During the summer of the first Apollo moon landing, one song dominated the Billboard Hot 100. A band called Zager & Evans sat atop the charts for six weeks, from July 12 to Aug. 16, 1969—tied for the longest No. 1 run that year—with their (one and only) hit, “In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus).”Preceded and followed at No. 1 by Henry Mancini’s “Love Theme From ‘Romeo and Juliet’ ” and “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones, “In the Year 2525” was a dystopian, apocalyptic song that envisioned a future when technology...

Source: Wall Street Journal July 15, 2019 00:56 UTC