Wednesday, April 22, 2026

My Top 100 Singles of 1968

 





Here's the Spotify playlist of every song:

1. Cream - "White Room"
2. Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "All Along The Watchtower"
4. Deep Purple - "Hush"
5. The Band – “The Weight”
6. Steppenwolf - "Magic Carpet Ride"
7. Big Brother and the Holding Company - "Piece of My Heart"
8. Joe Cocker – “With A Little Help From My Friends”
9. Aretha Franklin - "I Say A Little Prayer"
10. Sly & The Family Stone - "Everyday People"
11. The Rolling Stones - "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
12. Simon & Garfunkel - "Mrs. Robinson"
13. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - "You're All I Need To Get By"
14. Jeannie C. Riley – “Harper Valley P.T.A.”
15. Otis Redding - "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay"
16. Johnny Cash - "Folsom Prison Blues (live)"
17. Arlo Guthrie – “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”
18. James Brown - "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud"
19. The Beatles - "Revolution"
20. Glen Campbell – “Wichita Lineman”
21. Cream - "Sunshine Of Your Love"
22. Iron Butterfly - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
23. Stevie Wonder - "For Once In My Life"
24. The Rolling Stones - "Street Fighting Man"
25. Steppenwolf - "Born To Be Wild"
26. Aretha Franklin - "Think"
27. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - "Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing"
28. Tammy Wynette – “Stand By Your Man”
29. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Crosstown Traffic"
30. Simon & Garfunkel - "Scarborough Fair"
31. Richard Harris – “MacArthur Park”
32. The Beatles - "Hey Jude"
33. Merle Haggard and the Strangers – “Mama Tried”
34. The First Edition - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)"
35. The Doors - "Hello, I Love You”
36. Wilson Pickett – “I Found A True Love”
37. The Delfonics – “La-La Means I Love You”
38. Status Quo - "Pictures of Matchstick Men"
39. The Kinks - "Days"
40. Donovan - "Hurdy Gurdy Man"
41. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Suzie Q"
42. Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers – “Does Your Mama Know About Me”
43. Sam & Dave - "I Thank You"
44. Tammy Wynette – “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”
45. The Chambers Brothers - "Time Has Come Today"
46. Dionne Warwick - "Do You Know The Way To San Jose"
47. Otis Redding – “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember”
48. Mary Hopkin – “Those Were The Days” 
49. The Human Beinz - "Nobody But Me"
50. James Brown – “I Got The Feelin’”
51. Elvis Presley with the Jordanaires – “A Little Less Conversation”
52. Aretha Franklin - "Ain't No Way"
53. Diana Ross & The Supremes – “Love Child”
54. Tommy James and the Shondells - "Mony Mony"
55. The Monkees – “Mary, Mary”
56. George Jones and Brenda Carter – “Milwaukee, Here I Come”
57. Jerry Lee Lewis – “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)”
58. The Isley Brothers - "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)"
59. Steppenwolf – “Rock Me”
60. The Beach Boys – “Do It Again”
61. Marvin Gaye – “Chained”
62. Nazz - "Open My Eyes"
63. Sly and the Family Stone – “Sing a Simple Song”
64. The Velvet Underground – “White Light/White Heat”
65. Leonard Cohen – “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”
66. The Impressions – “Fool For You”
67. Andy Kim – “Shoot ‘Em Up, Baby”
68. The Who – “Dogs”
69. Johnny Nash – “Hold Me Tight”
70. The Easybeats – “Good Times”
71. Marva Whitney - "Unwind Yourself"
72. The Grass Roots – “Midnight Confessions”
73. George Jones – “When The Grass Grows Over Me”
74. Al Green – “Don’t Hurt Me No More”
75. The Turtles – “Elenore”
76. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – “Keep On Lovin’ Me Honey”
77. The Bee Gees – “I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You”
78. Willie Nelson – “Little Things”
79. O.C. Smith – “Little Green Apples”
80. The 1910 Fruitgum Company – “1, 2, 3, Red Light”
81. Herb Alpert – “This Guy’s In Love With You”
82. The 5th Dimension – “Stoned Soul Picnic”
83. Jerry Butler – “Hey, Western Union Man”
84. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – “Fire”
85. Max Frost and the Troopers – “Shape of Things To Come”
86. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - "I'm The Urban Spaceman"
87. Clarence Carter – “Slip Away”      
88. The Kinks – “Wonderboy”
89. Joni Mitchell – “Night In The City”
90. Aretha Franklin - "The House That Jack Built"
91. The Monkees – “Porpoise Song”
92. James Brown – “Licking Stick”
93. The Doors – “The Unknown Soldier”
94. Gary Puckett and the Union Gap – “Over You”
95. The Beatles - "Lady Madonna"
96. Merle Haggard – “I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am”
97. The Who – “Call Me Lightning”
98. Dionne Warwick - "(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls"
99. The O’Kaysions – “Girl Watcher”
100. Glen Campbell – “Gentle On My Mind”

Now I'm really getting into the era where it was common for people to release covers of recent hits and sometimes turn them into bigger hits. What really struck me after I started putting together the list is that half of the top 10 here (2, 3, 7, 8, and 9) are covers of songs first released in 1967 that have somewhat or completely eclipsed the originals, including arguably the greatest Dylan and Beatles covers of all time. 

Previously:

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