A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum (1967)

PH had some nice hits with Homburg and also Conquistador and 'Salty Dog' but an unforgettable fretting organ (Matthew Fisher) winding it's way led by a great voice (Gary Broker) make A Whiter Shade Of Pale my choice for their best song.

To Sir with Love - Lulu (1967)

A song about the school days from a time of my schools days. Sang beautifully by a very school looking girl.

Both Sides Now - Judy Collins (1967)

Deeply psychological this song I have tried many times to un-entangle. Sometimes I think I have succeeded other times not. Either way I come back to this song periodically.

Penny Lane - The Beatles (1967)

I have vivid memories of listening to this on the way to school. I was never into Beatle mania but this one won me over. Unusually long verses for the Beatles.

Don't sleep in the subway - Petula Clark (1967)

I was a young teenager when I first heard this and started to enjoy pop music. This was pretty big then and it stood out for me. It now has a lot of baggage and it stirs up a lot of memories. Even so , it has a pretty good flowing melody and it tells the story pretty well and the arrangement even if not totally original it is very sophisticated. According to Wiki it was Petula's favorite Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent song.

Pamela Pamela- Wayne Fontana (1967)

Another song about passing time and the old school days, where most of out memories are most vivid. At the time I just liked the melody but later the act of reminiscing became more important. Still I enjoy this though it really is a pretty basic song.

Lazy Sunday - Small Faces (1967)

My single

Shock horror, news flash: The Small Faces were a cockney act. Someone on Youtube noticed Steve Marriot drop the cockney accent in the last word of the song : 'away'. Actually I did notice , I just never realised it's significance. But Steve did come from a working class background though he went to a institute of drama. But back to the song, with it 's energy and strong melody as well as it's humour it was my personal number one for a long time, in my teens.

Itchicoo Park - Small Faces (1967)

Where was Itchicoo Park? It was just down from my school where my friends and I escaped to on sunny days. Who wants to go and learn the word of fools when you could be sharing laughter and hot chips at a picnic in the park? (actually it was bush, but that's just details). No, it was nothing more than that, except for the odd forbidden cigarette. Another favourite song from the time.

By the Time I Get to Phoenix - Glen Campbell (1967)

How cities are made famous in songs!. Jimmy Webb must have got a hand out from the Phoenix City Hall tourist department after this hit! The melody provides the initial attraction like sex appeal. When you get to know it then the lyrics come into it and you develop the emotional connection. At least that's what Sophie (Drew Barrymore) in Music and lyrics (2007) tells Alex (Hugh Grant).With this song it was the opposite. The melody of this was a little slow to get to like but in the end grows and the words fit in  like a glove and Glen delivers perfectly.

If You're Going To San Francisco - Scott McKenzie (1967)

To use a well hackneyed phrase this song 'blew me away' when I first heard it. Unlike today when you can have an instant download I had to wait beside the radio for hours waiting for them to play it again. And they never would, or that's how it felt. The voice, the acoustic sound with it's many instruments, the idea of men wearing flowers, it was all too much. I was an immediate convert, to what I don't know. But I knew I was going somewhere with that song. To San Francisco? Not sure, 

Bellingen

 maybe. I just had to go. As soon as I could drive I took off to find that something. I picked up some hippies who were thumbing a ride to Byron Bay and stayed overnight at their...but I divert. This song is part of the sixties folklore that permeated the world at the time, well some of it.

Summer Rain - Johnny Rivers (1967)

This song sounds older than what it is as shown by the line 'all summer long we kept on playing Sgt Peppers' Lonely hearts club band' But to me it's timeless.

Get Together - Youngbloods (1967)

Love peace and understanding, all essential ingredients for the hippy era songs found here. Delivered with calm, un-Neil Youngish male vocals and clean guitar sounds. This stood out then and it's still good.

Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks (1967)

It's hard to write about this because I'm not sure why I have liked this so much over the years. It stirs deep feelings every-time I listen to it, The twang of the guitar strings drew me to it initially, then Davies' frail voice with that simple melody, and the backing vocals providing the strings; then this obsession with the sunset over his backyard; and who are Terry and Julie who get mentioned twice, and is the river dangerous that they made it to the other side safe and sound? Long live the mystery!

You Only Live Twice - Nncy Sinatra (1967)

Film scene. Is there a beach nearby?

This is the one with the great sweeping orchestral intro which leads perfectly into Nancy's untheatrical voice telling you quite plainly that 'You only live twice'. I'll take it! I thought that she was going to remind me of our mortal coil. Damn, only twice! Well, I'm sold. Who is James Bond anyway?

Friday on my mind - The Easybeats (1967)

Not quite raunchy to make it pure rock but too fast and loud to be pure pop this is the best Australian hit of the sixties. It's working class sentiment of living for the weekend still rings true and the image of the diminutive Steve Wright with his straight girly hair and Beatle boots singing on stage alongside Snowy are indelibly burnt in my mind. When I hear that guitar riff ringing crystal clear along the harmonies even this mature gentleman has to cede to it's wonderful celebration of life. Here is a live version, complete with Stevie's off key singing.