1) Lay Down - Melanie (1970)

"Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" was the second single from Melanie's 1970 album Candles in the Rain. The song proved to her breakthrough hit in the United States, climbing to #6 on the U.S. Billboard charts and #3 on the U.S. Cash Box charts.
  The song, released in March of 1970, was a collaboration with the Edwin Hawkins Singers, who provide gospel vocals in the background of each chorus. Melanie wrote the song after performing at Woodstock the year before; the song's lyrics describe what she felt as she looked out at the sea of people attending the music event.
  It became a Top Ten hit across the world, perhaps most notably in the United States, where it was a Cash Box Charts fixture for 17 weeks, and in Australia, where it stayed on the Go-Set charts for 23 weeks.
 

Source: Wikipedia.com

2) San Francisco - Scott McKenzie (1967)

"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" is a song, written by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, and sung by Scott McKenzie. It was written and released in 1967 to promote the Monterey Pop Festival.

The lyrics of the song tell the listeners, "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair". Due to the difference between the lyrics and the actual title, the title is often quoted as "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)". "San Francisco," released on 13 May 1967, was an instant hit. By June 1967, it commanded the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Meanwhile, the song rose to number one in the United Kingdom and most of Europe. The single is purported to have sold over 7 million copies worldwide. The song is credited with bringing thousands of young people to San Francisco, California during the late 1960s.

In Central Europe, young people adopted "San Francisco" as an anthem for freedom, and it was widely played during Czechoslovakia's 1968 Prague Spring uprising.

The song has been featured in several films, including Frantic, The Rock and Forrest Gump. It was also played occasionally by Led Zeppelin as part of the improvised section in the middle of "Dazed and Confused". U2's Bono also led the audience in singing this song during their PopMart performances in the San Francisco Bay Area on 18 and 19 June 1997.

Source: Wikipedia.com

3) Abraham, Martin and John - Dion & the Belmonts (1968)

"Abraham, Martin & John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written as a response to the assassinations of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.

Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:

Has anybody here, seen my old friend Abraham -
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.

After a bridge, the fourth and final verse mentions Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, and ends with a description of him walking over a hill with the other three men.

The original version, recorded by Dion, featured a gentle folk rock production from Phil Gernhard and arrangement from John Abbott. The feeling of the song is set with a gentle oboe and violin opening then featuring harp flourishes at multiple points, including the instrumental conclusion. The song also features a fluglehorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums. Dion felt during post production that the song needed more depth and added a track featuring him playing classical guitar notably at the bridge, lead ins and the close. Quite unlike the ethnic rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968, reaching #4 on the U.S. pop singles chart and #1 in Canada, being awarded an RIAA gold record for selling a million copies. In 2001 this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century list. The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching #8 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey.

Other famous late-1960s versions were recorded in short order by Motown's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (whose cover also became an American Top 40 single in 1969, reaching #33) and Marvin Gaye (whose cover became a top-ten hit (#9) in the United Kingdom in 1970). Gaye's version was never released in the U.S. as a single but was featured on his 1970 album, That's the Way Love Is, and was one of his first experiments with social messages in his music which would culminate in his legendary 1971 album, What's Going On. In addition, comedian Moms Mabley performed a version that hit the U.S. Top 40, reaching #35 in 1969. This version was featured on the soundtrack of Brazilian soap opera Beto Rockfeller (1968-1969). Harry Belafonte recorded the song for his 1970 album "Belafonte by Request."

During a 1981 tour, Bob Dylan sang the song in concert.

Subsequently, various artists have performed or recorded their rendition of the song, including the likes of Emmylou Harris, who also typically made it part of medley, such as on her 1992 At the Ryman concert recording, and also Bon Jovi. British rockers Marillion have played the song in acoustic and electric versions; one such hybrid performance can be heard on their 1999 Unplugged at the Walls album.

Tori Amos performed the song at four of her concerts during the On Scarlet's Walk Tour in 2003, including Hamburg, Germany on 23 January 2003.

Source: Wikipedia.com

4) Put a Little Love in Your Heart - Jackie DeShannon (1969)

"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed by Jackie DeShannon in 1968, who composed it with her brother, Randy Myers, and Jimmy Holiday. In the USA, it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching #4 and rivaling the success of her signature song, "What the World Needs Now is Love".

