“Eve of Destruction” for Barry McGuire, “Secret Agent Man” for Johnny River, “Let Me Be” and “You Baby” for the Turtles, the guitar riff that opens “California Dreamin'“—this is the music P.F. Sloan is best remembered for, though his place is rock history stretches far beyond the Sunset Strip of the '60s.

Philip Sloan, born in New York but raised in Los Angeles, died of pancreatic cancer on 11/15 at his L.A. home. He was 70, and just 15 months removed from the release of his last album, My Beethoven, and his memoir, What's Exactly The Matter With Me?

His career had an astounding reach, as he connected with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, the Laurel Canyon scene, Jim Morrison and others before substance abuse and bad business deals led to a career decline. After 1968's Measure of Pleasure, Sloan only released four albums—though he did make occasional concert appearances over the last 20-plus years.

A prolific songwriter in the 1960s, Sloan signed his first record deal with Aladdin Records at the age of 13; three years later, he moved over to Screen Gems and partnered with Steve Barri. Lou Adler used the duo as backup musicians for his management clients Jan and Dean; Sloan and Bari had their first minor hit with Jan and Dean, penning “Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann.” Sloan and Barri had their own surf-hot rod band, the Fantastic Baggys, who recorded for Imperial in 1964.

Sloan wrote his most famous song, “Eve of Destruction,” a month prior to the Watts riots in August 1965. Upon its release, however, the record hit a nerve with AM radio listeners, who embraced the song as a statement of fact about race relations in America, the Vietnam War and, ultimately, the election of President Nixon. It's considered the first protest song to hit No. 1.

Dylan once said “There are no more escapes. If you want to find out anything that's happening now, you have to listen to the music I don't mean the words. Though, 'Eve Of Destruction' will tell you something about it.”