Eve of Destruction (song)
| "Eve of Destruction" | |||||||||
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| Single by Barry McGuire | |||||||||
| from the album Eve of Destruction | |||||||||
| Released | 1965 | ||||||||
| Format | 7" | ||||||||
| Recorded | July 15, 1965 | ||||||||
| Genre | Folk rock | ||||||||
| Length | 3:38 | ||||||||
| Label |
Dunhill (U.S.) RCA (Canada) |
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| Writer(s) | P. F. Sloan | ||||||||
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler, P. F. Sloan, Steve Barri | ||||||||
| Barry McGuire singles chronology | |||||||||
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"Eve of Destruction" is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in mid-1964. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by Barry McGuire. This recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965 and released by Dunhill Records. The accompanying musicians were top-tier LA session players: P. F. Sloan on guitar, Hal Blaine (of Phil Spector's "Wrecking Crew") on drums, and Larry Knechtel on bass. The vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix and was not intended to be the final version, but a copy of the recording "leaked" out to a DJ, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit and as a result the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded.
McGuire's single hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1965.
The song had initially been presented to The Byrds as a Dylanesque potential single, but they rejected it. The Turtles, another LA group who often recorded The Byrds' discarded or rejected material, recorded a version instead. Their version was issued as a track on their 1965 debut album It Ain't Me Babe, shortly before McGuire's version was cut; it was eventually released as a single and hit number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. The song was also recorded by Jan and Dean on their album Folk 'n Roll in 1965, using the same backing track as the McGuire version, and by The Grass Roots on their first album Where Were You When I Needed You in 1966.
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