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1968 Music Hits: Soul, Classic Rock, Psychedelia, Country-Pop, and AM Radio Variety

1968 music hits captured a year when soul, rock, psychedelia, country crossover, folk-pop, and novelty songs all shared the same crowded radio dial. It was the kind of year where (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, Dance to the Music, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Hey Jude, Born to Be Wild, and MacArthur Park could all exist together without the chart needing a traffic cop.

This was the year of Jumpin’ Jack Flash, All Along the Watchtower, Magic Bus, White Room, Sunshine of Your Love, Mrs. Robinson, People Got to Be Free, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, and For Once in My Life. The late ’60s were bold, messy, ambitious, and occasionally convinced that seven-minute pop songs about cake were a solid plan.

The songs below mix Memphis soul, Motown, British Invasion survivors, psychedelic rock, early hard rock, country story songs, folk-pop, instrumental themes, and bubblegum pop. 1968 was not subtle, but it was rarely boring. The jukebox had range, attitude, and possibly incense nearby.

Top 10 Songs of 1968

  1. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
  2. Dance to the Music – Sly & The Family Stone
  3. Mony Mony – Tommy James & The Shondells
  4. I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
  5. Hey Jude – The Beatles
  6. Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
  7. La-La Means I Love You – The Delfonics
  8. Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones
  9. Nobody but Me – The Human Beinz
  10. Magic Carpet Ride – Steppenwolf

1968 Music Hits by Style

Soul, Motown, R&B, and Funk

Soul and R&B were central to 1968 music. Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay became one of the year’s defining songs, while Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through the Grapevine turned suspicion and heartbreak into a Motown landmark. The Delfonics’ La-La Means I Love You, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, and Aretha Franklin’s Chain of Fools and Think gave the year major vocal power.

Funk and danceable soul were also getting stronger. Sly & The Family Stone’s Dance to the Music, Archie Bell & The Drells’ Tighten Up, Johnnie Taylor’s Who’s Making Love, Sam & Dave’s I Thank You, and Stevie Wonder’s For Once in My Life helped push rhythm and soul deeper into the mainstream. The groove was not politely waiting its turn.

  • (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
  • Dance to the Music – Sly & The Family Stone
  • I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
  • La-La Means I Love You – The Delfonics
  • Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
  • Who’s Making Love – Johnnie Taylor
  • Tighten Up – Archie Bell & The Drells
  • I Thank You – Sam & Dave
  • Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
  • Think – Aretha Franklin
  • For Once in My Life – Stevie Wonder
  • You Keep Me Hangin’ On – Vanilla Fudge

Classic Rock, Blues Rock, and Guitar-Driven Hits

Rock in 1968 was getting heavier, louder, and more adventurous. The Beatles’ Hey Jude and Lady Madonna, The Rolling Stones’ Jumpin’ Jack Flash and Street Fighting Man, The Doors’ Hello, I Love You and Love Me Two Times, and The Who’s Magic Bus helped keep major rock acts at the center of pop culture.

Blues rock and early hard rock also had a huge year. Cream’s White Room and Sunshine of Your Love, The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s All Along the Watchtower, Foxy Lady, and Crosstown Traffic, Steppenwolf’s Born to Be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride, and Deep Purple’s Hush all pointed toward the bigger, heavier rock sounds of the 1970s. The amps were clearly doing push-ups.

  • Hey Jude – The Beatles
  • Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
  • Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones
  • Magic Carpet Ride – Steppenwolf
  • All Along the Watchtower – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  • Magic Bus – The Who
  • Love Me Two Times – The Doors
  • Hello, I Love You – The Doors
  • White Room – Cream
  • Suzie Q – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Lady Madonna – The Beatles
  • Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
  • Piece of My Heart – Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin
  • Street Fighting Man – The Rolling Stones
  • Foxy Lady – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  • Kentucky Woman – Deep Purple
  • Hush – Deep Purple
  • On the Road Again – Canned Heat
  • Down on Me – Big Brother & The Holding Company
  • Summertime Blues – Blue Cheer
  • Ride My See-Saw – The Moody Blues
  • With a Little Help from My Friends – Joe Cocker

Psychedelic Rock, Counterculture, and Late-’60s Experimentation

1968 had a strong psychedelic streak. Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man, The Lemon Pipers’ Green Tambourine, The Status Quo’s Pictures of Matchstick Men, and The Amboy Dukes’ Journey to the Center of the Mind helped define the year’s stranger, swirling side.

The counterculture influence also came through in songs by The Band, The Moody Blues, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Turtles, Small Faces, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Fire, Itchycoo Park, The Weight, and Monterey all carried a sense that pop music was expanding into new colors, new attitudes, and sometimes very dramatic hats.

