Top 40 Hits - January 1967

It has been a while, but it is a new year, and time to get back into the music retrospectives.  Slightly different format, hope you enjoy.

What were the top songs of the month in January 1967 (50 years ago)?  Well, looking at Billboard's Hot 100, ranking by peak position during the month, with ties settled by average position over the 5 weeks of the month....  and presenting the top 40:



           Song  -  Artist  -  Peak Position

1. I'm A Believer  -  The Monkees  -  1
2. Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron  -  The Royal Guardsmen  -  2
3. Tell It Like It Is  -  Aaron Neville  -  2
4. Good Thing  -  Paul Revere and The Raiders   -  4
5. Georgy Girl  -  The Seekers  -  4
6. Winchester Cathedral  -  The New Vaudeville Band  -  4
7. Words Of Love  -  The Mamas and The Papas  -  5
8. Sugar Town  -  Nancy Sinatra  -  5
9. Standing In The Shadows Of Love  -  Four Tops  -  6
10. That's Life  -  Frank Sinatra  -  6
11. Nashville Cats  -  The Lovin' Spoonful  -  8
12. Kind Of A Drag  -  The Buckinghams  -  9
13. Tell It To The Rain  -  The 4 Seasons   -  10
14. (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet  -  Blues Magoos  -  10
15. Mellow Yellow  -  Donovan  -  10
16. Coming Home Soldier  -  Bobby Vinton  -  11
17. 98.6  -  Keith  -  11
18. Single Girl  -  Sandy Posey  -  12
19. (I Know) I'm Losing You  -  The Temptations  -  13
20. Devil W/ A Blue Dress On / Good Golly Miss Molly  -  Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels  -  14
21. Stand By me  -  Spyder Turner  -  14
22. Talk Talk  -  The Music Machine  -  15
23. Knight In Rusty Armour  -  Peter And Gordon  -  15
24. Color My World  -  Petula Clark  -  16
25. I've Passed This Way Before  -  Jimmy Ruffin  -  17
26. Good Vibrations  -  The Beach Boys  -  17
27. Cry  -  Ronnie Dove  -  18
28. Green, Green Grass Of Home  -  Tome Jones  -  19
29. A Place In The Sun  -  Stevie Wonder  -  19
30. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone  -  The Monkees  -  20
31. I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)  -  The Electric Prunes  -  20
32. Where Will The Words Come From  -  Gary Lewis And The Playboys  -  21
33. You Keep Me Hangin' On  -  The Supremes  -  21
34. Born Free  -  Roger Williams  -  22
35. Wild Thing  -  Senator Bobby featuring Bill Minkin  -  23
36. Music To Watch Girls By  -  Bob Crewe Generation  -  24
37. Try A Little Tenderness  -  Otis Redding  -  25
38. I Need Somebody  -  ? and The Mysterians  -  25
39. Mustang Sally  -  Wilson Pickett  -  26
40. East West  -  Herman's Hermits  -  27

The Monkees dominated January 1967, sitting at #1 all 4 weeks of the month, with the Neil Diamond written I'm A Believer.  The song was #1 for 7 weeks total staring 12/31/1966.

Interesting that the 5 weeks of January 1977 gave us 5 different #1 songs! Not a bad month at all.  And 56 songs made the Top 40 during the month.  Most were either coming or going though.  The only song to both debut and drop out in the month?  Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird!  This was the live version, I suspect it was a radio-edit rather than the full 13 1/2 minute version...  Anybody remember?

Ah, January 1967...  I was 6 years old, and just in 1st grade...