Mary Hopkins had just turned 18 when she caught the interest of Beatles member Paul McCartney, who produced her debut single, "Those Were the Days," and launched her into success on the charts.
"Those Were the Days" is not to be confused with the All in the Family theme song and had a much longer history before Hopkins' hit in 1968. The track was originally a Russian romance song by composer Boris Fomin titled "Dorogoi dlinnoyu", but it was credited to Gene Raskin for having written an English version of the lyrics. Its lyrics reminisce about the golden years of youth and a rosy future.
Georgian singer Tamara Tsereteli and Russian singer Alexander Vertinsky were reported to have recorded the earliest version of the track, while Raskin and his wife Francesca performed their version in the early 1960s and were reported to have copyrighted the English version illegally.
The husband-and-wife pair performed the track internationally and, according to SongFacts, performed every year at London's Blue Angel club as their closer. One day, McCartney heard the duo play the song and sent out to get a demo.
While many failed to record the track, it wasn't until the Beatles formed Apple Records that McCartney finally got a hit song. In the summer of 1968, Hopkins had just turned 18 when she appeared on the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks, hosted by veteran broadcaster and presenter Hughie Green.
According to the BBC, not only had Hopkins won, but she caught the interest of model and '60s icon Twiggy with her performance. She immediately contacted McCartney, who was looking for new talent for the record label, and signed Hopkins after an audition. "Those Were the Days" became the teen's first recording under Apple Records that became a hit.
"I thought it was very catchy, it had something, it was a good treatment of nostalgia," McCartney said, according to Viera Voice. "(Hopkin) picked it up very easily, as if she’d known it for years."
The track became an international sensation that landed at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It would also land at No.1 on Cash Box, the Easy Listening chart, and across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Interestingly, Hopkins was held out of the No.1 spot on the Hot 100 by the Beatles' "Hey Jude" track. That same year, singer Sandie Shaw also released her version of the track, but Hopkins held out at the chart-topper.
Popularity around the song also led it to be nominated for the "Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Performance, Female" at the 11th Annual Grammy Awards in March 1969. Following the success of "Those Were the Days," McCartney and Hopkins released her first LP, which landed at No. 3 on the album charts. Hopkins would later release her second successful single, "Goodbye," also produced by the Beatles musician, and land at No.13 on the charts.
Related: 1973 Hit Song, Written by 25-Year-Old Iggy Pop, Ranked Among ‘Best Rock Songs’ of All Time
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