Every Baby Boomer Alive Has a Core Memory To Go With These 4 Songs From 1968

The music we hear when we’re young tends to stay in our minds the same way that memories we form at that same time stick around, intertwining with each other until it becomes virtually impossible to hear some songs and not get whisked away down memory lane to a time 20, 30, or 40 years in the past. The baby boomer generation has a wellspring of incredible songs to accompany their core memories, including these four from 1968.

“Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro

Bobby Goldsboro’s 1968 single “Honey” is infused with so much nostalgia that it’s hard not to get wistful while listening. This global No. 1 hit is a perfect example of a song that uses specific imagery, yet retains a universal quality that allows anyone to listen to it. The person you think of while listening to this song might not have wrecked a car, and you might not have bought that person a puppy for Christmas. Nevertheless, most baby boomers will have someone in mind when they hear the lines, “And honey, I miss you, and I’m bein’ good.”

“Sunshine Of Your Love” by Cream

When a band only exists for a brief moment in time, their music inevitably becomes glued to those specific years. Cream is no exception, releasing only four albums between 1966 and 1969 before disbanding, with a few exceptions for reunions in the 1990s and 2000s. Consequently, most baby boomers will be transported back to where they were when “Sunshine Of Your Love” was a new, fresh track. After all, Cream didn’t release enough music to really compete with what would become one of their legacy-defining hits.

“Delilah” by Tom Jones

Guitarists and drummers are great, but few instruments can move a listener quite like the human voice. There’s almost certainly some sort of primal, intrinsic quality to this phenomenon. It was our first instrument; thus, it’s also one of our most powerful. Tom Jones built his career on his particularly impressive voice, and 1968 songs like “Delilah” helped showcase that talent. The Welsh singer released his career hit in February 1968, and it topped pop charts worldwide.

“Revolution” by The Beatles

The 1960s were a particularly tumultuous time in global history, and many baby boomers can still viscerally recall the conflict, empowerment, and revolution that defined this era. They also likely have core memories attached to songs like “Revolution” by The Beatles, a John Lennon composition just on the fence enough to appeal to self-proclaimed revolutionaries and the people who preferred not to take such an aggressive stance on sociopolitical issues. In fact, The Beatles were the soundtrack for many core memories made in the 1960s. In 1968 alone, notable Beatles songs included “Hey Jude”, “Blackbird”, and “Lady Madonna”.

Photo by Icon and Image/Getty Images

The post Every Baby Boomer Alive Has a Core Memory To Go With These 4 Songs From 1968 appeared first on American Songwriter.