The first six notes of the melody are the similar to the intro first six notes of 1967's "Baby, You're a Rich Man" by The Beatles. In more recent times, the chorus of "Love Machine" by Girls Aloud bears an uncanny resemblance.
  In 1988 Annie Lennox and Al Green recorded a version that was released as the ending theme song to the 1988 film Scrooged. The song reached #9 in the USA on the Hot 100 in January 1989 and climbed all the way to #2 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, as well as becoming a top 40 hit in several countries worldwide. With this cover version hitting the US Top 10, DeShannon's song had now achieved a pinnacle of success rarely seen within the Pop music world...two versions of the same song making the Top 10.

Source: Wikipedia.com

5) Love Is The Answer - England Dan & John Ford Coley (1979)

"Love Is the Answer" is a song written by the American singer-songwriter Todd Rundgren for his band Utopia. It is the final track on their 1977 album Oops! Wrong Planet.

Although Utopia's version did not reach the music charts, a cover version by England Dan & John Ford Coley reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in May 1979. John Ford Coley was quoted as saying: "Of all the songs we released as singles, that was my favorite. The song first of all had a classical base, and the middle had a gospel section which I loved."

Source: Wikipedia.com

6) Everyday People: Sly and the Family Stone (1968)

"Everyday People" is a 1968 song by Sly & the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It held that position, on the Hot 100, for four weeks from February 15, 1969, until March 14, 1969, and is remembered as a popular song of the 1960s. Like nearly all of Sly & the Family Stone's songs, Sly Stone was credited as the sole songwriter.

The song is one of Sly Stone's pleas for peace and equality between differing races and social groups, a major theme and focus for the band. The Family Stone featured caucasians Greg Errico and Jerry Martini in its lineup, as well as females Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson; making it the first major integrated band in rock history. Sly & the Family Stone's message was about peace and equality through music, and this song reflects the same.

Unlike the band's more typically funky and psychedelic records, "Everyday People" is a mid-tempo number with a more mainstream pop feel. Sly, singing the main verses for the song, explains that he is "no better / and neither are you / we are the same / whatever we do."

Sly's sister Rose Stone sings bridging sections that mock the futility of people hating each other for being tall, short, fat, skinny, white, black, or anything else. The bridges of the song contain the line "different strokes for different folks," which became a popular catchphrase in 1969.

For the chorus, all of the singing members of the band (Sly, Rosie, Larry Graham, and Sly's brother Freddie Stone) proclaim that "I am everyday people," meaning that each of them (and each listener as well) should consider himself or herself as parts of one whole, not of smaller, specialized factions.

Bassist Larry Graham contends that the track featured the first instance of the "slap bass" technique, which would become a staple of funk and other genres. The technique involves striking a string with the thumb of the right hand (or left hand, for a left-handed player) so that the string collides with the frets, producing a metallic "clunk" at the beginning of the note. Later slap bass songs - for example, Graham's performance on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" - expanded on the technique, incorporating a complementary "pull" or "pop" component.

"Everyday People" was included on the band's classic album Stand! (1969), which sold over three million copies. It is one of the most covered songs in the band's repertoire, with versions by The Winstons, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Supremes & The Four Tops, Peggy Lee, Belle & Sebastian, Pearl Jam, and Nicole C. Mullen, among many others. Hip-hop group Arrested Development used the song as the basis of their 1992 hit, "People Everyday," which reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 on the Hot 100. Dolly Parton's previously unreleased 1980 cover of the song was included as a bonus track on the 2009 reissue of her 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs album. It was also prominently featured in a series of television commercials for Toyota automobiles in the late 1990s and most recently for Smarties candy in 2008. Rolling Stone ranked "Everyday People" as #145 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

On the 2005 Sly & the Family Stone tribute album Different Strokes by Different Folks, Maroon 5 performs a cover of "Everyday People", accompanied by samples from the original.

"Everyday People" is prominently featured in the opening sequence of the 2008 romantic comedy film Definitely, Maybe. The lead character, Will Hayes (played by Ryan Reynolds), calls it his "perfect song" for that particular day. It can also be heard in the film Purple Haze.

The line "And so on, and so on, and scooby doobie doobie" would in 1969 at least partly inspire the naming of the title character in the popular Saturday morning cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.

