On July 12, 1969, 55 years ago, the Nebraska-based folk-rock duo Zager & Evans scored their one and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus).”
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The duo was made up of singer/guitarists Denny Zager and Rick Evans. Evans wrote all of the songs on the group’s debut album, which also was titled In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus).
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“In the Year 2525” took over the top spot on the Hot 100 from the instrumental “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet” by Henry Mancini, and spent six weeks at No. 1. The song was knocked from the pinnacle of the chart by The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women.”
“In the Year 2525” also was No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart for three weeks. In addition, the song topped charts in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Zager & Evans have the dubious distinction of being one of the only two acts to score a No. 1 hit in both the U.S. and the U.K., and then never have another Top-40 single in either country. The other is the Canadian reggae-fusion band Magic!
The In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) album reached No. 30 in the Billboard 200.
More About “In the Year 2525”
The ominous psychedelic-pop tune looks into the future and warns what might become of humankind if technology takes over all aspects of people’s lives. Verses tell of what might happen to man starting in 2525, then in 3535, 4545, 5555, 6565, 7510, 8510, 9595, and then 10,000 years in the future.
Among the predictions of things that will befall us in the future are that what we think, do, and say will be controlled by a pill; teeth and eyes will no longer be needed; machines will do everything for us, so our arms and legs will atrophy; and children will be created in test tubes.
More About Zager and Evans
The duo released their final album, Food for the Mind, in 1971. Evans died in 2018 at the age of 75. Zager, who turned 80 in February, has become a respected guitar builder, and he also offers online guitar lessons.
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