of the reunion of The New Christy Minstrels.
"Cycles" was on Frank's 1968 album of the same name. Frank included many soft rock hits of the sixties on the album including Joni Mitchell's "From Both Sides Now" and Glen Campbell's hit "Gentle On My Mind" written by John Hartford.

"People" was a Number 39 single by The Tymes."Darlin'" by The Beach Boys edged into the Top Twenty in 1968, peaking at Number 19. Donovan took "Lalena" to Number 33.

Answer: Saxophone

Dennis Yost was a founding member of The Classic IV. He had been a drummer with a group called The Echoes before forming The Classics IV. He derived the name from the Classic brand drum set he was playing and the fact there were four members of the band at the time. The group began as a cover band until Dennis put words to a saxophone Instrumental tune by Mike Sharpe titled "Spooky".

The song went to Number Three and featured a smooth sax lead. When the group released "Stormy" the same year the group's name had changed to The Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost.

The group stayed with the formula of a sax solo on their 1968 Number Five single "Stormy" and again on their 1969 Number Two hit "Traces".