Radio Hits in November 1967: Take a Look
by Best Classic Bands Staff
What can we say? 1967 was a great year for Top 40 radio and this particular week on New York’s AM powerhouse WABC was no exception.
Soul, pop, Americans, Brits, groups, solo acts, families… they were all there in the Top 10 melting pot, a few months after the Summer of Love.
Bubbling under and leaping from #63 to #24 on this week’s survey were the Bee Gees with what would become their biggest U.S. hit up to that point, “Massachusetts.”
Moving up from #28 to #21 was The Who with “I Can See For Miles.” The song would ultimately peak nationally at #9 and become their only Top 10 U.S. single.
Debuting at #14 was Gladys Knight & the Pips‘ version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” which would eventually reach #2.
At #9 was singer Brenton Wood who flirted at chart success with “Gimme Little Sign.” It was the highest charting hit of his brief career, peaking at #9 nationally.
The Monkees enjoyed their third (and final) #1 chart hit with the great “Daydream Believer” (at #7 this week), written by singer-songwriter John Stewart and featuring a beautiful lead vocal from Davy Jones.
At #5 was one of two multi-racial groups on this week’s chart: the Soul Survivors with “Expressway to Your Heart,” the first hit single written by the Philadelphia-based team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who would go on to write and/or produce dozens of hits for the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and others. (The other multiracial act this week was Jay and the Techniques.)
Lulu‘s title song from the feature film “To Sir With Love,” was at #4, having been #1 a few weeks earlier.
Related: The #1 U.S. singles of 1967
Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man” was at #3, and would ultimately fall just short of hitting the top of the singles chart, peaking at #2. The song was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and was inspired by the civil rights movement.
Another song that just missed reaching #1 was The Cowsills’ amazing “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” (aka “The Flower Girl”) which was co-written by Artie Kornfeld, who later co-produced the Woodstock festival. The Cowsills, no doubt, inspired the Partridge Family, as you can see from this video.
Related: What were the top radio hits of 1967?
At the top of the chart? None other than Strawberry Alarm Clock’s psychedelic “Incense and Peppermints,” the group’s only Top 20 single. In one of those you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up stories, the song was actually the B-side of a different single by the group, then known as Thee Sixpence. Certain Top 40 stations discovered it and seven months later it hit #1.
Related: Our feature story on “Incense and Peppermints”
24. “Massachusetts” – The Bee Gees (Atco)
21. “I Can See For Miles” – The Who (Decca)
14. “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” – Gladys Knight & the Pips (Soul)
10. “Keep The Ball Rolling” – Jay & the Techniques (Smash)
9. “Gimme Little Sign” – Brenton Wood (Double Shot)
8. “Please Love Me Forever” – Bobby Vinton (Epic)
7. “Daydream Believer” – The Monkees (Colgems)
6. “It Must Be Him” – Vikki Carr (Liberty)
5. “Expressway to Your Heart” – The Soul Survivors (Crimson)
4. “To Sir With Love” – Lulu (Epic)
3. “Soul Man” – Sam & Dave (Stax)
2. “The Rain, The Park and Other Things” – The Cowsills (MGM)
1. “Incense and Peppermints” – Strawberry Alarm Clock (Uni)
Chart courtesy of WABC Musicradio 77
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationI was playing at Capt Tony’s saloon in key West and incense was played many times on the juke box
my parents…aunts…even my great-aunt played these 45’s on the family stereo..or hi-fi as they called it over and over again! according to my aunt 1967 was a great year for music…and fashion. everyone (including my dad and mom) wore rock love beads..crushed velvet and nehru jackets! better music than the crap i hear today..better clothes (or as my uncle called them “threads”)
Oogum Boogum & Gimme Little Sign are pop soul masterpieces. Brenton Wood is still kicking.
There are so many stories about a classic hit originally being the B-side of a 45 but having the A side picked up by DJs/listeners that I bet it would make a great BCB “list” article.