Top 1967 Hits That Made The Summer Of Love Complete
There’s a degree of cultural flattening that can take place when people — and especially modern pop culture — look back at the best, and that’s particularly true of how the ’60s are often viewed. While it’s true that the hippie movement had a significant cultural influence in the late ’60s that would carry over a little into the ’70s, that doesn’t mean they dominated the culture of the day.
Indeed, that can be seen in the biggest hits from the height of the movement, the Summer of Love in 1967. The hippies’ fingerprints are easy to spot on some of these hits, but they’re not everywhere. As with most years, the portrait of what was the most popular in 1967 is more nuanced than it seems.
The Box Tops – “The Letter”
Although Alex Chilton would go down in history as the main creative force behind Big Star, he achieved more commercial success during his career as the teenage lead singer of the band The Box Tops. 1967 would see this band achieve one of its biggest hits, “The Letter.”
The opening line stands out for Chilton expressing that he’s catching a plane because a train doesn’t move fast enough to carry him to his lover after receiving a letter from her. Clearly, this endeared enough young couples to the romantic song that it stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. If “To Sir, With Love” didn’t perform slightly better, this would have the biggest hit of 1967.
Bobbie Gentry – “Ode To Billie Joe”
While songs that build their appeal around their central story would saturate the music landscape by 1974, they could also be a popular way to get a hit during the ’60s. That was what Bobbie Gentry discovered after she wrote a narrative-driven country song called “Ode To Billie Joe,” and chose to sing it herself rather than pay for another singer.
The move paid off in a big way after the song was released and listeners were both moved by its tragedy and intrigued by the mystery of what Billie Joe and his sweetheart threw off the Tallahassee Bridge before his demise. The song was practically an instant success, shooting to number one in just five weeks and remaining there for an additional four.
The Association – “Windy”
Although they’re not the best-remembered band from the ’60s, The Association had a considerable place in music history. That’s not just because of their hits but also because they were the first band to take the stage during the legendary Monterey Pop Festival of 1967.
That would turn out to be a massive year for them, as they recorded a song Ruthann Friedman wrote about a boy who stared through her window, which the band later changed to being about a girl. Not only did “Windy” make it to number one for four weeks, but it would be the second of three Association songs in just a two-year period to top the Billboard Hot 100.
The Monkees – “I’m A Believer”
Considering that The Monkees’ signature version of the Neil Diamond composition “I’m A Believer” remained at number one for seven weeks, it feels strange at a glance that it wouldn’t be considered the biggest hit of 1967. However, that’s because the song achieved most of that momentum in 1966.
The Prefab Four, as they were sometimes known, were at the height of their success in those years, which means that this was not their only number-one hit. However, neither “Daydream Believer” or “Last Train To Clarkesville” stayed at number one for nearly as long, so it was certainly their biggest.
The Doors – “Light My Fire”
Although the hippie movement didn’t have as much of an impact on the biggest songs of 1967 as it may seem now, it seems unlikely that the psychedelic rock song with the killer keyboard line got its biggest boost from any other source.
“Light My Fire” is one of The Doors’ signature hits, but it had recurring success before the ’60s were over. After its initial run that saw it stay at number one for three weeks, “Light My Fire” re-entered the charts in 1968 following a successful cover version by José Feliciano.
Lulu – “To Sir With Love”
Although there’s been a resurgence of original songs from movies actually being performed by actors in the films in recent years, it’s more common for movie studios to recruit a pop star for this purpose. In 1967, however, the hit movie To Sir, With Love starring Sidney Poitier spawned an even bigger hit song sung by one of its actresses.
This was the British pop star Lulu, who also memorably recorded the theme for the James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun. Her title theme for To Sir, With Love, however, would prove so beloved that it remained at number one for five weeks, making it the biggest hit of 1967.
Frank & Nancy Sinatra – “Somethin’ Stupid”
Although it was certainly unusual for a father-daughter duo to cover a romantic love song, it’s clear that the listening and record-buying public of 1967 wasn’t interested in considering those implications. Instead, they were drawn to how well Frank Sinatra’s voice blended with Nancy’s.
