The Family That Plays Together, the second of four albums released by the original Spirit lineup, was marketed by Ode Records in 1968. Unlike its predecessor, Spirit, their self-titled and surreal debut, The Family That Plays Together evinces more greatly the band's ability for playing beyond the genre of psychedelic rock than within it. Tracks "It Shall Be" and "Silky Sam" demonstrate the ease with which the ensemble can incorporate jazz into their idiosyncratic form of rock, while "Jewish" and "Aren't You Glad" evidenced the band's competence in exploiting, to their advantage, both world music and jam rock respectively. "Poor Richard," "Jewish," and "All the Same" feature glorious double track lead breaks from guitarist California. The inspiration behind entitling The Family was derived from the stepson-stepfather relationship guitarist Randy California and percussionist Ed Cassidy shared. 

Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time all of the band's 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America were consecutive, three of which reached Number One.

The official commentary included in the CD set Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1965-1975 states that vocalist Danny Hutton's then-girlfriend June Fairchild suggested the name after reading a magazine article about indigenous Australians, in which it was explained that on cold nights they would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground whilst embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On colder nights they would sleep with two dogs and if the night was freezing, it was a "three dog night".

The band started in 1968 with three lead vocalists, Danny Hutton (who got his start with Hanna-Barbera Records in 1965), Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells (who landed a recording contract with Dunhill Records). They had made some early recordings in 1967 with Brian Wilson and initially went by the name of Redwood. Shortly after abandoning the Redwood moniker, the vocalists hired a group of backing musicians – Michael Allsup on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie from the Cory Wells Blues Band on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards–and soon became one of the most successful bands in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Three Dog Night earned 13 gold albums and recorded 21 Billboard Top 40 hits, seven of which went gold. Their first gold record was "One" (US #5), which had been written and recorded by Harry Nilsson. The group had three US #1 songs,: "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (Cory Wells on lead), which was also their only Top 10 hit in the UK; "Joy to the World" (Chuck Negron on lead); and "Black and White" (Danny Hutton on lead). Coincidentally, each one featured a different lead singer. Dunhill Records claimed 40 million record albums were sold by the band during this time period.

Mercy is an American pop group from Florida. Mercy released a hit single "Love (Can Make You Happy)," which soared to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and also peaked at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Love (Can Make You Happy)" was written by Jack Sigler, Jr., and this single, which was released in April 1969, reached over one million sales on July 15, and was awarded a gold record by the R.I.A.A., but was not given the actual award until October 2009.

"Love (Can Make You Happy)" was originally recorded on the small Tampa, Florida based Sundi record label, at which time it was also featured in the movie, Fireball Jungle. The B-side of the Sundi single was entitled "Fireball".

During the single's fast fame, an album was also released (album cover showing three girls) by a group calling themselves "The Mercy" that included the Sundi recording and several other songs that were not recorded by any of the original Mercy members. Litigation quickly ensued and this album was banned from distribution.

The song was again (re-recorded) on the Warner Brothers label (with the addition of new band members). The Warner Brothers album entitled: Love (Can Make You Happy) peaked at #38 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Mercy had one other Billboard Hot 100 hit, the song "Forever", which reached #79 in June 1969.Sigler earned BMI's award recognizing over two million airplays.  The band is still touring, with Sigler (the original lead vocalist and founder of the group). Mercy released their latest EP on iTunes in 2009

One" is a song written by Harry Nilsson and made famous by Three Dog Night whose cover in 1969 reached number 5 on the Billboard chart. The song is known for its opening line "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do." It appeared initially on Aerial Ballet, Nilsson's third album.

Nilsson wrote the song after calling someone and getting a busy signal. He stayed on the line listening to the "beep, beep, beep, beep..." tone, writing the song. The busy signal became the opening notes of the song.

In 1969, the rock band Three Dog Night covered the song on their debut album Three Dog Night, with Chuck Negron on lead vocal. The song was released as a single and became a hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, the song was covered by Australian singer Johnny Farnham, reaching number 4 on the Australian charts. The song was also included in the soundtrack of House M.D. 

Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time all of the band's 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America were consecutive, three of which reached Number One.

The band started in 1968 with three lead vocalists, Danny Hutton (who got his start with Hanna-Barbera Records in 1965), Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells (who landed a recording contract with Dunhill Records). They had made some early recordings in 1967 with Brian Wilson and initially went by the name of Redwood. Shortly after abandoning the Redwood moniker, the vocalists hired a group of backing musicians – Michael Allsup on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie from the Cory Wells Blues Band on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards–and soon became one of the most successful bands in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Three Dog Night earned 13 gold albums and recorded 21 Billboard Top 40 hits, seven of which went gold. Their first gold record was "One" (US #5), which had been written and recorded by Harry Nilsson. The group had three US #1 songs,: "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (Cory Wells on lead), which was also their only Top 10 hit in the UK; "Joy to the World" (Chuck Negron on lead); and "Black and White" (Danny Hutton on lead). Coincidentally, each one featured a different lead singer. Dunhill Records claimed 40 million record albums were sold by the band during this time period.

"Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of an 18th century hymn. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching US #4 and UK #2 on the pop charts. It has since become a gospel music standard.

Edwin Hawkins’ funk style arrangement of the hymn "Oh, Happy Day" has a long pedigree: It began as a hymn written in the mid-18th century ("O happy day, that fixed my choice") by English clergyman Philip Doddridge (based on Acts 8:35) set to an earlier melody (1704) by J. A. Freylinghausen. By the mid-19th century it had been given a new melody by Edward F. Rimbault, who also added a chorus, and was commonly used for baptismal or confirmation ceremonies in the UK and USA. The 20th century saw its adaptation from 3/4 to 4/4 time and this new arrangement by Hawkins, which contains only the repeated Rimbault refrain (all of the original verses being omitted).

The Edwin Hawkins Singers began as The Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. and was founded in 1967 by Hawkins and Betty Watson. Members were aged 17–25. As was common in gospel circles they produced and distributed their own LP: Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord, recorded live in church. "Oh, Happy Day", featuring Dorothy Morrison as lead vocalist, was picked up by a local DJ, KSAN's Bob Mcclay, and subsequently released commercially. Aretha Franklin had already brought strong gospel stylings to the pop charts with songs such as "Think" (1968), but a hymn had never “crossed over” before. "Oh Happy Day" soared into the US Top 5, winning a Grammy and massive sales worldwide.

Hawkins' arrangement quickly became a “standard” and has been recorded by hundreds of artists. It was included on the RIAA Songs of the Century list and won Hawkins a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1970 (performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers). He is still active and is now an elder statesman for the Contemporary Gospel style which "Oh Happy Day" helped found.

Hair" is the title song to the 1968 musical Hair, as well as the 1979 film version of the musical.

The song was a major hit single for The Cowsills in 1969 and their most successful single. Their version spent two weeks at #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached #1 on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart.

The song was also covered in Australia in 1969 and released as a single by Doug Parkinson in Focus (b-side with "Without You") and was a top ten hit for him there that year.

A version by Dutch rock band Zen reached the top of the Dutch Top 40 in January 1969

Good Morning Starshine" is a pop song from the musical Hair. It was a #3 hit in the United States in June 1969 for the singer Oliver.

"Good Morning Starshine" is a song from the second act of the 1967 musical, Hair. The song is performed by the character of Sheila, portrayed by Lynn Kellogg in the original Broadway production. In the 1979 film version of the musical, Sheila is portrayed by actress Beverly D'Angelo.

• #1 on the Canadian RPM chart, June 30, 1969 (Oliver recording)
• #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (Oliver recording)
• #3 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart (Oliver recording)

William Oliver Swofford (February 22, 1945 – February 12, 2000), known professionally as Oliver, was an American pop singer

His clean-cut good looks and soaring baritone voice were the perfect vehicle for the uptempo single entitled "Good Morning Starshine" from the pop/rock musical "Hair," which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1969, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. a month later Later that fall, a softer, ballad single entitled "Jean" (the theme from the Oscar-winning film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) bested his previous effort by one, reaching #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. Written by longtime beatnik poet Rod McKuen, "Jean" also sold over one million copies, garnering Oliver his second gold disc in as many months. Performing both hits on a number of TV variety shows and specials in the late 1960s, including the Ed Sullivan Show, helped both songs.

Motherlode was a Canadian pop rock group formed in 1969 in London. The group scored some success in the US with their single, "When I Die", which hit #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969.

The act remain as one-hit wonders.

William Smith and Steve Kennedy had been playing together with Eric Mercury and Dianne Brooks in a Toronto band called the Soul Searchers that Mercury and Brooks fronted as lead vocalists. After the Soul Searchers broke up, first Kennedy and then Smith joined a group called Grant Smith and the Power which also featured David Clayton Thomas.

They formed Motherlode in 1969 and relocated to London, Ontario, where they struggled and stayed with friends. They finally got a break following their debut at the Image Club when Mort Ross signed them to Revolver Records that same year.

Their first single, "When I Die" that was produced by Doug Riley and Terry Brown did not make any headway on the radio. A reciprocal deal in the US with Buddah Records made the song a hit reaching Number 18 on the charts. The song sold more than 500,000 copies and it eventually climbed to Number 5 in the Canadian charts. Brooks contributed a song "Memories of A Broken Promise" as well as some background vocals to Motherlode's When I Die album. Motherlode also contributed a song and instrumental backing on Brooks album, Another Kind Of Soul that was released on Revolver Records.

The haunting love theme from my favorite TV show of all time Dark Shadows.

Charles Randolph Grean (October 1, 1913 – December 20, 2003) was an American producer and composer.

Grean's first work was as a copyist in several big bands, including Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, and Charlie Spivak. He worked at RCA Victor Records under Steve Sholes, producing country and Western recordings by such artists as Eddy Arnold, Pee Wee King, the Sons of the Pioneers, Texas Jim Robertson and Elton Britt.

He was the arranger for the Nat King Cole recording of "The Christmas Song." In 1950, he wrote "The Thing," a popular song which reached number one on the charts in a version sung by Phil Harris. The same year he became the head of A&R at RCA Victor Records, passing over his previous superior, Sholes.

