Let Me Be (The Turtles song) Sloan's song "Eve of Destruction", which became a number 1 hit in the U.S. for Barry McGuire, recognizing that, with its uncompromising message, "You just couldn't make a statement like that and ever work again." He said that they accepted "Let Me Be" because it represented "just the perfect level of rebellion … haircuts and non-conformity".<ref name="Unterberger/JingleJangleMorning"></ref> Author Peter Doggett describes "Let Me Be" as a "perfect encapsulation of teenage angst". In his book "1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music", Andrew Grant Jackson identifies it as part of a "subgenre" of protest songs that emerged during 1965, in which
Eve of Destruction (song) debut album "It Ain't Me Babe", shortly before McGuire's version was cut; it was eventually released as a single and hit #100 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1970. The song was also recorded by Jan and Dean on their album "Folk 'n Roll" in 1965, using the same backing track as the McGuire version, and by The Grass Roots on their first album "Where Were You When I Needed You" in 1966. McGuire recalled in later years that "Eve of Destruction" had been recorded in one take on a Thursday morning, reading lyrics scrawled on a crumpled piece of