A Summer Of Love Playlist

Introduction

In 1967 I was nine turning ten, and had started discovering music that would stay with me for the rest of my life. This is just a snapshot of the year 1967, the "Summer Of Love" full of hope in many ways.

So these are some songs and music that were released in that year.

The Doors - "The End"

In January The Doors released their first album and "The End" is a minimalistic epic. A lot of people find Jim Morrison pretentious and annoying, but this eleven-minute doom-laden story based on Oedipus still amazes me every time that I listen to it.

The Monkees - "Alternate Title (Randy Scouse Git)"

I was completely unaware of how this song got its title. This is what happened.

Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees fly into London. Dolenz sees Till Death Us Do Part on British TV and uses the term "Randy Scouse Git" from the programme for the title of The Monkees' next single release "Randy Scouse Git", not realising it is an offensive term. British censors force the title to be changed to "Alternate Title" in the UK.

Jimi Hendrix Experience - "May This Be Love"

The band released their debut album "Are You Experienced" which contains a plethora of psychedelic rock awash with effects and Hendrix's amazing playing. This is a beautiful song with some of the most wonderful channel swapping that I have heard. Try and listen to this in stereo.

There was more to come, but this was an explosive debut.

The Beatles - "A Day In The Life"

The closing song from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and possibly the most important song that the band recorded, and you can hear sections of it amended and utilised in many subsequent pop songs.

Diana Ross & The Supremes - "Reflections"

Tamla Motown released "Reflections," the first single by the group's new billing, "Diana Ross & The Supremes" after firing founding member Florence Ballard. Ballard, nevertheless, sang on the record and appeared on the vinyl's cover alongside group members Ross and Wilson because the song was recorded before her dismissal.

Pink Floyd - "Astronomy Domine"

The band's debut album, and the only complete one with Syd Barrett.

It blended Pink Floyd's reputation for long-form improvisational pieces with Barrett's short pop songs and whimsical take on psychedelia. The album made prominent use of recording effects such as reverb and echo; employed tools included EMT plate reverberation, automatic double tracking (ADT), and Abbey Road's echo chamber.

Barrett came up with the album title The Piper at the Gates of Dawn; the album was originally titled "Projection" up to July 1967. The title was taken from that of chapter seven of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" which contains a visionary encounter with the god Pan, who plays his pan pipe at dawn. It was one of Barrett's favourite books, and he often gave friends the impression that he was the embodiment of Pan. The name was later used in the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", in which Barrett is called "you Piper"

Otis Redding -"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

In June, during his stay in California on a houseboat in Sausalito, while listening to the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band", Otis was inspired to compose "The Dock of the Bay".

In November, Otis recorded "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" at Stax Records' studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

On December 10th, Otis and four of the six Bar-Kays were among the six people who died when a Beechcraft Model 18 plane in which they were traveling crashed in Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin, one of the worst air tragedies in entertainment history, and the worst since "The Day the Music Died" when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper died in a crash in 1959

The Beatles - "The Magical Mystery Tour"

I remember this being broadcast on Boxing Day and will use this to close the playlist. The music was released as a double EP in a book, and I have a vinyl copy of my own. The film was shown in black and white, which upset Paul McCartney because it ruined the intended psychedelic color effects.

This is not the greatest song by The Beatles but it is quite enjoyable and fits the timeline well.

Conclusion

Thank you for listening to these selections of mine, I hope you have enjoyed them.