Top Ten From WCFL, June 20, 1968

I had no luck with any of the prompts from Mama Kat this week, amnd thought, it’s been a while since I did a Thursday Ten… This just leapt out of my Facebook feed (where I always go when I’m really stuck for a topic). The person who posted it said that it was what we were listening to on this date in 1968, but the actual survey date is June 20, which was the Thursday of that week, making June 16 the Sunday… well, whatever. What I can tell you is this was Mom’s last week of school that year, which meant one week until she was around to supervise us (or, to put it another way, our last week of total anarchy, at least until 3:30 PM when she got home, that year).

Anyway, here’s the Top Ten from WCFL that week.

#10: Master Jack – 4 Jacks and a Jill This was headed back down the chart this week; it had been #8 the week before.

#9: How’d We Ever Get This Way – Andy Kim Its second week at #9.

#8: Like To Get To Know You – Spanky and Our Gang A semi-psychedelic tune from Chicago’s Spanky and Our Gang. (The other half of the semi was “easy listening.”) Down from #6 the week before.

#7: Macarthur Park – Richard Harris Who else thinks of Dave Thomas doing his impression of Richard Harris on “Mel’s Rock Pile” on SCTV? Here it is, in all its seven-minute glory. This was up from #10 the week before.

#6: Reach Out Of The Darkness – Friend & Lover One of those “peace, love, and understanding” songs from the late Sixties. I remember watching a White Sox doubleheader, and Friend & Lover appeared between games. You could hear them wailing this one during the interview. Thankfully, WFLD cut to a Meister Brau commercial halfway through. Down from #4 this week.

#5: Angel In The Morning – Merrilee Rush Up from #7 this week, a beautiful tune by a lovely singer. I was at the first Summerfest in Milwaukee, and saw a comedy duo singing this song. When they got to the line “Just touch my cheeks before you leave,” one of them grabbed his rear end, and it changed how I heard this song forever.

#4: I Love You – People This is the “long” version, with a full minute of psychedelia leading into the tune. Most radio stations cut that minute out because the song was “too long,” but for some reason they played all seven minutes of “Macarthur Park.” Up from #5 the week before.

#3: Yummy, Yummy, Yummy – The Ohio Express Most of us could have gone the rest of our lives without hearing this one again, but it was still high on the charts in Chicago this week. It was down from #2.

#2: Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel S&G were a veritable hit machine in the late Sixties, and this was helped by the popularity of The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. This swapped places with “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” this week.

#1: This Guy’s In Love With You – Herb Alpert Herb Alpert was a force to be reckoned with. This was its second week at #1; it stayed at #1 until July 11, when it was knocked all the way to #5 by “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, which wasn’t even on the survey this week.