# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1967 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279 "2014-09-12T12:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/41 "2014-09-13T00:03:57Z")
This is a very strong year, actually absurdly strong. The Turtles for me, I think, but there’s another four or five stone-cold classics that made #1 that year in the US ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/42 "2014-09-13T00:04:10Z")
I can’t believe this- if I vote with my heart it has to be **Happy Together**. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/43 "2014-09-13T00:07:12Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > The 2000s decade was also pretty bleak for #1 singles, up until the dawn of the Kesha Era in 2009. Music has never been better. Dude. You’re gonna push for Kesha in 1967?! Really? You don’t think, perhaps, you have a _particular_ fascination? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/44 "2014-09-13T00:18:11Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > The 2000s decade was also pretty bleak for #1 singles, up until the dawn of the Kesha Era in 2009. Music has never been better. I was pretty hopeful too until last year. For 1967, it has to be I’m a Believer. The Monkees were the gateway to 60s music for a lot of us 80s kids. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/45 "2014-09-13T00:18:53Z")
Aretha was going to win anyway, so I vote for a token psychedelic by which to remember the 60’s. Unfortunately, I was too young not to remember most of them. Made up for it in '68-69 (and have the transcript to prove it). Ruby Tuesday also deserves mention - one of three Stones hits which were not Mick Jagger’s prancing around like a demented marionette. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/46 "2014-09-13T01:20:24Z")
Ah yes, the “Summer of Love” I remember it well, a year filled with sunshine and good vibes. Too bad it was followed by '68. Aretha owned this. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/47 "2014-09-13T01:45:14Z")
I must say I’m a bit surprised at the lack of appreciation for ‘I’m a Believer’. It’s a great song and the best of these, in my opinion. Perhaps it’s because it’s a cover - but still. Or maybe Mickey to do vocals was a bad choice… ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/48 "2014-09-13T02:27:56Z")
“Penny Lane” inched out “Respect,” but it was close. I agree that it’s near inseparable from “Strawberry Fields” - I’ve always liked how the two show Lennon and McCartney approaching the same subject (Liverpool memories) in completely different ways. But on it’s own it’s still a fantastic piece, perhaps among McCartney’s best. Plus, how can you not love a song that takes blue suburban skies and stuffs them full of naughty innuendo? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/49 "2014-09-13T02:32:24Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Dude. You’re gonna push for Kesha in 1967?! Really? You don’t think, perhaps, you have a _particular_ fascination? **Ponch8** is a bit obsessed with her. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/50 "2014-09-13T02:38:04Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > _The Letter_ got my vote for this year. Too bad we won’t see **The Box Tops** in the 1968 poll. Their excellent _Cry Like a Baby_ only made it to #2. Me too. All respect to Alex Chilton. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/51 "2014-09-13T02:46:15Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > I must say I’m a bit surprised at the lack of appreciation for ‘I’m a Believer’. It’s a great song and the best of these, in my opinion. Perhaps it’s because it’s a cover - but still. > > Or maybe Mickey to do vocals was a bad choice… “I’m a Believer” is not a cover. The Monkees’ version of the song was released nine months before composer Neil Diamond’s version was released, and the latter was simply an album cut, never a single. I’d wager that most people have never heard Neil Diamond’s version of the song. Your second paragraph baffles me. “I’m a Believer” is far from my favorite Monkees song, but Micky Dolenz had one of the great pop voices of the 1960s. Certainly no other member of The Monkees could have, or should have, sung it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/52 "2014-09-13T03:07:46Z")
Although Mickey isn’t my favorite vocalist on the Monkees, he was the best for pop songs. Michael was too country and Davey was too schmaltz. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/53 "2014-09-13T04:07:06Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > I like Incense with my Peppermints. Me too. The Beatles were always great, but, since Strawberry Fields wasn’t on the list, I had to go with this. The song was innovative, original, deep, and most excellent psychedelia. I’m a Believer waren’t nothing bad, but, it wasn’t Incense and Peppermints. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/54 "2014-09-13T04:32:04Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > The 2000s decade was also pretty bleak for #1 singles, up until the dawn of the Kesha Era in 2009. Music has never been better. Yes, yes, Kesha, give it a rest. Go do some music stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/55 "2014-09-13T04:35:32Z")
The Beatles _were_ the 60s, but I’ve been holding off year after year because none of their particular number one songs were as great as the totality of their impact on the year. But “Penny Lane” is. Paul’s best Beatles song - “Eleanor Rigby” is more a solo effort - and, sadly, the last reflection of his maturity as a songwriter before the shmaltz and novelty tunes took over. Those were probably an effort to get 180 degrees away from the nonsense that John was writing to spite the critics and interpreters, but they don’t hold up well today. The British Invasion is also over. The Who, the Kinks, Cream, all the bands we remember as core British 60s groups, none ever hit number one in America. Instead we put “To Sir, with Love” on top. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/56 "2014-09-13T04:48:04Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Yes, yes, Kesha, give it a rest. Go do some music stuff. I like 2000s pop. But holy shit was 2009 a bad year. The Black Eyed Peas spent 26 straight weeks at #1 (?!) ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/57 "2014-09-13T05:23:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > But “Penny Lane” is. Paul’s best Beatles song - “Eleanor Rigby” is more a solo effort - “Penny Lane” is only marginally less of a solo effort that “Eleanor Rigby.” The latter has John and George on backing vocals. The former does have Ringo on drums, but beyond this John sings harmony on one phrase of the chorus, and that’s it. All the rest (piano and bass) is Paul and session musicians…there’s no guitar on “Penny Lane” that I can hear. And Paul allegedly sang the piccolo trumpet solo in the middle and then had George Martin transcribe it. > [@](#): > > …and, sadly, the last reflection of his maturity as a songwriter before the shmaltz and novelty tunes took over. I think this is a little harsh. I’m much more of a John person than a Paul one, but I rate “Fixing a Hole,” “Fool on the Hill” and some of the Paul stuff on the White Album, plus the ending bits on the Abbey Road album as more than just schmaltz. On the other hand, as mentioned I loathe “Hello Goodbye,” not to mention “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”! ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/58 "2014-09-13T16:48:21Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The Beatles _were_ the 60s, but I’ve been holding off year after year because none of their particular number one songs were as great as the totality of their impact on the year. I am a great Beatles fan, but I have a hard time voting for their songs in the yearly polls because they just seem to be in a class of their own. I am so familiar with them that they do not really “compete” with any of the other songs of the era. > [@pulykamell](#): > > I like 2000s pop. But holy shit was 2009 a bad year. The Black Eyed Peas spent 26 straight weeks at #1 (?!) Yowza! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/59 "2014-09-13T16:57:52Z")
I had to walk away from this poll for a day and ruminate about it. In the end I decided to use the criteria of, “If it were 1967 which one of these songs would I want to come up next on my car radio next?” _Respect_, baby! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279/60 "2014-09-15T13:45:38Z")
I’m going with “Light My Fire” over “Respect” but it’s a tough choice. I don’t understand all the love for “Penny Lane.” It’s a pretty song, but the only way it can contend for the year’s best is on the back of the much more interesting “Strawberry Fields” on the flip side. But if you want to consider both sides of the vinyl as a single entity for one recording, you’ve got to do it with all of them. So “Light My Fire” deserves an additional boost for: \*Before you slip into unconsciousness I’d like to have another kiss Another flashing chance at bliss Another kiss, another kiss The days are bright and filled with pain Enclose me in your gentle rain…\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1967/698279.md?page=4)