One hit wonders Zager and Evans’ 1969 chartbuster, “In the Year 2525,” seems as good a song as any to pull out on such a hot August day here in thee Summer of Hate.
An apocalyptic warning about the dangers of technology, the Second Coming and other foreboding stuff, the song as recorded in 1968, in a session the duo paid $500 for. After being released independently via a regional label, the record caught on with a Texas radio station that hipped RCA-Victor to tune, who then picked it up for nation distribution. It stayed at the #1 spot for six weeks in 1969 and was the top song the week of the moon landing.
Zager and Evans never had another hit record. The follow-up to “In the Year 2525” was called “Mr. Turnkey” and told the story of a rapist who nails his own wrist to the wall as punishment for his crimes. What a nutty idea for a pop song! “Mr. Turnkey” failed to chart.
After 9/11, “In the Year 2525” was famously banned from airplay by Clear Channel. As we get closer to the year, expect to hear this song with ever increasing frequency.