Source: Wikipedia.com

Perhaps Sly & the Family Stone's most universal message, "Everyday People" is sort of Sly Stone's own "All You Need Is Love." A simple, direct comment on discrimination, the literate and concise words come through to any listener, whatever their creed or color. Musically, the song is built around an almost nursery rhyme melody and rhythm, and this suggests that perhaps Sly had the lyric idea at the outset of the creation and attempted (successfully) to make the overall song as accessible as possible.
 

Source: All Music Guide.com

7) Love Train - O'Jays (1973)

"Love Train" is a song by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff that was a hit record for The O'Jays. Released in 1973, it reached number one on both the R&B Singles and the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was certified gold by the RIAA. It was The O'Jays' first and only number-one record on the U.S. pop chart. The song's lyrics of unity mention a number of countries, including England, Russia, China, Egypt and Israel, as well as the continent of Africa.

Besides its release as a single, "Love Train" was the last song on The O'Jays' album Back Stabbers and was covered by The Supremes before the departure of Jean Terrell, their early 70's lead singer.

The song has been used in a series of advertisements for Coors Light beer. It was on the soundtrack to the film, Hitch. The song was played at the 2008 Democratic National Convention to celebrate unity after Senator Hillary Clinton threw her support to Senator Barack Obama.

Blues artist Keb' Mo' covered this song on his 2001 album, Big Wide Grin.

The Rolling Stones covered "Love Train" on their 2004 DVD called Four Flicks, as well as Tommy Lee for the Final Destination 3 soundtrack.

Rod Stewart covered "Love Train" on its 2009 soul tribute CD called Soulbook.

The Wiggles covered this song on their album, Racing to the Rainbow.

Source: Wikipedia.com

8) Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum (1970)

"Spirit in the Sky" is a song written and originally recorded by Norman Greenbaum and released in 1969. The single sold 2 million copies in 1969 and 1970 and got to number 3 in the U.S. Billboard chart, as well as number 1 on the UK, Australian and Canadian charts in 1970. Rolling Stone ranked "Spirit in the Sky" #333 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was featured on the 1969 album of the same name.

Greenbaum had previously been a member of psychedelic jug band Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. When they split up he won a solo contract with producer Erik Jacobsen, who had previously worked successfully with The Lovin' Spoonful. He was inspired to write the song after watching Porter Wagoner on TV singing a gospel song. Greenbaum later said : "I thought, 'Yeah, I could do that,' knowing nothing about gospel music, so I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes."

"Spirit in the Sky" contains lyrics about the afterlife, making several references to Jesus. However, Greenbaum, who identifies himself as Jewish, stated that he had no particular religious intentions with the song. He simply wanted to reach a bigger market. In fact, the line "Never been a sinner, I never sinned" runs counter to the Christian concept of sin (Though, it is consistent with some interpretations of the Doctrine of Justification). The song's guitar riff was inspired by John Lee Hooker's influential "Boogie Chillen."
The resulting sound was an innovative and compelling combination of gospel and psychedelic rock music, with loud drums, distorted electric guitar, clapping hands, and tambourines. The production team brought in the Stovall Sisters, an Oakland-based gospel trio, to sing backing vocals. Because of its unusual lyrics and style, the record company was initially reluctant to issue it, but was finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. "Spirit in the Sky" became a worldwide hit, and was at the time the best-selling single ever for the Reprise label. Of the song, Greenbaum once said, in an interview: "It sounds as fresh today as when it was recorded".

Source: Wikipedia.com

9) Dust in the Wind - Kansas (1978)

"Dust in the Wind" is a hit single released by the American progressive rock band Kansas in 1977. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of February 18, 1978, making it Kansas' only top ten Billboard Hot 100 charting single. Written by Kerry Livgren. The song's instrumental bridge contains a distinctive and highly memorable melodic line for solo viola played by Robby Steinhardt.

Source: Wikipedia.com

10) Woodstock - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970)

"Woodstock" is a song about the Woodstock Music and Art Festival of 1969.
Joni Mitchell wrote the song from what she had heard from then-boyfriend, Graham Nash, about the festival. She had not been there herself, since she was told it would be more advantageous to appear on The Dick Cavett Show by a manager. She wrote this song crying at home watching the show on television. It was later released on her third album, Ladies of the Canyon in 1970, on her Shadows and Light album, and again in 1996 on her Hits album.

Mitchell's original version featured a stark and haunting arrangement - solo vocal, multi-tracked backing vocals and tremoloed Wurlitzer electric piano all performed by Mitchell herself. All subsequent recordings featured a fuller backing band sound.

