Every Baby Boomer Alive Remembers These 4 Must-Hear Classic Rock Ballads From 1968

If you’re a baby boomer who loves a tender ballad or two, I bet you still remember the following classic rock ballads from 1968. It was a good year for smooth, soft rock tunes, and these four songs were pretty big hits back in the day.

“Hey Jude” by The Beatles

There’s no way I’d leave the quintessential Beatles ballad off this list. “Hey Jude” was basically the song of the year in 1968, and it was the kind of sweet ballad that explodes into something so anthemic and memorable, you just can’t forget it.

“Hey Jude” peaked at No. 1 across the world, including the US, UK, Canada, and much of Europe and parts of Asia.

“Only One Woman” by The Marbles

The Marbles are a bit underrated among 60s duos in retrospect. But they did have quite a hit with the 1968 soul-rock ballad, “Only One Woman”. This soulful tune would end up being the duo’s biggest hit in their fairly short career. It peaked at No. 5 in the UK, but didn’t quite cross over to the American charts. We can thank The Bee Gees for this one. “Only One Woman” was written by Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb.

“Eloise” by Barry Ryan from ‘Barry Ryan Sings Paul Ryan’

“Eloise” by English crooner Barry Ryan was a baroque pop ballad for the ages. This orchestral, dramatic tune was quite the international hit. Interestingly enough, Barry Ryan’s version of the song was actually written by his twin brother, Paul Ryan.

This ballad was only a minor hit in the US. It peaked at No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 50 on the Cash Box Top 100. Elsewhere, though, “Eloise” made it to the Top 10 across Europe.

“A Day Without Love” by The Love Affair from ‘The Everlasting Love Affair’

Here’s another English hit that diehard British Invasion fans in the US likely remember, even though it wasn’t a hit on our side of the pond. “A Day Without Love” by The Love Affair is one of those ballads from 1968 that many a baby boomer with a love for wholesome pop-oriented music couldn’t get enough of. The song was one of several hits the band enjoyed in the 60s, peaking at No. 8 on the Melody Maker Pop 30 chart in the UK.

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