As such, their version of the C. Carson Parks composition remained at number one for four weeks and went down in history as the first song by a father-daughter duo to do so. It would also become Old Blue Eyes’s second gold single, as well as Nancy’s third.
The Turtles – “Happy Together”
Although “Happy Together” wasn’t The Turtles’s only big hit, it looms largest enough over their history, which is helped significantly by its continued staying power almost 60 years later. Its road to becoming their biggest hit was also a harder one than it seems, as the song was slow to climb the charts.
Nonetheless, the endlessly happy and catchy single eventually proved strong enough to knock The Beatles hit “Penny Lane” off the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. It would remain there for three weeks.
The Young Rascals – “Groovin'”
“Groovin'” came as lightning in a bottle for The Young Rascals, who were inspired by The Beatles but quickly found that getting anywhere near as successful as the Fab Four was much harder than it seemed. However, things changed when singer and keyboardist Felix Cavaliere fell in love with a woman named Adrienne Buccheri.
Due to the band’s schedule, Cavaliere could only meet Buccheri on Sundays, which inspired him to write this song about dancing with her. His love for her clearly came across, as “Groovin'” spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one. Curiously, it was also the fastest song in Billboard history at the time to drop off the charts entirely after reaching number one, which took three weeks.
Frankie Valli – “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”
Although Frankie Valli was still a member of the Four Seasons at the time, his bandmate, Bob Gaudio, thought he should sing “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” alone after co-writing it with Bob Crewe. This marked a transition point for Valli, and that was partially because he didn’t want to rely as much on his screechy falsetto as he had up to that point.
Of course, the more immediate way that it heralded a new era for Valli concerned the fact that it was his biggest solo hit until “My Eyes Adored You” in 1975. Unlike that song, however, “I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” didn’t quite make it to number one but did reach number two and earned Valli a gold record.
The Music Explosion – “Little Bit O’ Soul”
Judging by the fact that even a picture of them is hard to come by, The Music Explosion didn’t have a particularly long career. Yet, while their moment in the sun was brief, it saw them achieve something most bands can only dream of.
The Ohio garage band recorded a cover of the 1965 Little Darlings song “Little Bit O’ Soul,” which hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada, as well as topping the now-defunct Record World 100 Top Pops chart. Although The Music Explosion would also notch a second minor hit in Canada, “Little Bit O’ Soul” was their only American hit.
Tommy James And The Shondells – “I Think We’re Alone Now”
While “I Think We’re Alone Now” is hardly the only Tommy James and the Shondells song to be famously covered decades later, it’s easily the most covered song they performed. There’s a good chance that this is because James and the band turned what was supposed to be a mid-tempo ballad into what he’s described as the song that practically invented bubblegum pop.
Although James considered his vocals on the song nasally to the point of sounding juvenile, they clearly resonated with the public, as the song spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually peaked at number four.
Aretha Franklin – “Respect”
Some covers build so much on the original that it’s hard to remember there was on, and that’s precisely how Aretha Franklin transformed the Otis Redding song “Respect” into a song that resonated during both the feminist and civil rights movements at the time.
Yet, it wasn’t just the gender change that she and her sisters contributed to the song, but classic facets of their version like the decision to spell the title out and say “sock it to me” were unique to her version as well. “Respect” would end up spending two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Stevie Wonder – “I Was Made to Love Her”
Stevie Wonder established himself as a prodigy with his record-breaking number-one hit “Fingertips” at 13 and would release all-time classic albums when his creative ambitions reached their height during the 1970s. However, he proved just as successful in the years between these milestones.
For instance, the romantic soul song “I Was Made To Love Her” topped Billboard’s Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles and made it to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It was kept from reaching number one by The Doors’ song “Light My Fire.”
Bobby Vee – “Come Back When You Grow Up”
Bobby Vee was a teen idol who saw a great deal of popularity during the early ’60s, but one of his biggest hits would come later in the decade. By 1967, Vee had already scored a number-one hit and three other top-ten hits, but “Come Back When You Grow Up” would be his final single to earn the latter distinction.
The song was recorded with Vee’s band The Strangers and served as a comeback single for the idol, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in Canada.
