1968: Each Bird Keeps Singing His Own Song

 4 — The Union Gap: "Woman, Woman"

 3 — The Rose Garden: "Next Plane to London"

 8 — The Small Faces: "Itchycoo Park"

10 — Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart: "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight"

 8 — The Foundations: "Baby Now That I've Found You"

 4 — Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich: "Zabadak"

 6 — Classics IV: "Spooky"

 7 — Herman's Hermits: "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving"

 4 — Bee Gees: "Words"

 1 — 1910 Fruitgum Company: "Simon Says"

 2 — Georgie Fame: "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde"

 6 — The Delfonics: "La-La (Means I Love You)"

 2 — The Monkees: "Valleri"

 2 — The Union Gap: "Young Girl"

 1 — Bobby Goldsboro: "Honey"

 8 — The Rascals: "It's a Beautiful Morning"

 6 — Simon and Garfunkel: "Mrs. Robinson"

 7 — Four Jacks and a Jill: "Master Jack"

 4 — Ohio Express: "Yummy Yummy Yummy"

 4 — Richard Harris: "MacArthur Park"

 3 — Herb Alpert: "This Guy's in Love with You"

 7 — Merrilee Rush: "Angel of the Morning"

 5 — Gary Puckett and the Union Gap: "Lady Willpower"

 7 — The Doors: "Hello, I Love You"

 5 — The Rascals: "People Got to Be Free"

 9 — Steppenwolf: "Born to Be Wild"

 2 — Jose Feliciano: "Light My Fire"

 3 — 1910 Fruitgum Company: "1, 2, 3, Red Light"

 5 — Jeannie C. Reily: "Harper Valley PTA"

10 — The Beatles: "Hey Jude"

 5 — The Crazy World of Arthur Brown: "Fire"

 3 — Mary Hopkin: "Those Were the Days"

 4 — Johnny Nash: "Hold Me Tight"

 8 — Steppenwolf: "Magic Carpet Ride"

 7 — Dion: "Abraham, Martin and John"

 5 — Diana Ross and The Supremes: "Love Child"

 7 — Glen Campbell: "Wichita Lineman"

Average Score: 5.19

Yes, the Canadian number ones have hit an all-time low. While "Simon Says" and "Honey" are the obvious low hanging fruit culprits of such a poor average score, they are far from the only offerings here that drag it down. As a matter of fact if you take out all four extremes — 1910 Fruitgum Company and Bobby Goldboro at one end, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and The Beatles at the other — the mean actually goes down slightly. Poor-to-average has become the norm; the outliers are the increasingly scarce outstanding tracks.

The simplest explanation for this is that the two major formats at the time had branched off with little opportunity for reconciliation: album acts were thriving while singles groups continued to shit out substandard fare. Groundbreaking albums such as The Beatles (aka The White Album), Beggars Banquet, Electric Ladyland, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Bookends, White Light/White Heat and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession had virtually nothing to do with what was on the Top 40. While critically acclaimed, many of these LPs failed to sell in huge numbers which indicates that releasing 45s on the old school hit parade was still the place to reap the big commercial rewards — but there was no longer much desire to make grand creative statements on the lowly 7" single.

This trend would carry over into 1969 and, indeed, well into the seventies. As for '69 in terms of the RPM chart toppers, there should be an uptick in quality as bubblegum pop begins to fade away (though not before its crowning achievement takes its rightful place at number one). Things, however, begin to get more serious with the arrival of a jazz rock monolith whose time at the top was brief but which certainly left a mark. Not unlike '68, 1969 is yet another year renowned for some remarkable albums but the singles scene is a whole other thing indeed.

Oh, and at long last, the Canadian power play is coming!