Special: "Time of the Season" (1969) 7/9/20

Today is my birthday, so I'm giving myself a present: I'm going to “break format” (just a little) and highlight one of my favorite “Great Songs of 1969.”

In 1968, The Zombies were in trouble. They had scored two hits up to that point (“Tell Her No:” #2 in 1964, and “She's Not There,” #6 in 1965)...but after that, they quickly lost momentum, and with it, gigs and money.

In one last effort to keep things going, they recorded the album “Odessey and Oracle” on a shoestring budget...but didn't even have enough money left to correct the spelling of “Odyssey” and reprint the album cover.

Over the next several months, several singles were released from the album without any glimmer of success. Discouraged, The Zombies called it a career.

But then songwriter/musician/producer Al Kooper, the newly installed A&R (Artists and Repertoire) man at Columbia Records, convinced the company to release one final track: “Time of the Season.” The song featured unique “call and response” vocals from lead singer Colin Blunstone over an eclectic instrumental track with psychedelic organ solos by keyboardist Rod Argent, who also wrote the tune. All of a sudden, The Zombies were back on the charts: #1 in Canada, #2 in South Africa, and #3 in the US!

As an avid radio listener who was just about to start his on-air radio career, I can tell you the song was all over the airwaves.

And it was catchy!

All that airplay convinced The Zombies to attempt a comeback, but unfortunately, it didn't “take.

As time passed, however, good things started to happen:

Rolling Stone Magazine listed “Odessey and Oracle” at #100 on their list of the Top 500 Albums of All Time, and in 2012, NME Magazine (Britain's “New Music Express”) named “Time of the Season” one of the best songs of the '60s!

Then, in 2019, thanks in part to “Odessey and Oracle,” (which critics now say was WAY ahead of its time), The Zombies were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!

Maybe now they can afford to fix the spelling on the album cover. :-) “Time of the Season:” A “Great Song of the '60s!”