It was 50 years ago, today: part 2

Today, we continue with the presentation of the UK top 50 singles, 50 years ago. Here we go!

No 35: 1969 was definitely the year of the movie "Easy Rider". It was a smash hit, grossing $60 million worldwide from a filming budget of no more than $400,000. More importantly, it legitimized the counterculture - and was one of the films that brought about the change from old-time Hollywood spectacles to a more mature cinema, in step with the times. The movie had a killer song soundtrack, which was also a smash hit.

The song most associated with the film is Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild, which we find at #35, already having peaked at #30 in the UK. It did much better across the ocean, peaking at #1 in Canada and at #2 in the US. AllMusic's Hal Horowitz described as "a roaring anthem of turbo-charged riff rock" and "a timeless radio classic as well as a slice of '60s revolt that at once defines Steppenwolf's sound and provided them with their shot at AM immortality." It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music.

No 34: Early In The Morning was an international hit; a top 10 or a top 20 hit in most international markets. Vanity Fare was the act responsible.

No 33: The Beatles rarely gave another artist co-credit for appearing on their songs. So, it was quite an event when Billy Preston was co-credited on their #1 smash hit, Get Back. Here are the Beatles on their surprise rooftop concert:

No 32: Cliff Richard is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley. One of the 67 songs of his to reach the UK top 10, Big Ship was currently resting at #32:

No 31: Now, here's a remarkable song: Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to the music of the French song Comme d'habitude co-composed, co-written (with Jacques Revaux) and performed in 1967 by Claude François. The song was a success for a variety of performers including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. Sinatra's version of My Way spent 75 weeks in the UK Top 40, a record which still stands. This week, 50 years ago, it was found at #31:

No 30: L'amour est bleu (English title: Love Is Blue) is a song whose music was composed by André Popp, and whose lyrics were written by Pierre Cour, in 1967. Bryan Blackburn later wrote English-language lyrics for it. First performed in French by Greek singer Vicky Leandros (appearing as Vicky) as the Luxembourgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, it has since been recorded by many other musicians, most notably French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat, whose familiar instrumental version (recorded in late 1967) became the only number-one hit by a French lead artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 in America. The Dells recorded a medley of Love Is Blue with I Can Sing a Rainbow. It peaked at #15 in the UK.

No 29: Introduced by its songwriter, Kenny Rankin on his 1967 debut album Mind Dusters, Peaceful was recorded by Bobbie Gentry for her 1968 album Local Gentry. A 1969 single recording by Georgie Fame reached #16 in the UK that summer. In 1972, Helen Reddy recorded the song, which peaked at #12 in the US. This is the Georgie Fame version:

Georgie Fame was one of the best male solo singers of the 60s in the UK. As a bonus, here's my favorite song of his, Yeh Yeh:

No 28: Frozen Orange Juice was the follow up to Peter Sarstedt's monster hit, Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)? It peaked at #10 in the UK.

No 27: Country music superstar Jim Reeves died when his plane crashed in 1964. Yet, he had as many hits posthumously as he did when he was alive. When Two Worlds Collide was one of his numerous posthumous hits:

No 26: We've heard Tommy Roe on the first part of this presentation. At #26, on its way down after making it all the way to the top, is his biggest hit of the late 60s, Dizzy:

No 25: Love Affair was a London-based pop and soul group. Their final UK top 10 hit was Bringing On Back The Good Times:

No 24: Oh Happy Day is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of an 18th-century hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching #4 on the US Singles Chart, #1 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and #2 in the UK, Canada, and Ireland. It has since become a gospel music standard.

No 23: Living in the Past is a song by British progressive rock group Jethro Tull. It is one of the band's best-known songs, and it is notable for being written in the unusual 5/4 time signature. The 5/4 time signature is quickly noted from the beginning rhythmic bass pattern. The song peaked at #3 in the UK.

No 22: My Cherie Amour is one of Stevie Wonder's 60s' gems. It peaked at #4 both in the US and the UK.

No 21: The Four Tops' What Is a Man failed to make a big impression in the US - it peaked at #53. It did better in the UK, peaking at #16.

No 20: Cilla Black was a good friend of the Beatles so it was no surprise that her single Conversations was produced by George Martin. The single peaked at #2 in New Zealand, at #5 in Ireland, and at #7 in the UK.

No 19: Time Is Tight is an instrumental recorded by Booker T. & The MG's for the soundtrack to the 1968 film, "Uptight", directed by Jules Dassin. It was released as a single and became one of the biggest hits of the group's career, peaking at #7 R&B and #6 Pop in the US. In the UK it peaked at #4.

No 18: Both Donovan, as well as the Jeff Beck Group, were hot commodities at the time. They teamed together to record Donovan's composition Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot). It reached #12 in the UK and #36 in the US. It was Donovan's final top 40 entry in either country.

No 17: Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' is a song written by Joey Levine and Ritchie Cordell and performed by Crazy Elephant. It reached #12 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart in 1969.

No 16: Make Me An Island, written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, was a big international hit for Irish pop singer Joe Dolan. It peaked at #3 in the UK and at #2 in South Africa, Ireland, and Belgium.

That's it, for today. Soon, we'll have the third and final part of this presentation. Until then, take care!