  • Journey to the Center of the Mind – The Amboy Dukes
  • Fire – The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
  • Elenore – The Turtles
  • Itchycoo Park – Small Faces
  • She’s a Rainbow – The Rolling Stones
  • Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon) – The Moody Blues
  • Crosstown Traffic – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  • The Weight – The Band
  • I Put a Spell on You – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
  • Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
  • Pictures of Matchstick Men – Status Quo
  • Monterey – Eric Burdon & The Animals

Pop, AM Radio, and Mainstream Favorites

Mainstream pop in 1968 was broad, bright, and full of variety. Tommy James & The Shondells’ Mony Mony, The Human Beinz’s Nobody but Me, The Rascals’ A Beautiful Morning and People Got to Be Free, Tom Jones’ Delilah, and The Vogues’ Turn Around, Look at Me gave AM radio plenty of sing-along energy.

This was also a big year for elegant pop and easy-listening crossovers. Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66’s The Look of Love, Herb Alpert’s This Guy’s in Love with You, Dionne Warwick’s Do You Know the Way to San Jose, Mary Hopkin’s Those Were the Days, and Richard Harris’ MacArthur Park showed how theatrical and polished mainstream pop could be. Some people mocked MacArthur Park; others defended it. Either way, that cake was not coming back.

  • Mony Mony – Tommy James & The Shondells
  • Nobody but Me – The Human Beinz
  • The Look of Love – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66
  • A Beautiful Morning – The Rascals
  • Delilah – Tom Jones
  • The Impossible Dream – Roger Williams
  • Classical Gas – Mason Williams
  • Girl Watcher – The O’Kaysions
  • Turn Around, Look at Me – The Vogues
  • Spooky – Classics IV
  • Bend Me, Shape Me – The American Breed
  • Red Red Wine – Neil Diamond
  • Honey – Bobby Goldsboro
  • Abraham, Martin and John – Dion
  • This Guy’s in Love with You – Herb Alpert
  • Those Were the Days – Mary Hopkin
  • Do You Know the Way to San Jose – Dionne Warwick
  • MacArthur Park – Richard Harris

Country, Folk, Bluegrass, and Americana Crossovers

Country and folk-flavored songs had a strong place in 1968. Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, Tammy Wynette’s D-I-V-O-R-C-E, Glen Campbell’s Dreams of the Everyday Housewife, Jerry Lee Lewis’ What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me), and Dion’s Abraham, Martin and John gave the year a strong storytelling side.

Folk-pop and Americana also came through through Judy Collins, Simon & Garfunkel, Flatt & Scruggs, The Band, Donovan, and The First Edition. 1968 could be electric and psychedelic, but it also had room for banjos, ballads, and reflective acoustic songs.

  • Different Drum – Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt
  • Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
  • Both Sides Now – Judy Collins
  • The Unicorn – The Irish Rovers
  • D-I-V-O-R-C-E – Tammy Wynette
  • Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel
  • Dreams of the Everyday Housewife – Glen Campbell
  • Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Flatt & Scruggs
  • What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me) – Jerry Lee Lewis
  • Abraham, Martin and John – Dion
  • Scarborough Fair/Canticle – Simon & Garfunkel
  • Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) – The First Edition

Movie, TV, Instrumental, and Pop Culture Songs

1968 had several memorable songs tied to movies, television, instrumentals, and pop culture. Hugo Montenegro’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly turned a Western film theme into a pop hit, while The Soul Survivors’ Mission: Impossible brought spy-theme cool into the charts. Mason Williams’ Classical Gas proved that a sharp instrumental could still cut through a vocal-heavy radio world.

José Feliciano had two very different pop-culture moments with Light My Fire and The Star-Spangled Banner. Elvis Presley’s A Little Less Conversation also came from his late-’60s film period before later becoming famous all over again. 1968 had soundtrack energy, TV-theme energy, and more than a little “wait, this became a hit?” energy.

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Hugo Montenegro
  • Classical Gas – Mason Williams
  • Light My Fire – José Feliciano
  • A Little Less Conversation – Elvis Presley
  • Mission: Impossible – The Soul Survivors
  • The Star-Spangled Banner – José Feliciano
  • MacArthur Park – Richard Harris

Classic Pop Veterans and Legacy Artists

1968 had plenty of established stars still shaping the charts. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Cream, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Monkees, The Beach Boys, Bee Gees, and The Animals all had songs in the year’s larger mix. Some were reaching creative peaks, while others were transitioning into new phases.

The late ’60s had become crowded with overlapping musical generations. Earlier rock and pop stars were still active, newer psychedelic and hard-rock acts were pushing forward, and soul giants were making some of their strongest work. The stage was full, and nobody seemed ready to leave.

  • Hey Jude – The Beatles
  • Lady Madonna – The Beatles
  • Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones
  • Street Fighting Man – The Rolling Stones
  • Love Me Two Times – The Doors
  • Hello, I Love You – The Doors
  • Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
  • Think – Aretha Franklin
  • Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
  • A Little Less Conversation – Elvis Presley
  • Valleri – The Monkees
  • Friends – The Beach Boys
  • Words – Bee Gees

Bubblegum, Novelty, and “Only in 1968” Songs

1968 had a playful side, too. The Lemon Pipers’ Green Tambourine, Ohio Express’ Yummy Yummy Yummy, 1910 Fruitgum Company’s Simon Says, and John Fred & His Playboy Band’s Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) all brought bubblegum and novelty energy into the year. These songs were catchy, silly, and extremely difficult to evict from the brain.

