Best Songs of 1968
For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify or Apple Music. Sadly all 100 tracks aren’t available, but you get the general idea. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.
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Stoned Soul Picnic
The 5th Dimension
Stoned Soul Picnic
Epic
via Apple Music
-
A Beautiful Morning
The Rascals
A Beautiful Morning / Rainy Day 7"
Atlantic
Notes
-
Build Me Up Buttercup
The Foundations
Rocking the Foundations
Pye
via the Boston College Marching Band
-
(You) Got What I Need
Freddie Scott
(You) Got What I Need 7"
Shout
via the Biz Markie interpolation
-
Here I Am Baby
The Marvelettes
Sophisticated Soul
Tamla
Notes
-
Hang Me Now
Jeanne & The Darlings
What Will Be Later On / Hang Me Now 7"
Volt
via Stax/Volt box set
-
What a Man
Linda Lyndell
What a Man 7"
Volt
via the En Vogue cover
-
Chain of Fools
Aretha Franklin
Lady Soul
Atlantic
Notes
-
I’m in Love
Bobby Womack
Fly Me to the Moon
Capitol
Notes
-
Every Man Oughta Have a Woman
William Bell
A Tribute to a King / Every Man Oughta Have a Woman 7"
Stax
via Stax/Volt box set
-
I Wish It Would Rain
The Temptations
Wish It Would Rain
Motown
Notes
-
I’d Rather Go Blind
Etta James
Tell Mama
Chess
Notes
-
I Think It’s Going to Rain Today
Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Reprise
Notes
-
So Long, Marianne
Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Columbia
Notes
-
I’ll Be Here in the Morning
Townes Van Zandt
For the Sake of the Song
Poppy
Notes
-
Train Leaves Here This Mornin
Dillard & Clark
The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark
A&M
Notes
-
Stand By Your Man
Tammy Wynette
Stand By Your Man
Epic
Notes
-
Wichita Lineman
Glen Campbell
Wichita Lineman
Capitol
via the R.E.M. cover
-
Massachussetts
Bee Gees
Horizontal
Atco
Notes
-
Something in the Way She Moves
James Taylor
James Taylor
Apple
Notes
-
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine
Bob Dylan
John Wesley Harding
Columbia
Notes
-
The Weight
The Band
Music From Big Pink
Capitol
Notes
-
Kind Woman
Buffalo Springfield
Last Time Around
Atco
Notes
-
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
The Byrds
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Columbia
Notes
-
Mama Tried
Merle Haggard & The Strangers
Mama Tried
Capitol
Notes
-
Folsom Prison Blues
Johnny Cash
At Folsom Prison
Columbia
Notes
-
A Man Can Stand Only So Much Pain
Tony Joe White
I Protest / A Man Can Stand Only So Much Pain Promo 7"
Monument
Notes
-
Mr. Soul
The Everly Brothers
Nice Guys
Magnum Force
Recorded in 1968, released in 1984. Via Aquarium Drunkard.
-
Season of the Witch
Mike Bloomfield with Al Kooper & Stephen Stills
Super Session
Columbia
via the Pharcyde sample
-
I Got the Feelin’
James Brown
I Got the Feelin’
King
Notes
-
Different Strokes
Syl Johnson
Dresses Too Short
Twinight
Notes
-
Wrap It Up
Sam & Dave
I Thank You / Wrap It Up 7"
Stax
Notes
-
Who’s Making Love
Johnnie Taylor
Who’s Making Love
Stax
Notes
-
Life
Sly and the Family Stone
Life
Epic
via my dad
-
Mama Roux
Dr. John
Gris-Gris
Atco
Notes
-
A Deeper Shade of Soul
Ray Barretto
Acid
Fania
via the Urban Dance Squad interpolation / John Richards on KEXP
-
Soul Limbo
Booker T. & The MG’s
Soul Limbo
Stax
Notes
-
For Once in My Life
Stevie Wonder
For Once in My Life
Motown
Notes
-
Tighten Up Pt. 1
Archie Bell and the Drells
Tighten Up
Atlantic
Notes
-
A Hard Day’s Night
The Bar-Kays
A Hard Day’s Night
Volt
via the Stax/Volt box set / The Beatles
-
I’ll Take Her
Eddie Floyd
Rare Stamps
Stax
via Stax/Volt box set
-
If You Can Want
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Special Occasion
Motown
Notes
-
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Marvin Gaye
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Motown
via the ether (as a kid) / the California Grapes commercials
-
Reflections
The Supremes
Reflections
Motown
via China Beach
-
You’re All I Need to Get By
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
You’re All I Need
Tamla
via the Mary J. Blige/Method Man cover
-
Some Velvet Morning
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood
Nancy & Lee
Reprise
Notes
-
Here She Comes Now
The Velvet Underground
White Light / White Heat
Verve
Notes
-
Porpoise Song
The Monkees
Head
Atlantic
