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1968 in music
Feb. 5th, 2020 06:12 pmI listened to the top 10 for 1968 over these holidays.
I was surprised, so then I listened to the American and British Top 10s for 1968. They were a lot cooler than the Australian version.
America: The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding.
Britain: The Beatles, the Monkees, the Small Tops, Tom Jones.
Australia: Guess what was super popular? The Beatles, yes, and then the Irish Rovers. Who, you ask? Well they had a number one with the unicorn song. You remember, the novelty song about a unicorn who won’t get on Noah’s ark. Catchy but not exactly the cutting edge of cool. And also they hit number one later that year with the novelty song *The Orange and the Green*.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EPsuOEH1fY
Now, I instantly recognised these songs – I am pretty sure my parents must have had the album. They’re good for a sing along, but also a sign that Australia in the 1960s was a cultural wasteland. It actually makes me wonder if there was some kind of protectionist tax on musical imports, because local talents like John Farnham also hit number one. With *Sadie the Cleaning Lady*.
I was surprised, so then I listened to the American and British Top 10s for 1968. They were a lot cooler than the Australian version.
America: The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding.
Britain: The Beatles, the Monkees, the Small Tops, Tom Jones.
Australia: Guess what was super popular? The Beatles, yes, and then the Irish Rovers. Who, you ask? Well they had a number one with the unicorn song. You remember, the novelty song about a unicorn who won’t get on Noah’s ark. Catchy but not exactly the cutting edge of cool. And also they hit number one later that year with the novelty song *The Orange and the Green*.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EPsuOEH1fY
Now, I instantly recognised these songs – I am pretty sure my parents must have had the album. They’re good for a sing along, but also a sign that Australia in the 1960s was a cultural wasteland. It actually makes me wonder if there was some kind of protectionist tax on musical imports, because local talents like John Farnham also hit number one. With *Sadie the Cleaning Lady*.
