1967

 I was startled to learn the other night that the top-selling single in the US in 1967 – you know, 1967, Summer of Love, psychedelia, Haight Ashbury, flowers in your hair – was the theme song of the film To Sir With Love, performed by the can belto artist still known as Lulu. What's worse, it beat one of the greatest singles ever – The Box Tops' 'The Letter' – into second place. Also left trailing in Lulu's wake were 'Ode to Billie Joe', 'I'm a Believer', 'Light My Fire', 'Happy Together' and 'Groovin'', while another of the greatest singles ever made – Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' – languishes at number 13, just ahead of Stevie Wonder ('I Was Made to Love Her'), Arthur Conley ('Sweet Soul Music') and Sam & Dave's 'Soul Man'. Not much evidence of the spirit of '67 there, though 'All You Need Is Love' just makes the top 30.
  Things were little better in the UK, with the two top-selling singles both recorded by the artist formerly known as Gerry Dorsey – Engelbert Humperdinck, whose 'Release Me' and 'The Last Waltz' were huge hits. However, over here, the great anthem of the Summer of Love, Scott Mackenzie's 'San Francisco', was beaten only by the all-conquering Humperdinck, and 'Whiter Shade of Pale' and 'All You Need Is Love' are also in the top 10. 'Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever', The Move's 'Flowers in the Rain' and Traffic's 'Hole In My Shoe' all made the top 30. So, the lesson is clear – the Summer of Love never happened in the States, it happened over here. Or, alternatively, there's not a lot we can usefully learn from perusing the singles charts of yesteryear – unless it is that much of what sold best (the stuff I haven't mentioned) was forgettable dross. 'Twas ever thus, and not only in the music field.