September 25, 1965: "Eve of Destruction" Hits Number 1

September 25, 1965: "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire hits Number 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.

Barry McGuire (no middle name) was born on October 15, 1935 in Oklahoma City, and joined the folksinging group The New Christy Minstrels, co-writing, and singing lead on, their song "Green, Green," a Top 10 hit for them in 1963. But he left them in early 1965, looking for something more.

Philip Gary Schlein was born on September 18, 1945 in Manhattan, and grew up in Los Angeles, where his father changed the family name to Sloan, and Philip became known as "P.F." or "Flip" Sloan. The songs he wrote and recorded himself didn't go too far.

He began to write songs with Steven Barry Lipkin, a.k.a. Steve Barri, born on February 23, 1942, and also a New Yorker who went west to Los Angeles before the Brooklyn Dodgers did. Together, they would write such hits as "A Must to Avoid" by Herman's Hermits, "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers, and "You Baby" by The Turtles.

Early in 1965, "Eve of Destruction" was offered to The Byrds, who turned it down, and then The Turtles, who recorded it, but dropped the 3rd verse, in the hopes that it would get more airplay if it were a shorter song. It wasn't a hit for them.

Around that time, McGuire met with Sloan, and asked if he had any material. Sloan showed him some light fare, potential pop hits. McGuire said, "No, I'm looking for something that means something." Sloan showed him he songs that he thought "meant something." McGuire grabbed him by the face, kissed him, and said, "You're exactly what I'm looking for."

McGuire recorded "Eve of Destruction," and the album, on Dunhill Records, would carry the same title. Also on the album were "Sins of a Family," "Mr. Man on the Street" and "What's Exactly the Matter with Me," credited to Sloan alone; "You Never Had It So Good" and "Ain't No Way I'm Gonna Change My Mind," credited to Sloan and Barri; "Why Not Stop and Dig It While You Can," which McGuire wrote himself; and covers of Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," The We Five's "You Were On My Mind," "Try to Remember" from the Broadway musical The Fantasticks, and the folk song "Sloop John B."

"Eve of Destruction" was recorded on July 13, 1965, in Los Angeles. Only 3 musicians were on it: Sloan himself played guitar and harmonica, and, from Phil Spector's "Wrecking Crew," Larry Knechtel played bass guitar and Hal Blaine played drums. Sloan, Barri, and Dunhill owner Lou Adler were listed as the song's producers.

The lyrics referenced the Vietnam War, whose first major protest march had been held in New York in April; the fact that, a man could be drafted at age 18, but couldn't vote until he was 21, a fact that wouldn't be changed until the 26th Amendment was ratified in 1971; trouble in the Middle East; the threat of nuclear annihilation; Southern Senators' attempts to block civil rights legislation; a comparison of "all the hate there is in Red China" with that of the police of Selma, Alabama the preceding March; a comparison of being an astronaut to living on Earth; and the hypocrisy of American Christianity: "Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say 'Grace.'"

By some standards, it seemed like the high point of liberalism and progress in America. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been passed. Martin Luther King Jr. was the current holder of the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare and Medicaid hadn't been signed into law yet, but would be as the song climbed the charts. Then again, the Watts race riot also happened right after that.

Blaine's drum opening, the spare arrangement, and Sloan's harmonica added to the song's hopeless atmosphere. A performance on ABC's variety show The Hollywood Palace showed McGuire singing in a junkyard while somber-looking dancers moved very slowly, with little of the joy associated with 1960s rock and roll dancing.

A vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix, and was not intended to be the final version. But a copy of the recording "leaked" out to a disc jockey. The song was an instant hit, and as a result, the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded. Many radio stations, thinking the song "un-American" or "anti-American," banned it. But it sold so many copies that, in its issue dated September 25, 1965, Billboard magazine ranked it Number 1 on its Hot 100 anyway.

The backlash affected McGuire more after the song came down the charts: He never had another Top 40 hit. The Spokesmen, including David White of Danny & The Juniors, and John Medora, who co-wrote "At the Hop" with White, recorded an answer song, "Dawn of Correction." It praised civil rights advances, decolonization, the Peace Corps and the United Nations, so it wasn't a straight-ahead right-wing response. Country singer Johnny Seay, under the name "Johnny Sea," also recorded a spoken-word piece, "Day for Decision," which acknowledged the problems, but suggested that patriotism was the answer, when it clearly wasn't. Both songs became hits, though not big ones.