Prior to release on any album, Mitchell performed "Woodstock" at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, one month after Woodstock. The solo performance can be seen in the festival concert film Celebration at Big Sur (released in 1971). Ironically, Mitchell later developed a well-known distaste for festival gigs.

The song later went on to be hits for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Matthews' Southern Comfort, the latter reaching #1 on the UK singles chart for three weeks in October 1970, and the former reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. David Crosby in an interview in the documentary Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind said that Mitchell had captured the feeling and importance of the Woodstock festival better than anyone who had been there.

In her 2005 book Break, Blow, Burn, critic Camille Paglia wrote a chapter about the song, honoring it as "possibly the most popular and influential poem composed in English since Sylvia Plath's 'Daddy'."

A line from the chorus, "We are billion year old carbon," was used by Corey Mesler as the title of a novel about the 1960s.

The song was also used in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 where the characters act out the story of a girl from the 1960's whose diary is found by Brenda.

Source: Wikipedia.com

11) Get Together - The Youngbloods (1967)

"Get Together," also known as "Let's Get Together," is a song written in the early 1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (aka Dino Valente).

The song is an appeal for peace and brotherhood, presenting the polarity of love versus fear, and the choice to be made between them. It is best remembered for the impassioned plea in the lines of its refrain, which is repeated several times in succession to bring the song to its conclusion.

In 1967, The Youngbloods released their version of the song under the title "Get Together". It became a minor Hot 100 hit for them, peaking at number sixty-two. However, renewed interest in the Youngbloods version came when it was used in a television public service announcement as a call for brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Re-released as a single in 1969, it became a top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number five. This version remains the most-remembered today. The Youngbloods version of the song has been featured in several films, including Forrest Gump and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Source: Wikipedia.com

12) Peace Train - Cat Stevens (1971)

"Peace Train" is the title of a 1971 hit song by Cat Stevens, taken from his album Teaser and the Firecat. The song climbed to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of October 9, 1971, becoming Stevens' first Top 10 hit. The song also spent three weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary chart.[1] It is also featured on The Very Best of Cat Stevens compilation album.

Along with John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance", Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" and Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms", it is reputedly one of the most famous war-protest songs in history.

Cat Stevens later converted to Islam, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and went into reclusion, but later made some public comments about the plight of children in the Iraq War. Stevens said "'Peace Train' is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions. There is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution. " He re-recorded the song for War Child in 2003.

Source: Wikipedia.com

13) Imagine - John Lennon (1971)

"Imagine" is a song by John Lennon, which appears on his 1971 album, Imagine.
It was released as a single in the same year, and reached number three in the U.S. Billboard charts, and number six in the United Kingdom.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine voted "Imagine" the third greatest song of all time. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said, "In many countries around the world - my wife and I have visited about 125 countries - you hear John Lennon's song 'Imagine' used almost equally with national anthems."

In the book Lennon in America, written by Geoffrey Giuliano, Lennon commented that the song was "an anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic song, but because it's sugar-coated, it's accepted." Lennon also commented, it is "virtually the Communist Manifesto, even though I am not particularly a communist and I do not belong to any movement."

The lyrics were thought to be inspired by Lennon's hopes for a more peaceful world, though their origins are not known for certain. In 1963 Lennon penned the lyrics to "I'll Get You" with an opening verse of, "Imagine I'm in love with you, it's easy cause I know." The first verse of "Imagine" would seem to be a reworking of this. But the song's refrain may have been partly inspired by Yoko Ono's poetry, in reaction to her childhood in Japan during World War II. According to The Guardian, primordial versions of the song's refrain can be found in her 1965 book Grapefruit, where she penned lines such as, "imagine a raindrop" and "imagine the clouds dripping."

Yoko Ono said that the lyrical content of "Imagine" was "just what John believed - that we are all one country, one world, one people. He wanted to get that idea out.

Source: Wikipedia.com

14) Age of Aquarius - The 5th Dimension (1969)

"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", sometimes incorrectly known as "The Age of Aquarius" or "Let the Sunshine In", is a medley of two songs from the musical Hair ("Aquarius" and "The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)") written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot, and released as a single in 1969 by The Fifth Dimension. The single held the number one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and was certified Platinum.

The song listed at #57 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.

The recording won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Group at the Grammy Awards of 1970, after it was released on the album The Age of Aquarius.

