Today in Music (1967): The Monkees “Daydream Believer” hit #1

Daydream Believer The Monkees

Writer(s): John Stewart (see lyrics here) Released: October 25, 1967 First Charted: November 3, 1967 Peak: 14 BB, 143 GR, 13 HR, 12 CL, 5 UK, 11Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.6 UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 93.82 video, 196.54 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “There’s a beautiful conundrum at the heart of the Monkees. Here we had a fake band, created for a TV show, who turned out to be more successful as a band than they were as a TV show.” SG The show ran 59 episodes from 1967 to ’68 while the group kept going through 1970 (plus a reunion in 1986). At the height of their popularity in 1967, however, they took the bold move of demanding more control over their music. “By the time the Monkees landed the last of their three #1 singles, they looked practically respectable.” SG “All four Monkees play or sing on ‘Daydream Believer,’ something that wasn’t true of their other #1s.” SG Davy Jones sings lead, Michael Nesmith plays guitar, Peter Tork is on piano, and Micky Dolenz provides backing vocals. “Daydream Believer” was written by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio. He wrote it “about one half of a couple staring into a mirror and realizing that his marriage has lost its magic.” SG It was the third in a trilogy. WK The record company insisted on changing the word “funky” to “happy” in the line “You once thought of me as a white knight on a steed / Now you know how funky I can be.” Stewart eventually relented RC which changed the song “from a sober reckoning to a dizzy love song.” SG “As a love song, it works well.” SG Producer Chip Douglas, formerly with the Turtles, “effortlessly pulls in the strings and horns of that first baroque pop period (just as he’d previously done on ‘Happy Together’), adapting the Monkees’ starry-eyed pop to the psychedelic moment.j The song doesn’t have the same immediate punch as ‘I’m A Believer’ or ‘Last Train to Clarksville,’ but…it remains a gem.” SG Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 233. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Page 190. SG Stereogum (10/24/2018). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/24/2024.

Stephen Stills “Love the One You’re With” charted

Love the One You’re With Stephen Stills

Writer(s): Stephen Stills (see lyrics here) Released: November 1970 First Charted: December 4, 1970 Peak: 14 BB, 16 CB, 6 GR, 10 HR, 32 AC, 5 CL, 37 UK, 6 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 10.47 video, 23.39 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Before Stephen Stills released his self-titled debut album in 1970, he had already built an impressive resume as part of Buffalo Springfield (“For What It’s Worth”) and the supergroup trio Crosby, Stills, & Nash (“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”). After they collaborated with Neil Young on their second album (Déjà Vu), each of the members embarked on solo efforts. They wouldn’t reunite for another album until 1977. For Stills’ lead single, “Love the One You’re With,” he tapped famous friends Rita Coolidge and John Sebastian – as well as David Crosby and Graham Nash – as backing vocals. The presence of the latter two means this could practically be called a Crosby, Stills, & Nash song. UK singer Doris Troy claimed she gave Stills the phrase, SF but he said got it from Billy Preston. They were at a party together and Preston kept using the phrase, “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” WK The song could “be directed at one who has been dumped…letting him know that he’s better off getting with the girl right next to him than pining for his ex. It could also be seen as a message of free love. Stills called it ‘a good times song, just a bit of fun.’” SF Record World said “the song’s universal message is put across with a bright, yet driving delivery.” WK Cash Box said Stills’ “unique melodic work, the harmonies and a booming rhythm track make this a bright attraction for top forty as well as FM playlists.” WK The song has been covered by Buck Fizz, the Isley Brothers, the Meters, Bob Seger, and Luther Vandross. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Stephen Stills SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/28/2024.

Neil Young “Southern Man” released on After the Gold Rush

Southern Man Neil Young

Writer(s): Neil Young (see lyrics here) Released: August 31, 1970 (on After the Gold Rush) First Charted: -- Peak: 3 CL, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 17.5 video, 20.41 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Canadian singer/songwriter was one of the founders of the folk-rock group Buffalo Springfield after moving to Los Angeles in the 1960s. He followed their brief run with a solo career in 1968. After two albums, he reunited with Stephen Stills, his bandmate in Buffalo Springfield, for the chart-topping, multi-platinum 1970 album Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Before year’s end, Young was back with his third solo album, After the Gold Rush, a platinum, top-five album. One of the album’s highlights was “Southern Man.” “Its Crazy Horse-style loping tempo and Young’s burning guitar lines made ‘Southern Man’ an instant live favorite.” TC “As with many of his apocalyptic tales, this is filled with images of burning estates and a society in flames.” TC The lyrics “describe the racism towards blacks in the American South…Young tells the story of a white man (symbolically the entire white South) and how he mistreated his slaves. Young pleadingly asks when the South will make amends for the fortunes built through slavery.” WK The song gained a new level of attention when the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynrd wrote “Sweet Home Alabama” in response to the song, as well as Young’s “Alabama” from his 1972 album Harvest. The band took offense at what they saw as Young’s accusation that the entire South for to blame for American slavery. Young responded by saying he was a fan of the song and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Young also said that in regards to his “Alabama” song, the criticism was deserved because Young was “condescending and accusatory.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Neil Young TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 385. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/24/2024.