1968 was a year of political upheaval and the music reflected the restless times. The World’s host Marco Werman went back and checked out the 1968 chart-toppers from the US, Japan, France and Brazil.
In 2018, it’s sometimes hard to see how musicians are actually responding to the crazy world we live in.
But spin back 50 years and you have 1968 — a year of political upheavals. From the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the seemingly endless Vietnam War, to the Paris riots, the deadly student riots in Mexico City, the Prague Spring and the tense showdown with Soviet communism, civil unrest was a worldwide phenomenon.
However, we know that those events fed restless creative minds. Hugh Masekela, ‚Grazing in the Grass‘
Just take what was number one in America on the Billboard charts 50 years ago. Bookended by number one hits by Herb Alpert and the Doors, Hugh Masekela from South Africa hit the top of the US charts in July with a free-form jam. The Tigers, ‚CCC‘
You probably won’t remember this, but in Japan 50 years ago this week a band called the Tigers was at number one with the tune „CCC.“ And it stayed there for six weeks. The lyrics say things like „I’m so high, no no no, I’m so down, I’m so blue…“ in Japanese and in English.
Kind of a bummer. But once the band gets to the bridge, you’ll immediately recognize the other — happy — band from Liverpool they’re clearly influenced by.
