What was the best-selling album in 1968?
When we think about the 1960s, and in particular the latter part of the decade, it was all about psychedelia, hippie culture, and revolution. It was a time of massive political and technological upheaval – with social protests erupting the world over and moon landings not too far on the horizon; it’s fair to say that in 1968, change was well and truly the mood of the moment.
Of course, in the musical realm, there were huge artistic expressions of this, especially through the albeit slightly fading notes of the British invasion with the likes of The Rolling Stones blazing the charts and other future iconic outfits like Black Sabbath just gearing into life. It also goes without saying that there were four Liverpudlian overlords leading the scene, with 1968 being a particularly pivotal year for them in their own right.
The Beatles’ The White Album was the absolute staple in securing the fact that the Fabs were set on being the biggest band who ever lived, and with genre-defining hits like ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ just naturally rolling off the tongue at this point, it was purely inevitable that the seminal double record would go on to be the best-selling album of the year. Or was it?
Because, in fact, despite the world rapture of The White Album, it was not the best-selling album of 1968. The real winner wasn’t even something that suited the mood of revolution or swinging sentiments but something of a certain, more refined appeal. Instead, it was the soundtrack for the classic Rogers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music that took the prize for the best-selling record of the years, leaving The Beatles and all their rock cronies revelling in shock.
How did The Sound of Music outsell The Beatles in 1968?
Although The Sound of Music was released in 1965, it became one of the most successful albums of all time, spending years in the charts at the time. Comparatively, at the time The White Album was released, it spent only 22 weeks in the charts, with a much more reverential view of the record coming later on. At the time, however, some thought The White Album ultimately missed the mark given the political context of the era and that new musical tides were beginning to ride in.
Indeed, in 1968, The Beatles were actually outsold by Glen Campbell, whose country pop fusions were slowly putting America back on the map after the British invasion eventually began to retreat. This is not to completely blast the Fab Four – because, of course, their sales in 1968 were still seismic – but given that they ended up going their separate ways not two years later, the very beginnings of their spiral were starting to show.
As much as the end of the 1960s was a pivotal time in the history of rock music, it turns out that it could not be outdone by the dulcet singing tones of “the hills are alive”. While it may be controversial, perhaps the only force that could beat out The Beatles was Broadway.
