Have you ever heard a song from the 60s that you liked, only to find out that the musician who produced it had disappeared from the charts and mainstream consciousness? It happens often, believe it or not. The following bands and musicians scored big hits in 1965, then promptly disappeared without a trace. Let’s find out what actually happened to them.

The Silkie

You probably know “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” as a hit song by The Beatles, released in 1965. However, they were not the only band to record this standout from Help! 

In fact, another band scored a hit with the song, and that band was very closely associated with The Beatles. The English folk rock group The Silkie was signed by none other than Brian Epstein. And some members of The Beatles even helped them record the song. The Silkie recorded their version a few months after The Beatles. They made it all the way to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

That cover would be their only hit, and a series of songs would fail to chart on any major Billboard chart in the US or UK. After dropping “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”, the band failed to obtain visas to tour. Their additional releases also failed to chart. The Silkie would call it quits, officially, in 1966.

The Castaways

Remember the garage rock tune “Liar, Liar”? This hit proto-punk track was recorded by The Castaways in 1965, and it hit No. 12 on the Hot 100 chart soon after. Then… they simply disappeared.

In reality, The Castaways stuck together until 1968. However, after hitting the charts with “Liar, Liar”, the band struggled to maintain their chart presence. They never released an actual album, and subsequent singles only did well in their local scene. The Castaways would get back together with a new lineup in the 70s, but the original band has been more or less lost to time.

Barry McGuire

Barry McGuire had significant success in 1965 with the song “Eve Of Destruction”, and he earned a spot on this list of bands and musicians that disappeared after scoring a hit that year. “Eve Of Destruction” is a powerful protest song that touches on everything from the Vietnam War to the Civil Rights Movement. It was a controversial hit that made it to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1965.

After the song’s release, McGuire never made it to the Top 40 in the US again. When the 70s rolled around, he became a born-again Christian and focused mainly on producing Christian music. He doesn’t perform much anymore, but he did take on a few nostalgic 60s music tours with members of The Byrds in the early aughts.

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