Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Music Column – The Breakfast Show with William Price King and Sally Cronin – Chart Hits 1968 – Part One

Each week William and I will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 1985. We will also include some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.

Every four weeks at the weekend there will be a spin-off show where we will feature four guests sharing their memories of the music of a particular decade we are working on. An opportunity to share your work and your can find the details: The Breakfast Show 2021

Welcome to our show and we are excited to share decades of music with you in 2021. Here is my first selection of  top 1968 hits which I hope you will enjoy.  William.

News Event:  January 22nd “Lady Soul” 14th studio album by Aretha Franklin is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1968)

Otis Redding  –  (Sittin’ on) The dock of the bay

“(Sittin’ on) The dock of the bay,” a worldwide hit, was the first posthumous single to top the charts in the US. The song won two Grammy Awards – Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. It ranks #28 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

News Event:  February 16th Elvis Presley receives a gold record for “How Great Thou Art”

Simon and Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson

“Mrs. Robinson,” from the film “The Graduate,” was a #1 hit in the US and around the world. It was the first rock song to win a Grammy Award for “Record of the Year.” It also won the Grammy for Best Contemporary-Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group.

News Event: March 1st Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” first performed as a 15-minute pop cantata at Colet Court School in London

Now time for my first top chart picks from 1968 and they bring back memories of my teenage years as if it was yesterday.

Gary Puckett and the Gap – Young Girl

“Young Girl” is a RIAA million-selling Gold-certified single that was written, composed, and produced by Jerry Fuller and performed by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap with instrumental backing by members of “The Wrecking Crew.The song hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, stuck behind “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding for the first week and “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro for the remaining two. It also hit No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart

News Event:  May 11th Richard Harris releases “MacArthur Park”

Tom Jones – Delilah

“Delilah” is a song recorded by Welsh singer Tom Jones in December 1967. The lyrics were written by Barry Mason, and the music by Les Reed, who also contributed the title and theme of the song. It earned Reed and Mason the 1968 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The song reached No. 1 in the charts of several countries, including Germany and Switzerland. It reached No 2 in the British charts in March 1968 and was the sixth-best selling single of that year.

Additional sources: On This Day – Music – Hits of the 60s: Sixties City – Wikipedia

Your Hosts for The Breakfast Show

William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.

His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.

While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.

Blog– IMPROVISATION – William Price King on Tumblr – Buy William’s music: William Price King iTunes – Facebook – William Price King – Twitter – @wpkofficial
Regular Venue – Cave Wilson

Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.

She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.

Books :Amazon US – And: Amazon UK – More reviews: Goodreads – blog: Smorgasbord Blog Magazine Twitter: @sgc58 – Facebook: Sally Cronin – LinkedIn: Sally Cronin

Thank you very much for joining us today and we would love you to join us in the spin off shows where we share your memories of the 1960s and your favourite music.. please read how you can take part: The Breakfast Show 2021

 

Next week 1968 Part Two. We hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.