“Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire is-one of the most–and least–popular protest songs of all time! Here’s what I mean…

Lyrically, Songwriter P.F. Sloan tackled ALL of the social issues of day: Vietnam, the threat of nuclear war, the Civil Rights Movement, turmoil in the Middle East, and more.

The youth culture of the ’60s could definitely relate…while the media  helped make the song even more popular by claiming the song highlighted everything that was wrong…with the youth culture of the ’60s.
Some radio stations even banned “Eve of Destruction claiming it was an aid to The Viet Cong.

As for Barry McGuire, he didn’t particularly like the song, and according to both Barry and P.F. Sloan (who played guitar and harmonica on the track, he just tossed it off in one take, while reading lyrics that were scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper!

Literally one week later, it was already on its way to #1 in West Germany, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and here  in the US on The Hot 100.

Over the years, several other artists have recorded the song, none of which have had any real success, leaving Barry McGuire’s version an iconic Great Song of 1965 that’s still relevant today.