Top 40 hit 45s from 1967 in stereo?

I'm in the process of conducting a massive inventory of my music collection and am trying to determine mono and/or stereo single availability for each Top 40 hit. It's my understanding that commercial 45s began to get released in stereo around 1968 (I invite anyone to correct me if I'm wrong about this). So if the overwhelming majority of Top 40 hits from 1967 were still being released commercially on 45 in mono, can anyone name or list any from that year that were issued in stereo?

Edited by Todd Ireland

TomDiehl1 wrote: Sunshine Girl by the Parade appeared on a stereo promo 45 toward the end of it's chart run (two of my friends, both from ohio, have copies of the mono/stereo promo...i'm still looking for a copy of that promo myself).

I have 3 stereo A&M promo singles from 1967..."Live" and "Very Lovely Woman" by the Merry Go Round & "Child Of Clay"--Jimmie Rodgers. Neither Merry Go Round song made the top 40 nationally, but they were good-sized regional hits.
None of mine are mono/stereo...all 3 have the same B side as the commercial single, only in stereo.

AFAIK, these stereo singles weren't around for long...other than a handful of mono/stereo promos, any other A&M promos I know of from '68/69 were just white-label versions of the stock single.

Yah Shure wrote: 1968 is correct. I don't think you're going to find any from '67. ("I Can See For Miles" was mono.) Although it wasn't the first of the 1968 stereo commercial 45s, The Doors' "Hello, I Love You" was the first one to crack the top 40. Prior to that, the first stereo commercial 45 I found while rack-browsing in April was "Goin' Away", the Fireballs' follow-up to "Bottle Of Wine." It was also the first single I ever bought unheard; the stereo designation alone did the trick.

I'll have to check my promo of "Goin' Away" to see if it's stereo. "Rice Is Nice" by the Lemonpipers was also stereo, and released about the same time. I don't have my Whitburn handy so I'm not sure if it hit the top 40 or not. MGM experimented with stereo 45s in the spring of '68 using the term "saturation sound". The catalog #s had an "SS" suffix.

The first Decca single I recall seeing in stereo was the Who's "Pinball Wizard", though like most labels were inconsistent about stereo singles.

I also can't think of any stereo commercial singles from 1967.

Hykker wrote: "Rice Is Nice" by the Lemonpipers was also stereo, and released about the same time.

Steve, thanks for bringing that one up, since "Rice Is Nice" was actually the one I had in mind, rather than "May I Take A Giant Step." Imagine getting the Fruitgum Co. mixed up with the Lemon Pipers! :) "Rice Is Nice" only made it up to #46, and was the only one of the three Lemon Pipers' Hot 100 45s to be issued in stereo. Their follow-up single, the #51 "Jelly Jungle (Of Orange Marmalade)", was a step back to mono, in a dedicated mono mix that differed from the stereo LP mix.

Hykker wrote: The first Decca single I recall seeing in stereo was the Who's "Pinball Wizard"

Same here. "Pinball Wizard" also adopted Decca's "7" catalog numbering prefix utilized on the label's stereo LPs, although not all Decca 45s that were in stereo began with the "7".

Brian W. wrote: But, you know, there were quite a few stereo 45s in the late '50s and early '60s -- not exclusive stereos, but they would release both a stereo and a mono 45, separately.

Correct, Brian. Flash back to the "Alvin's Harmonica" thread. Many of those first generation stereo 45s were cut much quieter than their mono counterparts, lest the styli on those early stereo cartridges go flying out of the groove. My 1959 stereo Laurie 45 of the Mystics' "Hushabye" only uses about three-fourths of the available playing surface, while the mono issue spreads it out to the max.

Hykker wrote: TomDiehl1 wrote: Sunshine Girl by the Parade appeared on a stereo promo 45 toward the end of it's chart run (two of my friends, both from ohio, have copies of the mono/stereo promo...i'm still looking for a copy of that promo myself). I have 3 stereo A&M promo singles from 1967..."Live" and "Very Lovely Woman" by the Merry Go Round & "Child Of Clay"--Jimmie Rodgers. Neither Merry Go Round song made the top 40 nationally, but they were good-sized regional hits. None of mine are mono/stereo...all 3 have the same B side as the commercial single, only in stereo. AFAIK, these stereo singles weren't around for long...other than a handful of mono/stereo promos, any other A&M promos I know of from '68/69 were just white-label versions of the stock single.

I have Larry Marks' L.A. Break Down (And Take Me In), a killer record from 1968 that barely did anything on the charts (bubbled under, i think), as a promo on A&M (#960), it has the same song in stereo on both sides.....

Coincidentally, I have the Fairchilds single (I Couldn't Think About Livin' Without You) Thinkin' 'Bout Me (A&M 903) as a promo with the same song on both sides, both mono, and also Jimmie Rodgers' You Pass Me By / I Believed It All promo (A&M 902) with mono versions of the stock single on both sides....

I wonder why A&M was inconsistent with their promos during this time (if anyone comes up with a stereo promo for the Fairchilds disc i'll pay really good money for one).