July 2023

The year began with The Beatles suffering their first critical backlash after December 67’s ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ although a certain 7″ single in summer would return them to the top. However, both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were slowing down, while bands that would dominate the 70s began to emerge: Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, T-Rex and Deep Purple. Meanwhile the stirrings of what would be termed Krautrock were brewing in Germany, and what a strange brew it would prove to be.

Yet, maybe it was the politics that overshadowed the music. We witness the assassinations of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy. President LBJ steps down and Nixon is elected. Police brutality is caught on camera in Chicago, riots in dozens of US cities, protests across Europe, the Tet Offensive in Sai Gon and Russian tanks crush the Prague Spring in the former Czechoslovakia.

James Brown was ‘Black and Proud,’ while The Band retired to upstate New York to delve into the musical heritage of the US. Then in December, the king was back; but the times were certainly a-changing. .

2001 A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick

A selection of music from 1968. Release dates differed, so I’ve usually given the UK date

January

5th Status Quo ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ single

8th Manfred Mann ‘Mighty Quinn’ single

8th Otis Redding ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ single

15th the Byrds ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers LP. David Crosby’s last record in the original Byrds.

22nd Canned Heat ‘Boggie with Canned Heat’ LP

29th Steppenwolf ‘Steppenwolf’ debut LP

30th Velvet Underground ‘White Light/White Heat’ LP

Bee Gees ‘Horizontal’ LP

The Electric Prunes ‘Mass in F Minor’ LP

Aretha Franklin ‘Lady Soul’ LP

Kaleidoscope ‘A Beacon from Mars’ LP

30th Start of the Tet Offensive: North Vietnamese and VC troops attack targets in South Vietnam including the US Embassy.

February

17th The Monkees ‘Valleri’ single

23rd Manfred Mann ‘Up the Junction’ soundtrack LP

24th Fleetwood Mac ‘Fleetwood Mac’ LP

Vanilla Fudge ‘ The Beat Goes on’ LP

March

4th Frank Zappa ‘We’re Only in it for the Money’ LP

13th Laura Nyro ‘Eli and the Thirteenth Confession’ LP

15th The Beatles ‘Lady Madonna’ single

15th Cliff Richard ‘Congratulations’ single

22nd the Hollies ‘Jennifer Eccles’ single

23rd Joni Mitchell ‘Song to Seagull’ debut LP

23rd Dionne Warwick ‘Valley of the Dolls’ LP

The Doors ‘The Unknown Soldier’ single

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap ‘Young Girl’ single

The Zombies ‘Time of the Season’ single

Ray Charles ‘A Portrait of Ray’ LP

April

3rd Simon & Garfunkel ‘Bookends’ LP

4th Death of Martin Luther King Jr

5th Simon & Garfunkel ‘Mrs Robinson’ single

5th Small Faces ‘Lazy Sunday’ single

8th The Beach Boys ‘Friends’ single

19th the Zombies ‘Odessey and Oracle’ LP

22nd The Monkees ‘The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees’ LP

24th Canned Heat ‘I’m on the Road Again’ single

The Move ‘The Move’ LP

Sly and the Family Stone ‘Dance to the Music’ LP

Scott Walker ‘Scott 2’ LP

Dionne Warwick ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose’ single

Mason Williams ‘Classical Gas’ single

May

1st The Equals ‘Baby Come Back’ single

6th Manfred Mann ‘Mighty Garvey’ LP

14th The Delfonics ‘La La Means I Love You’ LP

24th The Rolling Stones ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ single

24th Small Faces ‘Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake’ LP

28th Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival’ debut LP

Steppenwolf ‘Born to be Wild’ single

Quicksilver Messenger Service ‘Quicksilver Messenger Service’ LP

The Seeds ‘Raw & Alive: The Seeds in Concert at Merlin’s Music Box’ LP

June

6th Death of Robert F. Kennedy

7th Manfred Mann ‘My Name is Jack’ single

11th The Doors ‘Hello, I Love You’ single

14th Aretha Franklin ‘Aretha Now’ LP featuring ‘Say a Little Prayer for You’

15th Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Suzie Q’ single

21st Deep Purple ‘Hush’ single

21st John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers ‘Bare Wires’ LP with Mick Taylor

24th The Beach Boys ‘Friends’ LP

25th Elvis ‘Speedway’ soundtrack LP

28th the Kinks ‘Days

28th Pink Floyd ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ LP – the last LP to feature a contribution from Syd Barret

‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ LP featuring the hit ‘Fire’

Silver Apples ‘Silver Apples’ LP – regarded as an important blend of rock and electronic music.

Joan Baez ‘Baptism: A Journey Through Our Time’ LP – a mix of poetry and music

Serge Gainsbourg ‘Initials B.B’ LP featuring ‘Bonnie and Clyde’

Strawberry Alarm Clock ‘Wake Up … It’s Tomorrow’ LP

July

1st The Band ‘Music from Big Pink’ LP

3rd The Doors ‘Waiting for the Sun’ LP

8th The Beach Boys ‘Do It Again’ single

14th Vanilla Fudge ‘Renaissance’ LP

14th The Yardbirds final gig at Luton, UK. Jimmy Page and Chris Dreja completed a Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds, with Robert Plant and John Bonham.

