(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Zager & Evans - "In the Year 2525"
Hit Number 1: July 12, 1969
Stay at Number 1: 6 Weeks
One of the biggest events in history happened while "In the Year 2525" was at #1. The Apollo 11 moon landing likely made people wonder more about the universe, and for a second, it might have even brought people closer together, regardless of their personal views on politics and what not. This was key for Zager & Evans, a pop-rock duo who had never scored a hit on the Hot 100 before or after "In the Year 2525". If there's two things that humanity has wondered about since our existence began, it's been space, and the future. In a way, "In the Year 2525" kind of deals with both of those things. Maybe that's why it struck a chord with America at this time, and helped it stay at the #1 spot for 6 weeks.
After giving the song a listen, I can say that the strong is very strange. Zager & Evans lead us through about 7,500 years of time travel, as we go further and further into the future. The song starts out in 2525, and they question if man will even be alive at that time. If man is indeed alive in 2525, the song spits out more and more predictions on the shape of humanity at that time and going forward. Things just get more and more ridiculous, as we're told that at some point in the future, our bodies will have nothing to do because machines are doing everything for us. We're also told that marriage and sex are no longer needed in the distant future because we'll pick our children out of glass tubes. Finally at the year 10,000, humanity will have allegedly used up all of the resources on Earth, and we will become extinct. Zager & Evans reassure us, though, that possibly somewhere in another universe, the process is starting over again.
The moon landing in 1969 made people wonder about everything. What else is out there that we could explore? What other cool moments could be in store in the future? "In the Year 2525" wasn't a direct result of what was going on in 1969, one because it was written, recorded, and released in 1968. Also, because Zager & Evans were clearly in some weird psychedelic haze just like the rest of the country, and started babbling on about futuristic lifestyles, and how humanity will reach its end. But at this time, people clearly didn't see it that way. The song resonated with them in the weirdest of ways.
"In the Year 2525" isn't some great piece musically either. I'm not sure if it was Zager or Evans who sang lead, but whoever it is they have a voice that I can't listen to for very long before I become annoyed. And the song is extremely repetitive, following the same structure for most of it, and lacking a chorus. Some songs can pull that off. "In the Year 2525" is not one of those songs. It's just another one of those songs that was released at just the right time, and it was propelled into something bigger than it ever needed to be. Oh yeah, and let me just say that at the rate we're going, there's no way in hell that humanity is still around in 2525, let alone 9595.
GRADE: 3/10
JUST MISSED:
Tommy James & the Shondelles' mesmerizing, silly but still memorable "Crystal Blue Persuasion" peaked at #2 behind "In the Year 2525". It's a 9.
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