In the late 60s, much of his success came from working with Leonard Nimoy, for whom he produced and wrote a great portion of Nimoy's music. He also produced Betty Johnson's hits "I Dreamed" and "The Little Blue Man." He also produced the Mills Brothers' late '60s album Fortuosity, which yielded the hit "Cab Driver." In 1969 he reached the charts as a performer, with his group, the Charles Randolph Grean Sounde, doing a version of Robert Cobert's "Quentin's Theme" from Dark Shadows. (Billboard #13 pop, #3 easy listening.)

He died from natural causes at age 90

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (commonly called "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In") is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni (lyrics), and Galt MacDermot (music), released as a single by The 5th Dimension. The song peaked at number one for six weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of 1969. The single became the first medley to top the American pop charts and was eventually certified platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA.   The song listed at #57 on Billboard's "Greatest Songs of All Time."

This song was one of the most popular songs of 1969, worldwide, and in the United States it reached the number one position on both the Billboard Hot 100 (for six weeks in April and May) and the Billboard magazine Adult Contemporaries Chart. It also reached the top of the sales charts in Canada, and elsewhere.

The recording won both the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group for the Grammy Awards of 1970, after being published on the album The Age of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension, and also being released as a seven-inch vinyl single record.    "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" was ranked thirty-third on the 2004 AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

You Showed Me" is a song written by Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds in 1964. It was recorded by The Turtles and released as a single in 1969, becoming the group's last big hit in the U.S. The song has also been covered by a number of other bands and artists over the years, including The Lightning Seeds, Salt-n-Pepa, and Lutricia McNeal. Like many of the songs that Gene Clark had a hand in writing during the 1960s, "You Showed Me" contains a mix of major and minor chords, arranged in unexpected progressions. Lyrically, the song recounts the tale of a lover who is being tutored in the ways of love by a more experienced partner.

The song was composed by McGuinn and Clark in early 1964 at a time when the pair were performing as a duo at The Troubadour and other folk clubs in and around Los Angeles. McGuinn and Clark soon formed a trio with David Crosby and named themselves The Jet Set. The trio began rehearsing at World Pacific Studios under the guidance of their manager Jim Dickson, with Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman joining the group soon afterward. Dickson recorded many of The Jet Set's rehearsal sessions at World Pacific and it was during this time that demos of "You Showed Me" were recorded by the band. The song was soon abandoned by the group, who had now changed their name to The Byrds, and was not included on their debut album for Columbia Records, Mr. Tambourine Man. However, recordings of "You Showed Me" by the band, dating from 1964, were eventually released on the archival albums Preflyte and In the Beginning.

In 1968 the song was recorded by The Turtles as part of their album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands and was also released as a single in 1969, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.^["You Showed Me" had been introduced to The Turtles by their producer and former bass player, Chip Douglas, who had first become acquainted with the song after hearing Clark, McGuinn and Crosby perform it at The Troubadour in 1964. Douglas had also performed the song with Clark during 1966, while he was a member of The Gene Clark Group.

Although the song had originally been an uptempo number, Douglas first demonstrated it for The Turtles' vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman on a harmonium with a broken bellows, requiring him to play the song slowly. The slower tempo impressed Kaylan and Volman and consequently, The Turtles' recording of the song uses this slower arrangement.

If I Can Dream" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley, written by Walter Earl Brown and notable for its direct quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was recorded by Presley in June 1968, two months after King's assassination. The recording was first released to the public as the finale of Presley's '68 Comeback Special.    Although the song is not technically gospel music, Presley performed the song with the intensity and intonations of southern gospel. It has since appeared on various Presley gospel and/or inspirational compilations.

Brown was asked to write a song to replace "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as the grand finale on NBC's "Elvis" (June 20–23, 1968). He wrote "If I Can Dream", and when Presley heard it he proclaimed "I'm never going to sing another song I don't believe in. I'm never going to make another picture I don't believe in."   Steve Binder, who produced Presley’s 1968 television comeback special, has often recalled the origin of Presley’s hit “If I Can Dream.” Presley and Binder were looking for a way to end the show. The two had discussed Elvis’ dismay over the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. Binder was struck by the conversation and ordered W. Earl Brown, a songwriter working on the show, to come up with a song incorporating Presley’s concern to use as the finale to the show. So even though Presley did not write the song, his viewpoint was expressed in its composition. This enabled him to run rough shod over some of the song’s hokier lyrics when he delivered it.   When Colonel Tom Parker heard the song demonstrated by Earl Brown, he said: "This ain't Elvis' kind of song." Elvis was also there, unbeknownst to him, and he said: "I'd like to try it, man." Earl Brown said when Elvis recorded the song, he saw the three back up singers have tears rolling down their cheeks. One of them whispered to him: "Elvis has never sung with so much emotion before He means every word

Another legacy of the show is the popularity of the Hawaii Five-O theme music. The tune was composed by Morton Stevens, who also composed numerous episode scores. The theme was recorded by The Ventures, whose version reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, and is particularly popular with college and high school marching bands, especially at the University of Hawaii where it has become the unofficial fight song. The tune has also been heard at Robertson Stadium after Houston Dynamo goals scored by Brian Ching, a native of Hawaii. Because of the tempo of the music, the theme gained popularity in the UK with followers of Northern soul and was popular on dance floors in the 1970s.

