Peak
1
Weeks
14
Score
3,883
Chart Year
1968
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This song has a message that resonated loud and clear in 1968: All the world over, so easy to see People everywhere just wanna be free Freedom lost a champion on April 4, 1968 when Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down, and when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, it was dealt another devastating blow. Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals wrote this song in reaction to those murders, condensing King and Kennedy's message into a simple missive calling for unity and understanding. It's hard to argue with the song's message, as it's not overtly political and doesn't lash out at any person or organization in particular. Combined with an uptempo rock groove, it had all the makings of a hit. Felix Cavaliere claimed that he had to fight for this song, since Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records was worried that a message song would hurt the Rascals' career. Cavaliere prevailed and the song became the group's biggest hit, reaching #1 in America in August 1968, where it remained for five weeks). This was the third #1 hit for the group (after "Good Lovin'" and "Groovin''"), but the first under their original name. In 1966-67 all their singles were credited to the "Young Rascals," a name imposed upon them by Atlantic Records to avoid confusion with the Harmonica Rascals. Their followup single, the #24 "A Ray of Hope," was written for the Kennedy family after RFK's death and prompted a thank-you letter from the fallen senator's little brother, Ted.
All the world over, so easy to see People everywhere just wanna be free Listen, please listen, that's the way it should be There's peace in the valley, people got to be free You should see What a lovely, lovely world this'd be Everyone learned to live together, ah hah Seems to me Such an itty bitty thing should be Why can't you and me learn to love one another? All the world over, so easy to see People everywhere just wanna be free (wanna be free) I can't understand it, so simple to me People everywhere just got to be free If there's a man Who is down and needs a helpin' hand All it takes is you to understand and To pull him through, ah hah Seems to me We got to solve it individually, ah ah And I'll do unto you what you do to me Said, no Hear the shoutin' from the mountains on out to the sea No two ways about it, people have to be free (they gotta be free) Ask me my opinion, my opinion will be Natural situation for a man to be free Get right on board now, huh, huh Yeah oh, what a feelin's just come over me Love can move a mountain, make a blind man see Everybody sing it now come on let's go see Peace in the valley now, we all can be free See that train over there? Now that's the train of freedom It's about to 'rrive any minute, now You know it's been'a long, long overdue Look out 'cause it's a'comin' right on through Ha, ha, yeah, ha, ha, yeah
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 20, 1968 | 64 | 62 |
| 2 | Jul 27, 1968 | 32 | 94 |
| 3 | Aug 3, 1968 | 13 | 113 |
| 4 | Aug 10, 1968 | 5 | 121 |
| 5 | Aug 17, 1968 | 1 | 125 |
| 6 | Aug 24, 1968 | 1 | 125 |
| 7 | Aug 31, 1968 | 1 | 125 |
| 8 | Sep 7, 1968 | 1 | 125 |
| 9 | Sep 14, 1968 | 1 | 125 |
| 10 | Sep 21, 1968 | 2 | 124 |
| 11 | Sep 28, 1968 | 3 | 123 |
| 12 | Oct 5, 1968 | 7 | 119 |
| 13 | Oct 12, 1968 | 12 | 114 |
| 14 | Oct 19, 1968 | 27 | 99 |