Eve of Destruction (song) will grin, and shoo us away". Eve of Destruction (song) "Eve of Destruction" is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in mid-1964. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by Barry McGuire. This recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965, and released by Dunhill Records. The accompanying musicians were top-tier Los Angeles session players: P. F. Sloan on guitar, Hal Blaine (of Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew) on drums, and Larry Knechtel on bass guitar. The vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix and was not intended to be the final
Eve of Destruction (song) recording "leaked" out to a disc jockey, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit and as a result the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded. McGuire's single hit #1 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1965. The song had initially been presented to The Byrds as a Dylanesque potential single, but they rejected it. The Turtles, another L.A. group who often recorded The Byrds' discarded or rejected material, recorded a version instead. Their version was issued as a track on their 1965