Probably 1969. The song was released October 29, 1968 and doesn’t appear to have charted by the end of the year.
BTW, BJ Thomas took it to Number 5 on Billboard. Blue Swede hit Number 1 in 1974.
I guess everyone loved the ukachakas.
This is a fun conversation.
It was recorded in Memphis, where I lived right SE of in 1968, in Mississippi. We got a lot of music earlier than the rest of the country back then.....................