Most Unusual One Hit Wonder of Them All

07/12/2011
. (Gibson) One of the most unusual, memorable and certainly intriguing one hit wonders of all time, "In the Year 2525," made it to no 1 on the U.S. singles charts on this very day in 1969.

The space-age theme of technology threatening man's very survival obviously hit a chord in 1969, the era of Star Trek, prototype computers and the U.S. versus the Soviet Union space race. Sung by Zager and Evans, the song, ostensibly a folk protest number, somewhat akin to Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," warns of what will become to the universe as technology takes over: "In the year 2525 / Your arms are hanging limp at your side, You legs got nothing to do, Some machine's doing that for you"

Timing is everything, and the song was still #1 on July 20, 1969 in the U.S., the date of Neil Armstrong's historic Apollo moon landing. By staying at #1 for six weeks, which was longer than any other song that year, the track won itself the honor of Billboard's #1 record of the year. more on this story

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