1965 No. 1 Hit, With the Oldest Lyrics Ever, Became a Timeless Anthem
By the time The Byrds took their timeless classic "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" to the top of the charts in 1965, their lyrics were already ancient history. In the best way possible.
In late June 1965, Jim (later Roger) McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke had swiftly established The Byrds as "America's answer to The Beatles" with an original cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," followed by their debut same-name album, which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 during the summer of 1965.
That same summer, determined to follow-up their debut with another smash, they hunkered down at Columbia Studios in Hollywood to record the title track off their sophomore album. Though it would take several days and some 50 tries to get McGuinn and Crosby's new arrangement of Pete Seeger's original right, in the end, their iconic anthem of peace, "Turn! Turn! Turn!," was in the books.
Composed by Seeger, an influential folk singer and activist, the track was first included as a live acoustic version on Seeger's 1962 album, The Bitter and the Sweet. The Byrds, who plucked the song out of folk circles, reimagined it with an electric rhythm, released it as a single in October 1965, then watched it soar straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well. This time holding the top spot for three weeks.
With lyrics lifted straight from Chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes, traditionally attributed to King Solomon of ancient Israel in the 10th century B.C., coupled with the track's pop chart success, the song officially earned the distinction of the No. 1 pop hit with the oldest lyrics.
According to Songfacts, Seeger was leafing through the Bible, "amazed by the foolishness at times and the wisdom at other times." Told by his publisher that his signature protest songs wouldn't fly, he "improvised a melody to [the bible verse] in 15 minutes," sent it to his publisher, and within two months had a No. 1 hit on his hands.
Anchored by McGuinn's guitar work, The Byrds version of the track pairs lush harmonies with infectious rhythm, blending folk and rock tones with ancient lyrics into one of the defining hits of the 1960s. Even Seeger was a fan, famously sharing that he loved how the song carried on the folk music tradition.
"I liked the Byrds' record very much, incidentally," Seeger said in Paul Zollo's book Songwriters on Songwriting, via Songfacts. "All those clanging, steel guitars - they sound like bells."
An anthem of reflection and peace during the escalation of the Vietnam War, The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" has endured for generations. Beyond notable covers by Judy Collins in 1969 and Dolly Parton in 1984, the song has become a fixture of pop culture, immortalized in Forrest Gump (1994) as Forrest bids farewell to Jenny as she leaves for Berkeley. Further proof that everything just keeps turn, turn, turning.
Related: 1967 Folk-Rock Hit, Rejected by The Monkees, Became a Summer Anthem
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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 12:52 PM.