The song was based on the astrological belief that the world would be entering the Age of Aquarius, an age of love, light and humanity, unlike the then current Age of Pisces. This change was presumed to occur at the end of the 20th century.

Source: Wikipedia.com

15) All You Need Is Love: The Beatles (1967)

"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Watched by 400 million in 26 countries, the programme was broadcast via satellite on 25 June 1967. The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #362 in their 500 greatest songs of all time.

Release: The Beatles were asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything. "According to journalist Jade Wright, "Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like Give Peace a Chance and Power to the People were propaganda songs, he answered: 'Sure. So was All You Need Is Love. I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change.'"

The day before the Our World broadcast, the Beatles decided that the song should be their next single. Released in the UK on 7 July 1967, it went straight to number one and remained there for three weeks. It was similarly successful in the US after its release on 17 July, reaching number one for a week. It was also included on the American LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in November.

The interviews on The Beatles Anthology documentary series reveal that Paul McCartney and George Harrison were unsure whether the song was written for Our World. However, George Martin and Ringo Starr assert it was. When asked, McCartney replied:

"I don't think it was written specially for it. But it was one of the songs we had. [...] It was certainly tailored to it once we had it. But I've got a feeling it was just one of John's songs that was coming there. We went down to Olympic Studios in Barnes and recorded it and then it became the song they said, 'Ah. This is the one we should use.' I don't actually think it was written for it."

Live broadcast: For the broadcast, the Beatles were (except for Starr) seated on stools, accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by friends and acquaintances seated on the floor, many of whom were among the leading stars of the British pop scene, who sang with the refrain during the fade-out, including Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, Graham Nash, Pattie Harrison, Jane Asher, Mike McCartney, Gary Leeds and Hunter Davies.

The performance was not completely live: The Beatles, the orchestra, and guests were overdubbing onto a pre-recorded rhythm track mainly consisting of piano, harpsichord, drums, and backing vocals. The full Our World segment opens with the band and company listening to the raw backing track, as commentator Steve Race explained the process in voiceover. The live overdubs seem to include not only lead vocals, orchestra, and the improvised call-and-response, but also bass guitar, Harrison's guitar solo, and a second drum track - which seems to go out of time with the original track during the first few bars. At the beginning of the song, under "La Marseillaise," a tambourine is shaken, but this was mixed out and replaced with a drum roll before the single was released.

Lennon, affecting indifference, was said to be nervous about the broadcast, given the potential size of the international TV audience. Dissatisfied with his singing, he re-recorded the solo verses for use on the single. Starr also overdubbed drums before the single was released, fixing the aforementioned timing problems and adding the drum roll.

The programme was broadcast in ‘black-and-white' (colour television had yet to commence broadcasting in Britain and most of the world). The Beatles' footage was colourised, based on photographs of the event, for The Beatles Anthology documentary.

Structure: Because of the worldwide broadcast, the song was given an international feel, opening with the French National anthem "La Marseillaise" omitting the first note, and including excerpts of other pieces during the long fade-out, including "two-part Invention #8 in F" by Johann Sebastian Bach (transposed to G and played on 2 piccolo trumpets), "Greensleeves" (played by the strings), Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" (played on a saxophone), one of the Beatles' seminal hits (particularly in Great Britain and the United States), "She Loves You" (ad libbed by Lennon and McCartney), the chorus of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", and Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March" lilting off at the end. Many sources, including Beatles' producer George Martin, have misremembered or misidentified the Bach quote as being from the "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2". Lennon can also be heard scatting what sounds like the title of "Yesterday".

The structure of the song is complex. The main body (the verse) is in a 7/4 time signature with two measures of 7/4, one of 8/4, then back to 7/4 with the intro background vocals repeatedly singing "Love, love, love", over the top of which enter Lennon's lyrics:

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy"

By contrast, the chorus is simple: "All you need is love", in 4/4 time repeated against the horn response but, each chorus has only seven measures as opposed to the usual eight, and the seventh is 6/4, then back to the verse in 7/4.

"All You Need Is Love" remains one of only two songs (along with Pink Floyd's "Money" from 1973) written in 7/4 time to reach the top 20 in the United States. (Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill is also written in 7/4 time)

In the film Yellow Submarine (1968), the second verse as well as the instrumental are deleted. Also, the last choruses are switched, the "all together now", and "everybody" coming first before the last group of choruses.

Source: Wikipedia.com