Notes
-
Dear Prudence
The Beatles
The Beatles (White Album)
Apple
Notes
-
Crimson & Clover
Tommy James & The Shondells
Crimson & Clover
Roulette
1968 single release
-
White Room
Cream
Wheels of Fire
Atco
Notes
-
Handbags and Gladrags
Chris Farlowe
The Last Goodbye
Immediate
1968 single. Via The Office (UK)
-
Love Is All Around
The Troggs
Love Is All Around
Fontana
via the R.E.M. cover
-
Bonnie and Clyde
Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot
Bonnie and Clyde
Fontana
Notes
-
Changing the Colors of Life
Los Chijuas
Changing the Colors of Life
Musart
Notes
-
Baby Please Don’t Go
The Amboy Dukes
Journey to the Center of the Mind
Mainstream
Notes
-
Hello, I Love You
The Doors
Waiting for the Sun
Elektra
Notes
-
I Love You More Than You&rsqou;ll Ever Know
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Child Is Father to the Man
Columbia
Notes
-
Shape of Things to Come
Max Frost & The Troopers
Shape of Things to Come 7"
Tower
Notes
-
Spooky
Classics IV
Spooky
Imperial
via the Joan Osborne cover
-
Open My Eyes
Nazz
Open My Eyes 7"
SGC
Notes
-
The Girls Are Naked
The Creation
Midway Down / The Girls Are Naked 7"
Polydor
Notes
-
Jennifer Eccles
The Hollies
Jennifer Eccles 7"
Epic
Notes
-
Cry Like a Baby
The Box Tops
Cry Like a Baby
Sundazed
via Apple Music
-
Suzie Q
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Suzie Q 7"
Fantasy
Notes
-
Pictures of Matchstick Men
Status Quo
Pictures of Matchstick Men 7"
Pye
Notes
-
Burning of the Midnight Lamp
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Electric Ladyland
MCA
Notes
-
Piece of My Heart
Big Brother & The Holding Company
Cheap Thrills
Columbia
Notes
-
I Think I Made a Boo Boo
Rufus Thomas
The Memphis Train / I Think I Made a Boo Boo 7"
Stax
via the Stax/Volt box set
-
A Dime a Dozen
Carla Thomas
A Dime a Dozen 7"
Stax
via the Stax/Volt box set
-
We’re a Winner
The Impressions
We’re a Winner
ABC
Notes
-
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
Ramsey Lewis
Maiden Voyage
Cadet
via the Pharcyde sample
-
Grazing in the Grass
Hugh Masekela
The Promise of a Future
UNI
Notes
-
I Got a Sure Thing
Ollie & The Nightingales
I Got a Sure Thing 7"
Stax
Notes
-
Slip Away
Clarence Carter
Slip Away
Atlantic
Notes
-
Mojo Mama
Don Varner
Mojo Mama 7"
Quinvy
Possible 1967 release. Via Mojo Presents Southern Soul (2005) comp purchased in 2008.
-
(I Love) Lucy
Albert King
I Love Lucy 7"
Stax
via the Stax/Volt box set
-
Able Mable
Mable John
Able Mable 7"
Stax
via the Stax/Volt box set
-
It’s About Time
Terry Callier
The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier
Prestige
Notes
-
From the Prison
Richie Havens
Something Else Again
Verve
Notes
-
Goin’ Down to Memphis
John Martyn
The Tumbler
Island
Notes
-
Time of No Reply
Nick Drake
Time of No Reply
Hannibal
Notes
-
Cactus Tree
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell (Song to a Seagull)
Reprise
Notes
-
Sweet Thing
Van Morrison
Astral Weeks
Warner Bros.
Notes
-
Both Sides Now
Davy Graham
Large As Life and Twice As Natural
Decca
Notes
-
Mrs. Robinson
Simon & Garfunkel
Bookends
Columbia
Notes
-
Picture Book
The Kinks
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
Reprise
via that HP commercial (maybe, sadly)
-
Feelin’ Alright?
Traffic
Traffic
Island
via an MGD commercial?
-
Street Fighting Man
The Rolling Stones
Beggar’s Banquet
ABKCO
Notes
-
Magic Bus
The Who
Magic Bus 7"
Decca
Notes
-
Diamond Head
The Beach Boys
Friends
Capitol
Notes
-
Albatross
Fleetwood Mac
Albatross 7"
Blue Horizon
1969 U.S. release
-
(Sittin&rsqou; On) The Dock of the Bay
Otis Redding
The Dock of the Bay
Volt
via the ether as a teen
-
What a Wonderful World
Louis Armstrong
What a Wonderful World
Stateside
1967 single release / via Good Morning, Vietnam probably
-
Everything That Touches You
The Association
Birthday
Warner Bros.
Notes
-
Time of the Season
The Zombies
Odessey and Oracle
CBS
Notes
-
On the Road Again
Canned Heat
Boogie With Canned Heat
Liberty
via an MGD commercial, likely
-
Hurdy Gurdy Man
Donovan
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
Epic
Notes
-
Magic Carpet Ride
Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf the Second
Dunhill/ABC
via the ether as a preteen, or maybe another MGD commercial as a teen?
-
One
Harry Nilsson
Aerial Ballet
RCA
Notes