Although the theme is most widely known as an instrumental, it has been released with at least two different sets of lyrics. The first, by Don Ho, starts with the familiar tempo, then settles into a ballad style.The second, by Sammy Davis, Jr., titled "You Can Count on Me (Theme from Hawaii Five-O)", maintains the driving style of the original instrumental throughout.

Australian new wave band Radio Birdman also quoted Stevens' theme at length in the closing section of their 1977 single "Aloha, Steve & Danno", a tongue-in-cheek punk 'tribute' to the series.

In the Australian movie The Dish, the theme was mistaken for the national anthem of the US by a local band upon the visit of the US Ambassador to Parkes, NSW, to commemorate the 1969 moon landing.

Changing tastes in the late 1960s rendered the group unfashionable, but they still continued to have modest hits through the rest of the decade, including "Ups And Downs," "I Had A Dream," "Too Much Talk," "Don't Take it So Hard," "Cinderella Sunshine," "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon," and "Let Me." On January 6, 1968, just four months after the cancellation of Where The Action Is, Revere and Lindsay returned to the air as hosts of a new Dick Clark-produced show in which the Raiders made several appearances, Happening '68 (later shortened to Happening). This weekly series was joined from July to September that year by a Clark-produced daily series It's Happening, also hosted by Revere and Lindsay. In August 1968, bassist Coe left the group again and was replaced by former Action heartthrob Keith Allison. According to author Derek Taylor, the Raiders were seen as "irrelevances. . . . Nervous citizens felt reassured that some good safe things never changed".

Mark Lindsay took more control of the band during this time. He produced all records beginning with Too Much Talk in 1968, and the psychedelic album Something Happening. Lindsay's vision was represented on songs such as "Let Me" (a 1969 gold single), and the albums Hard 'N' Heavy (with marshmallow) and Alias Pink Puzz. (According to allmusic.com, Pink Puzz was the identity under which the Raiders first tried to get the album played on FM radio, a gambit that failed though the band kept the joke name for the album title.) The success of "Let Me" allowed Paul Revere and the Raiders to tour Europe with the Beach Boys in the spring of 1969 (they also recorded two songs for the long running German music program Beat-Club at this time). Later that autumn, Happening ended its run.

Also in 1969, the band performed a specially written song, and appeared on camera, in a television commercial for Pontiac's GTO sports ca

Everyday People" is a 1968 song by Sly and the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It held that position, on the Hot 100, for four weeks from February 15, 1969, until March 14, 1969, and is remembered as a popular song of the 1960s. As with most of Sly & the Family Stone's songs, Sly Stone was credited as the sole songwriter.

The song is one of Sly Stone's pleas for peace and equality between differing races and social groups, a major theme and focus for the band. The Family Stone featured Caucasians Greg Errico and Jerry Martini in its lineup, as well as females Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson; making it the first major integrated band in rock history. Sly & the Family Stone's message was about peace and equality through music, and this song reflects the same.   Unlike the band's more typically funky and psychedelic records, "Everyday People" is a mid-tempo number with a more mainstream pop feel. Sly, singing the main verses for the song, explains that he is "no better / and neither are you / we are the same / whatever we do."

Sly's sister Rose Stone sings bridging sections that mock the futility of people hating each other for being tall, short, fat, skinny, white, black, or anything else. The bridges of the song contain the line "different strokes for different folks," which became a popular catchphrase in 1969 (and inspired the name of the later television series, Diff'rent Strokes).  For the chorus, all of the singing members of the band (Sly, Rosie, Larry Graham, and Sly's brother Freddie Stone) proclaim that "I am everyday people," meaning that each of them (and each listener as well) should consider himself or herself as parts of one whole, not of smaller, specialized factions.  Bassist Larry Graham contends that the track featured the first instance of the "slap bass" technique, which would become a staple of funk and other genres. The technique involves striking a string with the thumb of the right hand (or left hand, for a left-handed player) so that the string collides with the frets, producing a metallic "clunk" at the beginning of the note. Later slap bass songs – for example, Graham's performance on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" – expanded on the technique, incorporating a complementary "pull" or "pop" component.

Don't Let Me Down" is a song by The Beatles (with Billy Preston), recorded in 1969 during the Get Back (Let It Be) sessions.

An anguished love song John Lennon wrote to Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney interpreted it as a "genuine plea", with Lennon saying to Ono, "I'm really stepping out of line on this one. I'm really just letting my vulnerability be seen, so you must not let me down." Lennon's vocals work their way into screams, presaging the primal scream stylings of the following year's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album.

The song is in the key of E and is in 4/4 time during the verse, chorus and bridge, but changes to 5/4 in the pick-up to the verse.

