Happy Together Marching through 1967
March ’67 caught some of us watching
the boob tube as THRUSH in Man from U.N.C.L.E. rushed to convert sea water to gold.
Or were you day-trippin’ on the Electric
Prunes’ tune “I Had Too Much to Dream”? The Psychedelic song struggled for an audience from November
1966 until it finally broke through to the top ten of our handy-dandy
transistor radio stations this month, 50 years ago.
The Electric Prunes hit slipped a
notch to #6 on KFRC/San Francisco’s
March 1st Big 30 chart. But love cured the hangover with the
Turtles’ “Happy Together”
at #1.
The Five Americans (a BFYP Book 2
band) were ready to ride the airwaves to the top in KFRC’s Big Hit Bounds list, with “Western Union,” as we take
a Spring break before the now infamous Summer of Love. We’ll
bring you whatever 50th anniversary news we can rustle up starting
in June!
A year of magic and mayhem in radio
and life, we tried desperately to maintain our innocence while the Vietnam War
colored our vision as profoundly as John Lennon’s rose-colored spectacles.
In spite of, or maybe because of,
the country’s turmoil and turbulence, by June the radio charts' top tune was on its way to top record and top song in the 10th
Grammy Awards (1968). We were obviously looking for bright optimism in the 5th
Dimension’s “Up, Up and Away.” “… the world’s a nicer place
in my beautiful balloon …” ♪
Featured Radio Survey: In
1967 San Francisco channeled all the love it could muster into its music. Top
30 station, KFRC, tipped the iceberg
of our music revolution. But the depth of its love came from the base of FM
underground music that would soon emanate from KMPX and DJ Tom Donahue.
Check out the eclectic mix in the March 1, 1967 KFRC/San Francisco Big 30 chart.
Celebrate MARCH 1967: 50 Years Ago
… Rock On!
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