In 1966, Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, who had been a combat medic in Vietnam, recorded "The Ballad of the Green Berets." It wasn't an intentional answer song, but many people treated the considerably more patriotic song as such, and it hit Number 1.

In 1970, The Temptations recorded "Ball of Confusion." Being a Motown production, it was much more slickly-produced. It hit many of the same ideas, and used the words "eve of destruction." More a sequel than an answer song, it hit Number 3. In 1972, Don McLean's "American Pie" hit some of the same themes, and hit Number 1.

McGuire appeared in the original Broadway production of Hair in 1968. In 1971, he became a born-again Christian, and began recording Christian rock. By the 1990s, he was again willing to play his former hits. After a 1999 school shooting, McGuire took the line about China and Alabama, and changed it to, "Then take a look around at Columbine, Colorado."

Barry McGuire, 2023

Larry Knechtel died in 2009, Phil Sloan in 2015, and Hal Blaine in 2019. As of September 25, 2022, Barry McGuire, Steve Barri and Lou Adler are still alive, and McGuire is still performing.

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September 25, 1965 was a Saturday. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen was born.

These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees were swept by the Chicago White Sox in a doubleheader, 3-1 2-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. In the opener, not only did future Yankee Tommy John outpitch Bill Stafford, he hit a home run, the 1st of 5 he hit in a long career. Roy White, who made his major league debut 18 days earlier, went 1-for-3. Bobby Murcer, who made his major league debut 17 days earlier, went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

In the nightcap, Gary Peters (6 2/3rds innings) and Hoyt Wilhelm combined on a 6-hit shutout. White and Murcer didn't play. Roger Maris was injured, and didn't play in either game. Over the 2 games, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-7 with a walk.

* The New York Mets split a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phils won the opener, and Mets won the nightcap, and both games ended 4-1. Dick Stuart and Clay Dalrymple hit home runs in the 1st game. Greg Goossen and Jim Hickman homered in the 2nd game.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the California Angels, 2-1 and 2-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-6 with 2 walks and an RBI over the 2 games. In the 2nd game, Milt Pappas pitched a 3-hit shutout. He pitched 1 more game for the Orioles, and was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Frank Robinson, in the greatest trade in Oriole history.

* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators, 5-0 and 5-3 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. In the opener, Jim "Mudcat" Grant allowed only 1 hit, a 3rd-inning double by Don Blasingame. Zoilo Versalles went 4-for-5 with a home run, on his way to winning the American League's Most Valuable Player award. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-7 with 2 walks over the doubleheader.

The next day, the Twins clinched their 1st Pennant in Minnesota, the franchise's 1st since 1933 -- as the previous (though not first) franchise to be known as the Washington Senators.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline did not play.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 0-for-2 with a walk, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4. Bill Mazeroski hit a home run. Willie Stargell got a hit as a pinch-hitter.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4. Tony Conigliaro went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and 2 RBIs. Satchel Paige started the game for the A's, at 59 years old. He was the oldest player ever to appear in a Major League Baseball game. He went 3 innings, allowed no runs, 1 hit, no walks, striking out 1. It was the K.C. bullpen -- Diego Seguí, Don Mossi and John Wyatt -- who lost the game. I have a separate entry for this event.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jim Maloney pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 7-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit his 50th home run of the season. He would finish with 52, and the National League's MVP, although the Dodgers would edge the Giants for the Pennant. Eddie Mathews hit what turned out to be his last home run for the Braves before they moved to Atlanta the next season. Hank Aaron did not hit a home run, going 1-for-5.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Notre Dame were upset by Number 6 Purdue, 25-21 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Number 2 Nebraska beat Air Force, 27-17 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* Number 3 Texas beat Texas Tech, 33-7 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

* Number 4 Michigan beat the University of California, 10-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

* Number 5 Arkansas beat the University of Tulsa, 20-12 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Number 7 Louisiana State (LSU) beat Rice, 42-14 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 9 Syracuse were upset by the University of Miami, 24-0 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

* Number 10 Kentucky beat Mississippi, 16-7 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

* With the other service academies, Army beat Virginia Military Institute (VMI), 21-7 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy played Stanford to a tie, 7-7 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, Cailfornia.

* And in New Jersey, Princeton beat Rutgers, 32-6 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, Mercer County.

In New Jersey high school football, East Brunswick of Middlesex County, the school that would one day be my Alma Mater, lost away to Steinert, 13-12 at Steinert High School Football Field (the only name the facility has ever had) in Hamilton, Mercer County (the school is often called "Hamilton East").

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Manchester United, 4-2 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.