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
Thay Paul's Notes 