3 of the Best First No. 1 Hits in 60s Folk Music

While there haven’t been that many folk songs that have gone to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, there have definitely been some hidden gems throughout music history. Here are some 60s folk songs that were also first-time No. 1 hits.

“Leaving On A Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul, and Mary

This song is still Peter, Paul And Mary’s most successful single. Written by John Denver, this song also appears on his album, Rhymes & Reasons. He wrote this one when he was just 23, waiting out a layover at Washington National Airport.

Some have interpreted this song to be about the Vietnam War, even though Denver has said before that it’s more so about “simple scenes of leaving.”

“Monday, Monday” by The Mamas and The Papas

This was The Mamas and The Papas’ first and only No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. Funnily enough, though, not everyone in the group was a fan. One of the singers, Denny Doherty, told American Songwriter that he thought it was dumb, in fact.

“I liked the opening background vocals, the ‘bah-da-da-da-da-dum.’ …I thought that was cool,” he explained. “But nobody likes Monday, so I thought it was just a song about the working man. Nothing about it stood out to me. It was a dumb f***in’ song about a day of the week. By the time the rehearsals were over for the vocals, I thought, ‘Thank god that’s over!’”

“Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds

Not only was “Mr. Tambourine Man” The Byrds’ first single, but it was also their first No. 1. To make matters more iconic, folk legend Bob Dylan also wrote this song. He also released his own version of this song.

In an attempt to quiet rumors that say this song is actually about drugs, Dylan once shared in his 1985 compilation Biograph:  “Drugs never played a part in that song… ‘disappearing through the smoke rings in my mind,’ that’s not drugs; drugs were never that big a thing with me. I could take ’em or leave ’em, never hung me up.”

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