Multiple versions of "Don't Let Me Down" were recorded during the tumultuous Get Back (Let It Be) recording sessions. The version recorded on 28 January 1969 was released as a B-side to the single "Get Back", recorded the same day. "Get Back" reached number one and "Don't Let Me Down" reached number thirty five on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The Beatles performed "Don't Let Me Down" twice during their rooftop concert of 30 January 1969, one of which was included in the Let It Be film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. When the "Get Back" project was revisited, Phil Spector dropped "Don't Let Me Down" from the Let It Be album.

The B-side version of the song was included on the Beatles' compilations Hey Jude, 1967-1970 and Past Masters Volume 2. The same version was also used on the soundtrack to the 1988 documentary, Imagine: John Lennon.

In November 2003, an edit of the two rooftop versions was included on Let It Be... Naked

In 1966, the Dells returned to Chess under the label's Cadet subsidiary working with Bobby Miller and future Earth, Wind & Fire arranger Charles Stepney. In 1967, the Dells issued the album There Is which included their first R&B chart-topper in years with the title track, which showcased the sharp baritone of Marvin Junior and the harmonies with the four other Dells. The song was also their first top 20 pop hit.

Subsequent R&B hits included "Wear It on Our Face," "Always Together," "I Can Sing a Rainbow - Love is Blue (medley)" (UK #15), and their first #1 R&B hit and first Top Ten pop hit, 1968's "Stay in My Corner," which reached #10 on the pop chart and showcased both Carter and Marvin in lead vocals. It was not until 1969, however, that the group suddenly became R&B stars with their revival of their first hit, "Oh What a Night," re-produced under a classic soul format. Marvin Junior's husky lead vocal on the new version was in stark contrast to the smooth tenor of Johnny Funches on their original recording. The song was their second #1 hit on the R&B charts and their second Top Ten pop single while becoming a signature song. The track sold over one million copies for the second time. Subsequent hits included "Open Up My Heart," "Oh What A Day," and "On the Dock of the Bay."

Goodbye" is a song written by Paul McCartney (but credited to Lennon–McCartney) and performed by Mary Hopkin. It was released on 28 March 1969, and it reached No. 2 in the UK singles chart, prevented from reaching the top position by the Beatles' single "Get Back" In the U.S., the song reached No. 13 on the singles chart. In the Netherlands the single peaked at No. 1.

The song was produced by Paul McCartney and arranged by Richard Hewson.

The song was never officially released by either the Beatles or Paul McCartney, although bootleg recordings exist of McCartney's original demo of the song, recorded for Mary Hopkin

Holly Holy" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. Released as a single in October 1969, it was quite successful as the follow-on to "Sweet Caroline", reaching number 6 on the U.S. pop singles chart by December. It became a gold record and then eventually platinum.

A work with a spiritual focus, "Holly Holy" was influenced by gospel music and was Diamond's favorite of the songs he had written to that point. It begins quietly with acoustic guitar against a bass line, with the sparse lyric stretched with elongated vowels. Gradually the arrangement builds up with a tempo shift in the bridge and a backing choir against strings lasting throughout.

"Holly Holy" was later included on Diamond's November 1969 album Touching You, Touching Me. It has been included in live versions on Diamond's Hot August Night (from 1972) and Greatest Hits: 1966–1992 (from 1992), as well as in various compilations.

 

O.C. Smith (June 21, 1932 – November 23, 2001) was an American musician. His recording of "Little Green Apples", went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968, and sold over one million records.

Born Ocie Lee Smith in Mansfield, Louisiana, Smith moved with his parents to Little Rock, Arkansas, and then moved with his mother to Los Angeles, California after his parents divorce.

After completing a psychology degree at Southern University, Smith joined the Air Force, and served throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. While in the Air Force, Smith began entering talent contests and toured with Horace Heidt. After his discharge in July 1955, Smith went into jazz music to pay the bills.

Smith gained his first break as a singer with Sy Oliver and made an appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. His success on that show led to a recording contract with Cadence Records.

In 1961, Smith was recruited by Count Basie to be his vocalist, a position he held until 1965. He also continued to record with different labels, but a hit remained elusive. By 1968, Smith's then label, Columbia Records, was ready to release him from his recording contract, when he entered the charts for the first time with "Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp", which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and also broke the Top 40 in the United States. In 1976 Kenny Rogers revived the hit as a country song.

Smith changed the first part of his name to O.C. and recorded the Bobby Russell written song "Little Green Apples," which went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won Russell the 1969 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. It received a gold record from the R.I.A.A. for sales of one million records.

He continued to record, reaching the R&B, Adult Contemporary and pop charts in his home country with the likes of "Daddy's Little Man", "Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife", "Me and You" and "Love To Burn". He also returned to the UK Singles Chart in 1977 with "Together", reaching a Top 30 position

Changing tastes in the late 1960s rendered the group unfashionable, but they still continued to have modest hits through the rest of the decade, including "Ups And Downs," "I Had A Dream," "Too Much Talk," "Don't Take it So Hard," "Cinderella Sunshine," "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon," and "Let Me." On January 6, 1968, just four months after the cancellation of Where The Action Is, Revere and Lindsay returned to the air as hosts of a new Dick Clark-produced show in which the Raiders made several appearances, Happening '68 (later shortened to Happening). This weekly series was joined from July to September that year by a Clark-produced daily series It's Happening, also hosted by Revere and Lindsay. In August 1968, bassist Coe left the group again and was replaced by former Action heartthrob Keith Allison. According to author Derek Taylor, the Raiders were seen as "irrelevances. . . . Nervous citizens felt reassured that some good safe things never changed".

