The Year Was: 1968
02.24.25
With The Year Was, Annett takes you on a journey through time. In each show we travel back to one year ago. What did it sound like – around the world, in different genres, scenes and areas of pop culture?
This time we turn back the clock to a year of upheaval and protest: 1968 was the height of the student and civil rights movements around the world: The anti-Vietnam War marches and riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King in the U.S., the May riots in France, the Praque Spring, student protests in Germany and Mexico, where two black American Olympic athletes staged their own iconic protest by raising their fists on the podium.
While the world burned outside the recording studios, musicians tried to capture the spirit of what was happening. The late-’60s soul of Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Otis Redding offered everything from empowerment to a little comfort to a way to express grief. Out of San Francisco, the bands of the hippie movement tried to change the world through positivity. Jimi Hendrix took on a Dylan song. The Beatles seemed to be in the midst of an existential crisis. In Brazil, Tropicália artists rebelled against the dictatorial grip of the government. While Stanley Kubrick stunned the world with “2001: A Space Odyssey” – eerily mirroring the iconic “Earthrise” image captured by the Apollo 8 astronauts.
1968 was a cultural atom bomb. Let’s listen back!
Tracklist:
Gladys Knight & The Pips – I Wish It Would Rain The Impressions – We’re A Winner The Rolling Stones – Street Fighting Man Dr. John – I Walk on Guilded Splinters Gilberto Gil – Coragem Pra Suportar Nina Simone – Why? (The King of Love Is Dead) (Live at Westbury Music Fair, April 1968) James Brown – Say It Loud – I’m Black And I’m Proud – Pts.1 & 2 The Beatles – Revolution 9 Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower Caetano Veloso – Tropicália Toots & The Maytals – Pressure Drop Aretha Franklin – Think Scene from Stanley Kubricks “2001 A Space Odyssey” Archie Bell & The Drells – Tighten Up, Pt. 1 The Dells – There Is The Zombies – Time of the Season France Gall – Teenie Weenie Boppie Claude Nougaro – Paris mai Wolf Biermann – Ermutigung Franz Josef Degenhardt – 2. Juni 1967 Dionne Warwick – Do You Know the Way to San Jose Lily Chao – A Kangding Love Song The Velvet Underground – Here She Comes Now Peter Brötzmann – Machine Gun Silver Apples – Seagreen Serenades The Doors – The Unknown Soldier Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine Diana Ross & The Supremes – Love Child Steppenwolf – Reflections Tommy James & The Shondells – Crimson and Clover Johnny Cash – 25 Minutes to Go (Live at Folsom State Prison, January 1968) Leonard Cohen – Winter Lady The Kinks – The Village Green Preservation Society Donovan – Hurdy Gurdy Man Sly & The Family Stone – Everyday People Miles Davis – Nefertiti Rotary Connection – Memory Band Status Quo – Pictures of Matchstick Men Simon & Garfunkel – America Os Mutantes – Panis Et Circenses (Alternative Version) Otis Redding – Ole Man Trouble
