1965 No. 1, Born From A Rushed Barry McGuire Recording, Topped The Charts 61 Years Ago Today
On September 25, 1965, the brand-new No. 1 song in the United States was Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," frantic and urgent in both its creation and its content. "Eve of Destruction" is one of those songs that best capture the poetic soul of folk rock, although that's reductive of McGuire's influence on the era. Formerly a prominent member of the popular early '60s folk collective the New Christy Minstrels, McGuire wrote "Greenback Dollar" for the Kingston Trio and gave the Mamas and the Papas some early work singing supporting vocals on his debut 1963 LP.
But when it came time to make his follow-up album, McGuire's handlers at Dunhill Records looked to some songwriters on the payroll to craft a likely hit, and one modeled off of protest music like the kind being made by Bob Dylan at the time. The result of such label shenanigans was "Eve of Destruction," a No. 1 song from 1965 that proves it was the decade's best year for music.
The rough draft of Eve of Destruction topped the pop chart
"Eve of Destruction" expresses deeply held fears about the deteriorating state of the world under the then-current political climate, with mass casualties and nuclear armageddon being reasonable possibilities. It's all delivered in a sad, angry, and powerful growl by Barry McGuire, with the accompaniment of aggressively played acoustic instruments that wryly imitate a military march.
Dunhill Records composers P.F. Sloan and Steve Berri didn't expect label brass to use "Eve of Destruction" for anything beyond the flip-side of a possible single, and their marginally impressed boss Lou Adler asked them to quickly capture McGuire's first attempt at a vocal track as a guide or rehearsal for what was supposed to be the more carefully recorded master take. But then Dunhill executive Jay Lasker heard the unfinished "Eve of Destruction" and liked it so much that he leaked it to influential Los Angeles radio station KFWB.
Capturing a big part of the spirit of the '60s, "Eve of Destruction" consequently went to No. 1 and was one-hit-wonder '60s rocker McGuire's first and final Top 40 hit.