Please ignore GUEST postings when they give no name. Just don't bother. Unfortunately there are ALWAYS going to be someone who reacts negatively to anyone's postings. Sorry about that. I hope your questions were answered by the other queries.

Basically, the song was written in the late 1960s. Even if the author had died the very next day, it still hasn't been 75 years since then so it wouldn't be in Public Domain. Therefore you must deal with licencing the song. It's only pennies per CD.