Today, I learned that the full title of this song was "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)". I hadn't heard it in years before I played it just now. I think the same way now as I did then: it takes itself too seriously.
Denny Zager and Rick Evans met at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1962 and reunited to form Zager & Evans in 1968. "In the Year 2525" was their first single; it was originally released in 1968 on Truth Records but was picked up by RCA after it became a local hit in Nebraska. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, holding that spot for six weeks, and was also #1 in the UK and #2 in Australia. Total sales are estimated at over 10 million copies.
This song was possibly the ultimate one-hit wonder, as it reached #1 in both the US and the UK and the duo never made the charts again (their followup, "Mr. Turnkey", reached #106 on the Billboard chart). They recorded three albums, the last of which was in 1971. Zager now builds guitars in Lincoln, Nebraska; Evans passed away in 2018.
Created March 3, 2026.