Now, on with the show ... November 1968 ...
Baby Jude: Hey Jude’s Love Child!
Believe it or not, here we go head-long into the final two
months of 2018. How did we get here?!
As we turn our thoughts to the season of thankfulness—at
least through Thanksgiving—many of us will also begin a mental review of the
year, noting achievements, carryovers for 2019, and perhaps a duel or two to
resolve before year’s end.
Speaking of duels, a
battle of boy-band vs. girl-band played out on music surveys across the nation Fifty Years Ago this Month …
 |
| Roy Clark & Buck Trent, Hee Haw |
November 4th: We’ve heard of
dueling banjos and dueling pianos, but in November 1968 we radio listeners played
a crucial part in a duel for the top of the charts between two talented and
charismatic music powerhouses.
Diana Ross and the Supremes and brash boy band, The Beatles, hit
the national charts
about the same time in 1964. From that point on, we fueled their duel on the
airwaves and up ‘n’ down the surveys’ top hits for the rest of the decade.
WRIT/Milwaukee’s
Silver Dollar Music Survey November 4, 1968 is a perfect example of their
musical rivalry. Click on our Featured Survey*
to see The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”/”Revolution”
combo at #2, nipping at the heels of Mary Hopkin’s “Those Were the Days.”
Diana Ross & the Supremes’ “Love Child” started its
climb as a distant contender in the #28 spot.
The Beatles’ songs stayed at #2 for the November 11th
chart, but “Love Child” quickly jumped several rungs up the ladder to #12.
By November 25th, however, Diana had led her girls up to
#3, while The Beatles slipped to #4 & #5 (“Revolution” & “Hey Jude,”
respectively). And yep, “Those Were the Days” still kept a glass ceiling on their rise.
November
22nd: The Beatles weren’t crying too hard, though. The White Album (aka The Beatles) was released on this date—and we all know how that
turned out. *In anticipation, KFRC/San
Francisco even devoted their entire November
20th Big 30 survey No. 128, solely to songs of The White Album. Cool.
Featured Radio
Survey: WRIT/Milwaukee November 4, 1968 … for all their popularity across the country,
neither The Beatles or Diana Ross and The Supremes could knock Mary Hopkin out
of the #1 spot at WRIT … 50 Years Ago This Month. Rev up your memories and recall that awesome day
when …
Celebrate NOVEMBER 1968 and … Rock On!
Share on Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk
LinDee Rochelle is a writer
and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published
two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past
series, available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll
Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio
DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon, … The Psychedelic Seventies!
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