Mark Lindsay took more control of the band during this time. He produced all records beginning with Too Much Talk in 1968, and the psychedelic album Something Happening. Lindsay's vision was represented on songs such as "Let Me" (a 1969 gold single), and the albums Hard 'N' Heavy (with marshmallow) and Alias Pink Puzz. (According to allmusic.com, Pink Puzz was the identity under which the Raiders first tried to get the album played on FM radio, a gambit that failed though the band kept the joke name for the album title.) The success of "Let Me" allowed Paul Revere and the Raiders to tour Europe with the Beach Boys in the spring of 1969 (they also recorded two songs for the long running German music program Beat-Club at this time). Later that autumn, Happening ended its run.

Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits, released in mid-1968, topped the U.S. album chart and became the group's best-selling album. The same year, "People Got to Be Free", a horn-punctuated plea for racial tolerance (the band was known for refusing to tour on segregated bills) in the wake of the assassinations that year of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., became their third and final U.S. #1 single, and their sixth and final Canadian #1. It was also their final U.S. Top Ten hit, although they remained a Canadian top 10 act for the next few years.

"A Ray of Hope", "Heaven", "See", and "Carry Me Back" were all modest U.S. hits for the band during late 1968 and 1969; all entered the top 40, but none higher than #24. In Canada, however, the Rascals were still major stars; all these songs went top ten, completing a run of 11 straight Canadian top ten hits for The Rascals from 1967 to 1969. December 1969's "Hold On" broke the run of top 40 US singles for the Rascals, stalling at #51, as well as the run of Canadian top tens, peaking at #22.

During their period of greatest celebrity, the band's influence on aspiring R & B-flavored white acts was without equal, especially in the northeastern U.S. Notable bands that incorporated (sometimes to the point of parody) the Rascals' full-on stage demeanor and energy as well as the intense, hyper-dramatic vocalizing, drumstick-spinning gyrations and heavy bottom-end rhythm also achieved some prominence: the Vagrants (featuring Leslie West, later of Mountain), the Rich Kids, and the epitome of over-the-top funky psychedelia, the Vanilla Fudge, all owed their styles to the Rascals' synthesis of show-biz and soul.

Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits, released in mid-1968, topped the U.S. album chart and became the group's best-selling album. The same year, "People Got to Be Free", a horn-punctuated plea for racial tolerance (the band was known for refusing to tour on segregated bills) in the wake of the assassinations that year of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., became their third and final U.S. #1 single, and their sixth and final Canadian #1. It was also their final U.S. Top Ten hit, although they remained a Canadian top 10 act for the next few years.

"A Ray of Hope", "Heaven", "See", and "Carry Me Back" were all modest U.S. hits for the band during late 1968 and 1969; all entered the top 40, but none higher than #24. In Canada, however, the Rascals were still major stars; all these songs went top ten, completing a run of 11 straight Canadian top ten hits for The Rascals from 1967 to 1969. December 1969's "Hold On" broke the run of top 40 US singles for the Rascals, stalling at #51, as well as the run of Canadian top tens, peaking at #22.

During their period of greatest celebrity, the band's influence on aspiring R & B-flavored white acts was without equal, especially in the northeastern U.S. Notable bands that incorporated (sometimes to the point of parody) the Rascals' full-on stage demeanor and energy as well as the intense, hyper-dramatic vocalizing, drumstick-spinning gyrations and heavy bottom-end rhythm also achieved some prominence: the Vagrants (featuring Leslie West, later of Mountain), the Rich Kids, and the epitome of over-the-top funky psychedelia, the Vanilla Fudge, all owed their styles to the Rascals' synthesis of show-biz and soul.

Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits, released in mid-1968, topped the U.S. album chart and became the group's best-selling album. The same year, "People Got to Be Free", a horn-punctuated plea for racial tolerance (the band was known for refusing to tour on segregated bills) in the wake of the assassinations that year of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., became their third and final U.S. #1 single, and their sixth and final Canadian #1. It was also their final U.S. Top Ten hit, although they remained a Canadian top 10 act for the next few years.

"A Ray of Hope", "Heaven", "See", and "Carry Me Back" were all modest U.S. hits for the band during late 1968 and 1969; all entered the top 40, but none higher than #24. In Canada, however, the Rascals were still major stars; all these songs went top ten, completing a run of 11 straight Canadian top ten hits for The Rascals from 1967 to 1969. December 1969's "Hold On" broke the run of top 40 US singles for the Rascals, stalling at #51, as well as the run of Canadian top tens, peaking at #22.

