Tuesday Top Ten: '60s Social Distancing Songs

Prior decades:
-Top Ten Pre-1960s Social Distancing Songs

Last Tuesday, we started on a journey to the center of the mind, didn't we?  It'll be either a six- or seven-week journey of self-discovery, and we'll visit every one of the last six or seven decades and their songs about social distancing.  By the time we're done, we'll either all be mad or we'll all be angry or we'll all be both.  But at least we will have had some good music to guide us along the way.

There haven't more many more transformative decades than the 1960s, have there?  When the decade started, Ike was still President, bubble gum pop ruled the airwaves, and kids still listened to authority.  By decade's end, everything had changed, socially, societally, musically, and otherwise.  JFK, the Civil Rights Act, The Beatles, LSD, Vietnam, Motown, the Summer of Love, MLK, Woodstock, Manson.  The song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 when the decade started was the schmaltzy Western pop song "El Paso" by Marty Robbins.  In 1969, The Rolling Stones' version of country music, "Honky Tonk Women" -- with its allusions to Tennessean gin-soaked bar maids, snorting coke, and getting a hummer from a divorcee -- topped the charts for four weeks.  The Oscar for Best Picture in 1960 went to the Jack Lemmon/Shirley MacLaine rom-com The Apartment.  In 1969, it went to Midnight Cowboy a movie about male prostitution and the horrors of life on the streets.

With all that happened in the decade, it should come as no surprise that the '60s have a song for every mood -- hell, The Beatles alone have a song for every mood -- so it's no wonder that there are many great social distancing songs from the decade.  Here are my top ten, in alphabetical order by artist.

1.  "You're Gonna Miss Me" by The 13th Floor Elevators
This one is kind of an FU song for social distancing, brought to you by the first band that ever referred to their music as "psychedelic rock," The 13th Floor Elevators, and their shrieking frontman Roky Erickson.  It's all about telling someone else that he/she didn't realize he/she was going to miss you when you're gone.  Presumably, that's how a lot of us feel.  Also, someone's playing a jug on the song.


2.  "A Question of Temperature" by The Balloon Farm
The Balloon Farm had only one minor hit, 1967's psychedelic garage rocker "A Question of Temperature," which reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was thereafter featured in the fantastic Nuggets box set.  But seriously, if you have a fever, don't be a dick.  Stay away from other people, and if it doesn't go down and/or you have additional COVID-19 symptoms, get some medical help.


3.  "In My Room" by The Beach Boys
As we all spend more time in our rooms, The Beach Boys' 1963 "In My Room" is the song that reminds us sometimes that's okay.  The song demonstrated that Brian Wilson wasn't all surf and sun, but rather had an introspective side.  Co-written with Gary Usher, "In My Room" is slow and features those iconic Beach Boys harmonies.  Of course, with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we don't have to keep our troubles in our rooms, for better or worse.


4.  "Wait" by The Beatles
I could have picked any number of Beatles songs (see the honorable mention section below), but I went with "Wait" off of Rubber Soul, not only because it's a great song, but because it sends a nice message to all of us who are staying at home.  It has been a long time, but we will be by each other's side at some point.  Just wait.


5.  "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker
If there's any truth to be gained from this whole experience, it's that we all get by with a little help from our friends, whether it's dropping off some beer they picked up at a local brewery, saying "hi" from the sidewalk, or just hanging out on a Zoom call.  Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" is so iconic that you kind of forget that it's a cover.  He slowed it down, made it more bluesy and soulful, and knocked it out of the park. And now that you have the time, maybe rewatch the entirety of The Wonder Years.


6.  "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tommy James & The Shondells
Tommy James & The Shondells' 1967 Top 5 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" is not only a classic, but it's a perfect social distancing song, especially when you walk down the street and don't see anyone.


7.  "Alone Again Or" by Love
Psychedelic rockers Love were one of those bands whose influence outreached their commercial success.  1967's Forever Changes album -- which only reached #154 on the Billboard album charts -- is considered one of the best albums in rock history, ranking at #40 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.  If you know any Love song, it's likely "Alone Again Or," which has been used in various movies and TV shows (and has been covered by various artists as well).  It's got kind of a Spaghetti Western feel to it, and it's a song about longing for a distant lover.  The ambiguous title is also perfect for social distancing because you can be alone again.  OR, with Zoom, Google Hangouts, and the like, you don't have to be.


8.  "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley
One of The King's most tender songs (not called "Love Me Tender") is 1960 cover of a song originally released in 1927.  "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was one of the first songs Elvis recorded after returning from his two-years of service in the U.S. Army, and he recorded it at 4 a.m. in the dark, which fits the mood.  Surely, we're all a little lonesome these days, unless you're an introvert or a Gen X latch-key kid, in which case, we're cool.


9.  "Someday We'll Be Together" by The Supremes
This was the last #1 song of the 1960s on the Billboard Hot 100.  It's a song of longing, but also a song of hope.  In addition to Diana Ross's lead vocal, there is that harmonizing call-and-response from Johnny Bristol -- the Motown producer and songwriter who co-wrote the song.  Originally, it was just supposed to help Ross get her vocals right, but the engineer accidentally rolled the tape, and it sounded so good, they left it on the final version.  The result was great, and I assure you that, someday, we will be together again, even if it's not until 2021.


10.  "I Can't Get Next To You" by The Temptations
1969's "I Can't Get Next To You" was The Temptations' second of four #1 songs and their last of the '60s.  Right now, we can't get next to each other -- and, to be clear, we shouldn't -- so this song hits home -- and, to be clear, that's where you should stay.


Honorable mention:  "Any Time at All" by The Beatles; "You Won't See Me" by The Beatles; "With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles; "It Won't Be Long" by The Beatles; "The End" by The Doors; "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" by Bob Dylan; "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by The First Edition; "Hideaway" by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers; "In Dreams" by Roy Orbison; "Get Yourself Home" by The Pretty Things; "I'm Sick Y'all" by Otis Redding; "Dear Doctor" by The Rolling Stones; "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones; "Doctor, Doctor" by The Who; "I've Been Away" by The Who