These pop songs from the 1960s are still quite loved today, and oddly enough, they were originally rejected by labels. It’s crazy to think that they almost never existed. Thankfully, those labels eventually had the sense to let them see the light of day.
“What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong (1967)
This has to be one of the most memorable songs of the 1960s. And yet, when it was first released, “What A Wonderful World” did quite poorly on the US charts. That might seem strange, considering the song hit No. 1 in the UK and the Top 10 across Europe. There’s a reason for that. Apparently, Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records at the time, didn’t care for the song and refused to promote it. That didn’t stop Louis Armstrong’s beautiful tune from becoming a cultural phenomenon. When the song was reissued in 1988, it made it all the way to No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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“Have I The Right?” by The Honeycombs (1964)
Remember this pop hit from The Honeycombs? If not, you probably remember The Honeycombs as a band if you were around in 1964. They were known for their female drummer, Honey Lantree, who was a pioneer among women in music at the time. The band’s hit tune, “Have I The Right?”, was a No. 5 hit in the US and a chart-topper in the UK, Canada, and several other countries. Surprisingly enough, the tune was initially rejected by quite a few major labels when producer Joe Meek tried to shop it around. Eventually, Pye Records saw the song’s appeal and published the song, and the rest is history. By late 1964, “Have I The Right?” had sold over a million copies globally.
“Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (1968)
This hard rock classic was also quite the crossover pop hit in 1968, peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. “Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf makes it to our list of pop songs from the 1960s that were rejected because a number of bands (and their labels) turned the song down when songwriter Mars Bonfire tried shopping it around. One noteworthy band that didn’t take the offer was The Human Expression. Steppenwolf eventually recorded it, and it became one of the most intense rock anthems of the late 1960s.
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