During their period of greatest celebrity, the band's influence on aspiring R & B-flavored white acts was without equal, especially in the northeastern U.S. Notable bands that incorporated (sometimes to the point of parody) the Rascals' full-on stage demeanor and energy as well as the intense, hyper-dramatic vocalizing, drumstick-spinning gyrations and heavy bottom-end rhythm also achieved some prominence: the Vagrants (featuring Leslie West, later of Mountain), the Rich Kids, and the epitome of over-the-top funky psychedelia, the Vanilla Fudge, all owed their styles to the Rascals' synthesis of show-biz and soul.

Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits, released in mid-1968, topped the U.S. album chart and became the group's best-selling album. The same year, "People Got to Be Free", a horn-punctuated plea for racial tolerance (the band was known for refusing to tour on segregated bills) in the wake of the assassinations that year of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., became their third and final U.S. #1 single, and their sixth and final Canadian #1. It was also their final U.S. Top Ten hit, although they remained a Canadian top 10 act for the next few years.

"A Ray of Hope", "Heaven", "See", and "Carry Me Back" were all modest U.S. hits for the band during late 1968 and 1969; all entered the top 40, but none higher than #24. In Canada, however, the Rascals were still major stars; all these songs went top ten, completing a run of 11 straight Canadian top ten hits for The Rascals from 1967 to 1969. December 1969's "Hold On" broke the run of top 40 US singles for the Rascals, stalling at #51, as well as the run of Canadian top tens, peaking at #22.

During their period of greatest celebrity, the band's influence on aspiring R & B-flavored white acts was without equal, especially in the northeastern U.S. Notable bands that incorporated (sometimes to the point of parody) the Rascals' full-on stage demeanor and energy as well as the intense, hyper-dramatic vocalizing, drumstick-spinning gyrations and heavy bottom-end rhythm also achieved some prominence: the Vagrants (featuring Leslie West, later of Mountain), the Rich Kids, and the epitome of over-the-top funky psychedelia, the Vanilla Fudge, all owed their styles to the Rascals' synthesis of show-biz and soul.

Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom and a week later in the United States, it topped the charts in both nations.

The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on holiday in Brazil from late December 1968 to early January 1969. Inspired by Brazilian gauchos at the ranch where Jagger and Richards were staying in Matão, São Paulo, the song was originally released as an acoustic country song

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks from 23 August 1969. The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founder member Brian Jones where it remained on the charts for 5 weeks peaking at #1. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was the single's B-side. It was later released on the compilation album Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) in September.

"Honky Tonk Women" was ranked #116 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

Three Dog Night (also known as One) is the self-titled debut album by American rock band Three Dog Night. The album was originally released by Dunhill Records on October 16, 1968. The album is known for featuring the band's top 5 hit single, "One", which is featured on the album cover; although, not on the original releases of the album.   The album made the Top 20 on the albums charts in the United States and Canada. It has been reissued multiple times by Dunhill, MCA, and Geffen record labels.   In 1967, Three Dog Night was founded by Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, Chuck Negron, Joe Schermie, Floyd Sneed, Jimmy Greenspoon, and Michael Allsup. The group was a successful live act in Los Angeles and gathered considerable attention by several record labels. After a show at the Troubadour, the group was signed to the Dunhill ABC label, and the band started work on their first studio album.  Three Dog Night was recorded at American Recording Company. Producing the sessions was Gabriel Mekler, who had previously worked Steppenwolf, and was engineered by Richard Podolor – who would later became the band's producer – and Bill Cooper

Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" (1966) and "Crimson and Clover" (1969) — and also charted twelve other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". All of the above records went to #1 on WLS, except "Sweet Cherry Wine", which peaked at #4.

With a touring group to promote the single, James went to New York City, where he sold the master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records, at which time he changed his last name to James. With national promotion, the single became a No. 1 hit in July 1966. The Shondells played straightforward shambolic rock and roll, but soon became involved in the budding bubblegum music movement. Songwriter Ritchie Cordell gave them the No. 4 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and the No. 10 hit "Mirage" in 1967. In 1968, James had a No. 3 hit with "Mony Mony". Co-written by James, Cordell, Cordell's writing partner Bo Gentry, and Bobby Bloom, "Mony Mony" reached No. 3 in the US and was a British No. 1 in 1968. From 1968, the group began writing their own songs, with James and Lucia penning the psychedelic classic "Crimson and Clover". The song was recorded and mixed by Bruce Staple, with James tackling vocal duties and playing all instruments, and featured the then unusual use of electronic gadgetry such as vocoders and phasers. Later in 1968, the group toured with Vice President Hubert Humphrey during his presidential campaign. Humphrey showed his appreciation by writing the liner notes for the Crimson and Clover album.  Further hits included "Sweet Cherry Wine", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", and "Ball of Fire", all from 1969. They also produced "Sugar on Sunday", later covered by The Clique. As the band embraced the sounds of psychedelia, they were invited to perform at the Woodstock concert but declined.

Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" (1966) and "Crimson and Clover" (1969) — and also charted twelve other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". All of the above records went to #1 on WLS, except "Sweet Cherry Wine", which peaked at #4.