18th Grateful Dead ‘Anthem of the Sun’ LP

22nd Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper & Stephen Stills ‘Super Session’ LP

26th The Moody Blues ‘In Search of the Lost Chord’ LP

27th the Who ‘Magic Bus’ single

29th Jeff Beck ‘Truth’ LP

30th Buffalo Springfield ‘Last Time Around’ LP

Phil Ochs ‘Tape from California’ LP

August

9th Cream ‘Wheels of Fire’ LP

12th Big Brother and the Holding Company ‘Cheap Thrills’ LP (featuring Janis Joplin on vocals)

21st Soviet-led troops invade Czechoslovakia, the Prague Spring ends along with any hope of free speech and democracy

23rd Fleetwood Mac ‘Mr Wonderful’ LP

28th Chicago riots at the Democratic National Convention

‘Hey Jude’ video first broadcast on Frost on Saturday 8th September 1968

30th The Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ single

30th Mary Hopkins ‘Those Were The Days’ single

30th the Byrds ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo LP

Big Brother and the Holding Company ‘Piece of my Heart’ single

James Brown ‘Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud) single

The Casuals ‘Jesamine’ single

Beacon Street Union ‘The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens’ LP

Country Joe and the Fish ‘Together’ LP

Jefferson Airplane ‘Crown of Creation’ LP

September

1st Bee Gees ‘Idea’ LP

3rd Elvis ‘A Little Less Conversation’ single

Deep Purple ‘Shades of Deep Purple’ LP

October

14th Tyrannosaurus Rex ‘Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages’ LP, including a new version of their debut single ‘Deborah’

16th Jimi Hendrix ‘Electric Ladyland’ LP

18th Jimi Hendrix ‘All Along the watchtower’ single

25th Jethro Tull ‘That Was’ debut LP

25th the New Yardbirds play their first gig under their new name – Led Zeppelin

30th Marvin Gaye ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’ single

Judy Collins ‘Both Sides Now’ single

Captain Beefheart ‘Strictly Personal’ LP

Dillard & Clark ‘The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark’ LP

Nazz ‘Nazz’ LP featuring Todd Rundgren

Steppenwolf ‘The Second’ LP

Traffic ‘Traffic’ LP

November

1st Canned Heat ‘Living the Blues’ LP

1st The Dave Clarke Five ‘5 By 5 (1964- 1969)’ LP

5th Elvis ‘If I Can Dream’ single

8th The Foundations ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ single

8th Dusty Springfield ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ single

6th The Monkees ‘Head’ film released

12th Neil Young ‘Neil Young’ first solo LP

13th Diana Ross and The Supremes ‘Love Child’ LP

18th Jimi Hendrix ‘Crosstown Traffic’ single

22nd Fleetwood Mac ‘Albatross’ single (their first Number 1)

22nd The Beatles ‘The Beatles’ (White Album) LP

22nd the Kinks ‘The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society’ LP

28th the Move ‘Blackberry Way’ single

29th The Beach Boys ‘Bluebirds over the Mountains’ single

29th Manfred Mann ‘Fox on the Run’ single

29th John Lennon & Yoko Ono ‘Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins’ LP

29th Van Morrison ‘Astral Weeks’ LP

Cream ‘White Room’ single

Judy Collins ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ LP

The Electric Prunes ‘Release of an Oath’ LP

The Left Banke ‘The Left Banke Too’ LP

John Mayall ‘Blues from Laurel Canyon’ LP with Mick Taylor, and Peter Green guesting on one track.

The Monkees ‘Head’ soundtrack LP

Nico ‘The Marble Index’ LP

Dionne Warwick ‘Promises, Promises’ LP

December

3rd ‘Singer presents … Elvis’ – more commonly known as the ’68 Comeback Special’, aired on the NBC network.

6th The Rolling Stones ‘Beggars Banquet’ LP

11th – 12th The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was filmed. Also playing were The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, and The Dirty Mac featuring John & Yoko with Eric Clapton. The Stones decided to withdraw the film, and it wasn’t shown until 1996.

20th Pretty Things ‘S.F. Sorrow’ LP

Joan Baez ‘Any Day Now’ double LP of Dylan covers

The Doors ‘Touch Me’ single

The wind in the willows, folk rock LP featuring Debbie Harry on backing vocals

BLUES

1st January Taj Mahal ‘Taj Mahal’ LP

October 5th Muddy Waters ‘Electric Mud’ LP

November Albert King Live Wire/Blues Power LP

B.B. King ‘Blues on Top of Blues’ & ‘Lucille’ LPs

Albert Collins ‘Love Can Be Found Anywhere (Even in a Guitar) LP

COUNTRY

2nd January Merle Haggard ‘Sing Me Back Home’ one of 3 LPs Merle released in ’68.

13th January Johnny Cash ‘At Folsom Prison’ Live LP

7th February Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts ‘Angel of the Morning’ single

8th July Tammy Wynette ‘D.I.V.O.R.C.E.’ LP

20th September Tammy Wynette ‘Stand by your Man’ single

4th November Glen Campbell ‘Wichita Lineman’ (one of five LPs Glenn released in 1968)

JAZZ

January Jackie McLean ‘New and Old Gospel’ LP

May Peter Brötzmann ‘Machine Gun’ LP

March Miles Davis ‘Nefertiti’ LP

July 22nd ‘Miles in the Sky’ LP

June Lee Morgan ‘The Gigolo’ LP

Nina Simone ‘Nuff Said!’ LP