The 1960s in rock music were a pretty incredible decade. Among the many, many hits are these three songs. All out in 1968, they still rock our world today, even after so many years.
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding
Otis Redding and Steve Cropper wrote the song “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”. The song is Redding’s first and only No. 1 hit. It was sadly released less than a month after Redding was killed in a plane crash.
Videos by American Songwriter
The feel-good song says, “Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun / ‘Ill be sittin’ when the evenin’ come / Watching the ships roll in / And then I watch ’em roll away again, yeah / I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay / Watching the tide roll away / I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay / Wastin’ time.”
Cropper later reveals that Redding’s whistling at the end was unplanned.
“If you’re an Otis Redding fan, you’d know that he’s probably the world’s greatest at ad-libbing at the end of a song,” Cropper says. “Sometimes you could go another minute or two with Otis Redding’s ad-libs. They were so spontaneous and felt so great. And this particular song, I think, baffled Otis a little bit because of the tempo and the mood. So when we got down to the end of it, he really didn’t have anything to ad-lib with, and he just started whistling. “
“Hey Jude” by The Beatles
One of the Beatles’ biggest hits is “Hey Jude”. A nine-week No. 1 single, the success of the song is even more surprising since it was not part of an album at the time. Band members John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote the laid-back tune.
“Hey Jude” is written as a letter to Lennon’s son, Julian Lennon, who was upset that his father and mother, Cynthia Lennon, were divorcing. The song begins with, “Hey Jude, don’t make it bad / Take a sad song and make it better / Remember to let her into your heart / Then you can start to make it better / Hey Jude, don’t be afraid / You were made to go out and get her / The minute you let her under your skin / Then you begin to make it better.”
“Love Child” by Diana Ross & the Supremes
A multi-platinum hit, “Love Child” is the title track of an album by Diana Ross & the Supremes. The song is written by Richard Dean Taylor, Frank Wilson, Pam Sawyer, and Deke Richards. “Love Child” stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks.
A song about overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, “Love Child” says, “Love child, never meant to be / Love child, born in poverty / Love child, never meant to be / Love child, take a look at me.”
Photo by Sulfiati Magnuson/Getty Images