The Irish Rovers’ The Unicorn, The Balloon Farm’s A Question of Temperature, and Richard Harris’ MacArthur Park gave 1968 even more oddball personality. The serious songs mattered, but the strange ones made the year more fun to argue about.

  • The Unicorn – The Irish Rovers
  • Green Tambourine – The Lemon Pipers
  • Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) – John Fred & His Playboy Band
  • A Question of Temperature – The Balloon Farm
  • Yummy Yummy Yummy – Ohio Express
  • Simon Says – 1910 Fruitgum Company
  • MacArthur Park – Richard Harris

1968 Top 100 Music Hits Chart

  1. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
  2. Dance to the Music – Sly & The Family Stone
  3. Mony Mony – Tommy James & The Shondells
  4. I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
  5. Hey Jude – The Beatles
  6. Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
  7. La-La Means I Love You – The Delfonics
  8. Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Rolling Stones
  9. Nobody but Me – The Human Beinz
  10. Magic Carpet Ride – Steppenwolf
  11. Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
  12. All Along the Watchtower – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  13. Magic Bus – The Who
  14. Love Me Two Times – The Doors
  15. Who’s Making Love – Johnnie Taylor
  16. Hello, I Love You – The Doors
  17. The Look of Love – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66
  18. A Beautiful Morning – The Rascals
  19. Delilah – Tom Jones
  20. White Room – Cream
  21. Suzie Q – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  22. Different Drum – Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt
  23. Lady Madonna – The Beatles
  24. Young Girl – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
  25. Tighten Up – Archie Bell & The Drells
  26. The Impossible Dream – Roger Williams
  27. Classical Gas – Mason Williams
  28. Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
  29. Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
  30. Both Sides Now – Judy Collins
  31. Girl Watcher – The O’Kaysions
  32. Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) – Manfred Mann
  33. Midnight Confessions – The Grass Roots
  34. Fire – The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
  35. The Unicorn – The Irish Rovers
  36. I Thank You – Sam & Dave
  37. Piece of My Heart – Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin
  38. Turn Around, Look at Me – The Vogues
  39. Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
  40. D-I-V-O-R-C-E – Tammy Wynette
  41. Cry Like a Baby – The Box Tops
  42. Spooky – Classics IV
  43. Love Is All Around – The Troggs
  44. Think – Aretha Franklin
  45. Street Fighting Man – The Rolling Stones
  46. Journey to the Center of the Mind – The Amboy Dukes
  47. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Hugo Montenegro
  48. Elenore – The Turtles
  49. Foxy Lady – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  50. Sunday Mornin’ – Spanky and Our Gang
  51. Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel
  52. People Got to Be Free – The Rascals
  53. Kentucky Woman – Deep Purple
  54. Itchycoo Park – Small Faces
  55. Hush – Deep Purple
  56. On the Road Again – Canned Heat
  57. Down on Me – Big Brother & The Holding Company
  58. Little Green Apples – O.C. Smith
  59. Valleri – The Monkees
  60. Friends – The Beach Boys
  61. She’s a Rainbow – The Rolling Stones
  62. Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon) – The Moody Blues
  63. Crosstown Traffic – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  64. Bend Me, Shape Me – The American Breed
  65. The Weight – The Band
  66. Dreams of the Everyday Housewife – Glen Campbell
  67. I Put a Spell on You – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  68. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
  69. Red Red Wine – Neil Diamond
  70. Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Flatt & Scruggs
  71. Honey – Bobby Goldsboro
  72. Summertime Blues – Blue Cheer
  73. What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me) – Jerry Lee Lewis
  74. Abraham, Martin and John – Dion
  75. This Guy’s in Love with You – Herb Alpert
  76. Those Were the Days – Mary Hopkin
  77. Ride My See-Saw – The Moody Blues
  78. Light My Fire – José Feliciano
  79. For Once in My Life – Stevie Wonder
  80. Scarborough Fair/Canticle – Simon & Garfunkel
  81. A Question of Temperature – The Balloon Farm
  82. Do You Know the Way to San Jose – Dionne Warwick
  83. With a Little Help from My Friends – Joe Cocker
  84. Green Tambourine – The Lemon Pipers
  85. A Little Less Conversation – Elvis Presley
  86. Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) – John Fred & His Playboy Band
  87. Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) – The First Edition
  88. Mission: Impossible – The Soul Survivors
  89. You Keep Me Hangin’ On – Vanilla Fudge
  90. The Star-Spangled Banner – José Feliciano
  91. Pictures of Matchstick Men – Status Quo
  92. Words – Bee Gees
  93. Monterey – Eric Burdon & The Animals
  94. Lady Willpower – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
  95. Bottle of Wine – The Fireballs
  96. Yummy Yummy Yummy – Ohio Express
  97. Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
  98. Simon Says – 1910 Fruitgum Company
  99. Stormy – Classics IV
  100. MacArthur Park – Richard Harris