60s songs that belong irrevocably to the 60s

Let me add in: San Francisco Girls, by Fever Tree

Not one of the better known 60's songs. But maybe if you don't remember it, you were there.

 

This is the Original Broadway Cast Album form 1968. The male with a full head of hair, is cast member Steve Curry. Back then, there was a popular photography technique called Solarization. This is where toward the end of the development of the photographic print paper, in the darkroom is exposed briefly to light, toward the end of the development stage. This causes the effects that you see in the photo on the album cover.

It is not just the music, but the album cover art, that belongs irrevocably in the 60's.



Hair actually made its premier off Broadway. It was the opening play for the N.Y. Shakespeare Festival's Public Theater, in October of 1967.

There was a little known original cast album recorded of the show's off Broadway premier at the Public on the RCA label also.

Note: At least some re-releases of Hair, the original Broadway cast on CD, also had the off Broadway version on a 2nd CD in the same case.

There is a very specific reason why so many of these albums turned up in the used bins.

Back in 1969, there were these highly popular song's on AM top 40's radio. They were all originally from the play Hair, which was very popular since it's Broadway premier, in 1968.

Aquarius/Let the sunshine In, by the 5th Dimension.
Easy to Be Hard, by the Three Dog Night.
Hair, by the Cowsills.
Good Morning Starshine, by Oliver

These songs were on the original cast album from the Broadway play Hair, but not by the artist's mentioned above. The original cast album's songs were performed by the original cast.

The top 40 versions were cover's by these bands, not the original version's as performed in the Broadway play.

So, the play hit the Broadway stage in the spring of 1968 and the original cast album soon followed. It was typically purchased by people who were fond of the play and its music and other's who would typically purchase show music. Other's took little notice.

Once these "Hair" songs became popular, they began to place labels on the album and began a marketing campaign, that the above mentioned hit songs were on the record.

Once the general public were made aware of this, record sales tool off.

Of course, buyer's soon realized that the songs on the album were not the songs that they were expecting to hear. They were expecting to hear the top forty versions.

As these were not the versions they were expecting and did not care for, the album's were put away and never played.

Just a note, Hair did not die of after its initial run as a play. In the late 70's, as mentioned, it was made into a movie (a rather bad one).

But, the music from the movie, is a very high quality recording.

Hair celebrates it's 50th anniversary of it's Broadway debut this year.

A major Broadway revival was staged back in 2009 and closed on Broadway in 2010 and went on tour afterward.

There was a double album made of the revival cast made of the Broadway revival cast made and is for sale on vinyl or DVD on Amazon.



So, it did make it out of the 60's!

 

...except it was, of course, written in the '80s.

 

That may be. But the OP did not qualify the topic and limit the discussion to 'singles' nor is the Harper's version the one I know/remember most.

 

You got familiar with the song long after, and do not remember the hit 60s version obviously. If you don't remember you don't remember. Many of us here do.

 

Definitely.

This song was the perfect bridge between the Thamesmen and their hard rock sound of the 70s and 80s.

 

Damn! Seriously? I guess they tricked me...

 

The Long Version!

 

Coulda put the 3 posts together... you're breakin' my "Like" finger.

 

The Grass Roots “Let’s Live For Today”

 

My favorite song by the Grass Roots. But the tune was originally recorded by this Italian group:

 

LOVE that song! It's just so, well, ~Groovy~!
Actually, that whole album is great.

 

The Mighty Sparrow - The Death Of President Kennedy (1964)

 

Anything from Big Brother and the Holding Company or Janis solo.

 

Tom Paxton - Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation (1965)

 

The Elegants - Letter From Vietnam (1965)

 

Teddy & His Patches - Haight Ashbury (1967)

 

Has been Yummy, Yummy, Yummy posted yet?

 

Barry Gray orchestra - 'Thunderbirds' Theme (1965)

 

Johnny Rivers - Summer Rain

 

It's A Happening by the Magic Mushrooms
Journey To The Center Of The Mind by the Amboy Dukes
The Inner Light by the Beatles (and most all of George's Indian influenced songs)
2000 Light Years From Home by the Rolling Stones (and most of the SATANIC MAJESTIES album)
Let it All Hang Out by the Hombres
You Can All Join In by Traffic (this may be the most quintessential 60's song of all)