Topping the Billboard Hot 100 the week of Nov. 30, 1965, was The Byrds’ folk rock reimagining of Pete Seeger’s ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ Seeger took almost the entirety of the lyric from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. He did add the “turn turn turn” part, and for that claimed 5% of the royalties.

He earned another 50% for writing the musical arrangement, and donated the remaining 45% to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, a group “dedicated to ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories and achieving a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Pete Seeger was a woke king.

Seeger’s version is lovely, and became a staple for Judy Collins, among others. But The Byrds’ treatment was a wonder, reaching #1 and becoming one of the enduring classics from the era.

Along with The Byrds’ cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man,’ this song kick-started the folk rock movement and cemented the band as its pioneers.