With a touring group to promote the single, James went to New York City, where he sold the master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records, at which time he changed his last name to James. With national promotion, the single became a No. 1 hit in July 1966. The Shondells played straightforward shambolic rock and roll, but soon became involved in the budding bubblegum music movement. Songwriter Ritchie Cordell gave them the No. 4 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and the No. 10 hit "Mirage" in 1967. In 1968, James had a No. 3 hit with "Mony Mony". Co-written by James, Cordell, Cordell's writing partner Bo Gentry, and Bobby Bloom, "Mony Mony" reached No. 3 in the US and was a British No. 1 in 1968. From 1968, the group began writing their own songs, with James and Lucia penning the psychedelic classic "Crimson and Clover". The song was recorded and mixed by Bruce Staple, with James tackling vocal duties and playing all instruments, and featured the then unusual use of electronic gadgetry such as vocoders and phasers. Later in 1968, the group toured with Vice President Hubert Humphrey during his presidential campaign. Humphrey showed his appreciation by writing the liner notes for the Crimson and Clover album.  Further hits included "Sweet Cherry Wine", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", and "Ball of Fire", all from 1969. They also produced "Sugar on Sunday", later covered by The Clique. As the band embraced the sounds of psychedelia, they were invited to perform at the Woodstock concert but declined.

Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" (1966) and "Crimson and Clover" (1969) — and also charted twelve other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". All of the above records went to #1 on WLS, except "Sweet Cherry Wine", which peaked at #4.

With a touring group to promote the single, James went to New York City, where he sold the master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records, at which time he changed his last name to James. With national promotion, the single became a No. 1 hit in July 1966. The Shondells played straightforward shambolic rock and roll, but soon became involved in the budding bubblegum music movement. Songwriter Ritchie Cordell gave them the No. 4 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and the No. 10 hit "Mirage" in 1967. In 1968, James had a No. 3 hit with "Mony Mony". Co-written by James, Cordell, Cordell's writing partner Bo Gentry, and Bobby Bloom, "Mony Mony" reached No. 3 in the US and was a British No. 1 in 1968. From 1968, the group began writing their own songs, with James and Lucia penning the psychedelic classic "Crimson and Clover". The song was recorded and mixed by Bruce Staple, with James tackling vocal duties and playing all instruments, and featured the then unusual use of electronic gadgetry such as vocoders and phasers. Later in 1968, the group toured with Vice President Hubert Humphrey during his presidential campaign. Humphrey showed his appreciation by writing the liner notes for the Crimson and Clover album.  Further hits included "Sweet Cherry Wine", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", and "Ball of Fire", all from 1969. They also produced "Sugar on Sunday", later covered by The Clique. As the band embraced the sounds of psychedelia, they were invited to perform at the Woodstock concert but declined.

Tommy James and the Shondells are an American rock and roll group whose period of greatest success came in the late 1960s. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. — "Hanky Panky" (1966) and "Crimson and Clover" (1969) — and also charted twelve other Top 40 hits, including five in the top ten: "I Think We're Alone Now", "Mirage", "Mony Mony", "Sweet Cherry Wine", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". All of the above records went to #1 on WLS, except "Sweet Cherry Wine", which peaked at #4.

With a touring group to promote the single, James went to New York City, where he sold the master of "Hanky Panky" to Roulette Records, at which time he changed his last name to James. With national promotion, the single became a No. 1 hit in July 1966. The Shondells played straightforward shambolic rock and roll, but soon became involved in the budding bubblegum music movement. Songwriter Ritchie Cordell gave them the No. 4 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and the No. 10 hit "Mirage" in 1967. In 1968, James had a No. 3 hit with "Mony Mony". Co-written by James, Cordell, Cordell's writing partner Bo Gentry, and Bobby Bloom, "Mony Mony" reached No. 3 in the US and was a British No. 1 in 1968. From 1968, the group began writing their own songs, with James and Lucia penning the psychedelic classic "Crimson and Clover". The song was recorded and mixed by Bruce Staple, with James tackling vocal duties and playing all instruments, and featured the then unusual use of electronic gadgetry such as vocoders and phasers. Later in 1968, the group toured with Vice President Hubert Humphrey during his presidential campaign. Humphrey showed his appreciation by writing the liner notes for the Crimson and Clover album.  Further hits included "Sweet Cherry Wine", "Crystal Blue Persuasion", and "Ball of Fire", all from 1969. They also produced "Sugar on Sunday", later covered by The Clique. As the band embraced the sounds of psychedelia, they were invited to perform at the Woodstock concert but declined.

Cherry Hill Park" was written by Robert Nix and Billy Gilmore, and sung by Billy Joe Royal. The song was arranged by Buddy Buie, James Cobb, and Emory Gordy, Jr.; and produced by Buddy Buie and Bill Lowery. It was a hit in 1969 reaching #15 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Cash Box chart. It came off his 1969 album Cherry Hill Park.

The subject of the song is Mary Hill, a "girl" who has sexual liaisons with various "boys" at Cherry Hill Park (located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey), as noted in the barely disguised double entendre lyrics. However, she "marries away" to a "man with money".