4 No. 1 Hits by Female Solo Artists From the Rock-Band-Dominated Year of 1967

If you wanted to get to the top of the pop charts in 1967, the easiest route was as a member of a rock band that dished out hits. Groups like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Monkees monopolized the top position.

While there were no male solo acts to get to the US No. 1 spot in 1967, four solo female acts made it there with their hits. An asterisk must be applied to that statement, however, as one of those ladies got there with a little help from her father.

“Somethin’ Stupid” by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra

“Somethin’ Stupid” first appeared on an album by Carson Parks, the song’s writer, and his wife, Gaile Foote, in 1966. A year later, Frank Sinatra heard the song and thought it would be a good vehicle for his daughter Nancy. Nancy’s producer, Lee Hazelwood, told Ol’ Blue Eyes that a duet between father and daughter might be the best route to take. The timing was solid. Frank had been experiencing a somewhat surprising resurgence in the pop music world after a quiet stretch in the first half of the 60s. And Nancy had made a big splash with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’”. Wisely, the two artists underplay the lyrics, preventing things from getting a little bit too sappy.

“Ode To Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry

Perhaps the unlikeliest of the four songs on this list to appear at No. 1, for several reasons. For one thing, Bobbie Gentry wrote it at a time when female singer-songwriters were still a relative rarity. Also, it was the debut single off her very first album, meaning that she was anything but a household name. Add to that the fact that the Southern Gothic style of the narrative was a far cry from what usually troubled the charts back in that era. But Gentry overcame all those odds thanks to the compelling nature of the story, which included a mystery that still beguiles us to this day, and the lived-in, pointed details that she sprinkles throughout the song.

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin could easily have done a faithful cover of “Respect”, which Otis Redding had taken to the Top 40 two years earlier. Switching the gender was the obvious move. But she also transformed the musical structure of the song. She and her session players gave the rhythm a serious jolt by adding surprising stutters and feints. The backing vocalists provide a sassy underpinning. And then Franklin takes it from there. Who knows if she had the idea that all these changes, combined with the potency of her performance, might transform the song into a feminist message? With greats like Franklin, they often simply concentrated on the music. All that other stuff tended to fall into place.

“To Sir With Love” by Lulu

Lulu had already knocked off a couple of hit singles in her native Great Britain by the time 1967 rolled around. But it was difficult for British female artists to find footing in the United States. Petula Clark had done well, but she was the exception. Lulu had a couple of things going for her with “To Sir With Love”. The song had built-in exposure as the title song to a film, one in which she had a role. That film was beloved thanks to the performance of Sidney Poitier. And the lyrics to the song, which were written by Mark London and Don Black, tap into the storyline. But aside from that, all credit goes to Lulu, who imbues those words with touching notes of admiration and wonder.

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