"Epistle To Dippy" #19 3/11/1967

An epistle is another term for a letter. Donovan wrote the song as an open letter to an old chum nicknamed "Dippy" serving in the British Army in Malaysia. Back then it was possible for an English soldier to be bought out of his active service, so the pacifist Donovan did just that for his friend. Jimmy Page played guitar here. Hey, I don't quite understand the song's meaning, either.

"Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" #6 3/11/1967

Everybody thought doo-wop died out a few years earlier. Probably the last gasp for this style of music came from the Casinos, a one-hit, nine-man group from Cincinnati. It was first done in 1962 by Don Cherry, who had a few 50's pop hits and later became a pro golfer with a fiery temper. Written by John D. Loudermilk, who probably was best known for writing "Indian Reservation," a #1 hit in 1971 for the Raiders - Paul Revere's name wasn't out in front by that point.

"Baby I Need Your Lovin' " (Johnny Rivers) #3 3/11/1967

How often does a remake sound just as good as the original? This slightly slower Johnny Rivers version of the great Four Tops tune, written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, had some high-powered assistance. Backing vocals were by the Blossoms (featuring Darlene Love) and the Wrecking Crew did the music, with drum legend Hal Blaine working his magic. Produced by Lou Adler.

"Love Is Here And Now You're Gone" #1 3/11/1967

The ninth pop #1 for the Supremes and the eleventh pop #1 overall for Holland-Dozier-Holland was done a little differently, as H-D-H wanted a different sound than what they could get in the Motown studios. Therefore, it was recorded in L.A. but they weren't quite satisfied with the bass and drum parts, so those were re-done back in Detroit. Gotta think it worked.

"Spooky" (Instrumental) #57 3/4/1967

One that became a hit for the Classics IV in early '68 then was re-done in '79 by the Atlanta Rhythm Section, but here's the original, an instrumental by saxophonist Mike Shapiro (stage name Mike Sharpe). These acts were all connected. Sharpe played the sax solo on the Classics IV version. Their guitarist J.R. Cobb, along with later group members Dean Daughtry and Robert Nix plus their producer Buddy Buie, became the core of ARS in the 70's.

"Let's Spend The Night Together" #55 3/4/1967

The Rolling Stones were no strangers to controversy, but this caused quite an uproar even by their standards. A sizable number of American radio stations wouldn't touch the song due to the innuendo of the title - it was 1967, after all. Enough stations flipped the 45 over to make "Ruby Tuesday" the Stones' fourth US #1 single. The band appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in January but were ordered to not perform this song. A compromise was reached where the words were changed to "let's spend some time together" but Mick Jagger rolled his eyes each time he sang the line. They allegedly returned to the set later wearing Nazi uniforms, so Ed promptly kicked them out. (Not 100% sure of the validity of that part, but it does make for a great story!) The tune is now a fixture on oldies and album rock radio. My, how times have changed.

"I'll Take Care Of Your Cares" #39 3/4/1967

Frankie Laine could be called one of the first "blue eyed soul" singers. He had dozens of pop hits in the 40's and 50's and then rock and roll came along, which pretty much wrecked his career. Strange that rock became the thing that derailed him, since Frankie's style owed way more to R&B instead of big band music of that era, and he paved the way for what was about to revolutionize the business.