(Credits: Far Out)
Wed 7 January 2026 16:00, UK
There’s a strong argument to be made that really, the 1960s ended in 1969, not 1970. In 1969, the hedonism of the era crashed to a disaster end of murder, violence and deaths. And so, in 1968, it was the last hurrah.
It’s only in reflection that historians can see how things actually went. Especially when it comes to music and culture, it’s never that one chapter closes and another one opens with one particular date or moment. Most of the time, it was a slow crawl. It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill, forming and forming, growing and growing, until it’s real and big.
That’s how phenomena grow. Punk began as a tiny little thing as early as the 1960s, and by the mid-1970s, it was a huge force. The 1960s hippie era started much the same with a tiny yelp from San Francisco or wherever, quickly becoming a global scream that people are still obsessed with together. But in the midst of that, there were a million tiny changes like a barrage of snowballs all rolling and growing year on year as bands emerged, new sounds were developed, new technology was introduced, new trends popped up and more.
In 1968, we’re at the bottom of the hill that represents the 1960s. The bands that personify the era by now were established and big, with several years behind them to grow and evolve. Things moved fast back then, so by the end of the decade, many of them were several albums in, already miles away from where they started.
Music changed fast in that decade, beginning in a more twee, classic rock and roll place and ending something weird and psychedelic. And now, with the dark and disastrous end looming around the corner, 1968 appears as a kind of pinnacle where the moment’s biggest acts could peak before a collapse, or new artists could emerge as guiding lights into something new.
It was a busy year. Jimi Hendrix released Electric Ladyland, not knowing it would be his last. The Rolling Stones released Beggars Banquet as Brian Jones’ dedication was slipping fast. The Doors shared Waiting For The Sun, Van Morrison delivered Astral Weeks, Joni Mitchell emerged with her debut, and so did The Band.
From every direction, it felt like the various musical strains of the 1960s were building to a crescendo before breaking into something new. But above all the noise, one song captured it.
What was the best-selling song from 1968?
If there is one band that perfectly defines 1968, it has to be The Beatles. Capturing the scrappy, messy, about-to-blow energy of the year, The Beatles themselves were in the midst of a chaotic fallout that was about to come crashing down, but in the meantime, they were still making great music.
The White Album captures the creatively-charged yet worryingly explosive vibe of the coming destruction of the peace and love era, as do the band’s scattering of singles that were released that year. If the law says that what comes up must come down, the band’s 1968 represents the high velocity free fall that’s both exciting and bound to end in destruction.
But on that fall, they released a truly timeless anthem. ‘Hey Jude’ was released as a standalone single in August and flew to the top of the charts. Dedicated to John Lennon’s son, it felt like a further expansion of the rift between Lennon and McCartney, as it appeared that Paul was stepping up where John wouldn’t. But as a single, it was a mega hit and became the biggest-selling single in both the UK and the US for that year.
By now, the track is estimated to have sold over eight million copies worldwide as one of the best-known tunes in history. You’d struggle to find anyone who couldn’t get involved with the refrain of “na na na na”, but in 1968, as it felt like everything was collapsing around them, they sang it out for the first time.
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