She Loves You Please Please Me
Rock and Roll in the 1960s
The break between the music of the 1950s and the 1960s is imprecise. A reasonable way of "dating" the 1960s is with the "British invasion" of American music. This refers to the numerous British groups, admirers and emulators of American rock and roll, who broke into the U.S. market during the early 1960s. The invasion was spearheaded by the Beatles. The "end" of the 1960s actually extends into the early years of the 1970s with, according to many, the rise of "disco" music.
Part I
The Beatles & The British Invasion
The Beatles made their American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, February 9, 1964 (at 8 PM Eastern Time). In New York City, there were 50,000 requests for seats in the studio that held only 703 people. An estimated audience of 73 million television viewers watched the Beatles perform 5 songs and become the music rage of the United States.
She
Loves You
Please
Please Me
Once the public reception to the example of British rock was gauged, the gates to the television audience opened. Among the groups to appear on Ed Sullivan were
The Dave Clark Five, Glad
All Over
The Kinks, Lola
The Rolling Stones, Honky
Tonk Woman
Dusty Springfield, I
Only Want to Be With You
Petula Clark, Downtown
Part II
Motown Music
In 1959, Berry Gordy -- a one-time assembly line worker at Ford Motor Company -- founded a Detroit-based record company called Motown. By 1963, Motown became the most successful black-owned record company in the history of American music. Motown had a stable of vocal groups, songwriters, musicians. The productions were known for their "tight orchestrations and catchy lyrics" (Maurice Isserman & Michael Kazin, American Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s, p.94). Motown was a complete operation that was "slick and methodical: aspiring stars took dance lessons from a tap artist and smoothed the rough edges of their ghetto upbringing with lessons in elegant table manners, vocabulary, and even the proper way to hold a cigarette" (p.93). Among the Motown Greats were:
The Temptations, Ain't
Too Proud to Beg
The
Four Tops, I
Can't Help Myself
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Heat Wave and
Dancing
in the Street
Diana Ross & The Supremes, Stop
in the Name of Love and You
Can't Hurry Love
Part III
Classic Rock: The Sounds of the 1960s
Jefferson Airplane, Somebody
to Love Airplane's
Grace Slick, White
Rabbit
Jimi Hendrix, Wild Thing
Janis Joplin, Me
& Bobby McGee
The Doors, Touch
Me
The "culture of drugs" associated with rock and roll in the late 1960s is well-illustrated here --- Hendrix, Joplin, and the lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison, all died from drug overdoses.
Steppenwolf, Born
to be Wild
Bonnie Raitt, Runaway
Simon & Garfunkel, America
Mamas and the Pappas, California
Dreaming
Lovin Spoonful, Do You
Believe in Magic?
Part IV
"Message Music"
Most themes found in rock and roll deal with love and relationships gone awry. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, cars and surfing were added to the mix. What distinguished music from the mid-1960s forward was the production of songs -- rock, folk, and blues -- with a social or political message. The music was an attempt to reflect upon the events of the time --- civil rights, the growing unrest over the war in Vietnam, and the rise of feminism. In many instances, the "message" within the song was simplistic or even banal. However, other songs received substantial airplay and became "anthems" at concerts, rallies, and demonstrations.
The Message through Folk Music
The most prominent artists to emerge from the folk tradition include Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and the trio known as Peter, Paul, and Mary.
Dylan The
Times They Are A-Changing
Baez, One Tin
Soldier
Dylan & Baez, Blowing
in the Wind
Phil Ochs, I
Ain't Marching Anymore
Peter, Paul, and Mary,
Blowin' in the Wind
The Message through Rock Music
In 1965, a relatively obscure artist, Barry McGuire hit the charts with a song
that reflected the growing turmoil in the world. Note the reference to the
Selma, Alabama (the site of "Bloody Sunday" in March of 1965).
In the music trade, reference is made to "one hit wonders" or groups that record a hit song and then fade from the limelight. The Youngbloods are example. Their 1967 hit is a classic "peace and love" tune from the era.
John Fogarty and his group, Credence Clearwater Revival, released the song Fortunate Son. The song later became on the "banner songs" on the soundtrack for the film Forrest Gump.
Credence Clearwater Revivial, Fortunate Son
Another classic "peace and love" song was released by female singer, Jackie DeShannon:
Put
a Little Love in Your Heart
One of the most prominent "message songs" was For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield. The song has been used in many documentaries and television specials that chronicle the 1960s. It is also on the soundtrack of two movies --- Forrest Gump and Born on the Fourth of July. The group included Steven Stills (who later formed Crosby, Stills, and Nash) as well as Neil Young (who frequently joined CSN and also formed the group Crazy Horse).
Dion Dimuci was the lead singer in the '50s Doo Wop group, Dion and the Belmonts (see the 1950s page). In 1968, he recorded a song that was a response to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the Reverend Martin Luther King in 1968. The song also makes reference to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in June of 1968.
By the early 1970s, the Beatles had "broken up." Each member went on to success as a solo artist or working with musicians and groups. Paul McCartney formed the group Wings and had numerous Top 40 hits; George Harrison had several successful albums especially All Things Must Pass; Ringo Starr recorded a number of top singles. The most political of the Beatles was John Lennon who became, in his words, an "activist for peace." His obviously over-idealistic song, Imagine, was perhaps his top selling single recording.
A particular mixture of jazz, soul, and rhythm and blues is known as funk. One of the most prominent funk bands of the late 1960s and 1970s was Sly and the Family Stone. Their "message song," released in 1969, introduced a new phrase into society --- "different strokes for different folks."
There were numerous songs recorded about the war in Vietnam. One of the most prominent was by Country Joe McDonald and the Fish. The song became more famous when it was performed at Woodstock, a large 3-day rock concert held in update New York in the summer of 1970.
Country Joe, Vietnam
(Caution: Chant/Cheer at the beginning involves the F-word)
One of the most prominent groups of the 1960s and early 1970s was Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Each was a member of another prominent group before forming CSN. David Crosby played with the folk-rock group called the Byrds; Steven Stills was a member of Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash sang with the Hollies, one of the "British Invasion Groups." The group recorded two songs in response to political events. The first was "Chicago." The reference here is the trial of the "Chicago 7," seven anti-war activists indicted for their role in the demonstrations and police riots in downtown Chicago during the Democrat National Convention of 1968. One of the defendants, Bobby Seale, was disruptive in the court room and, as a result, was gagged and bound to chair during the trial. The second song, "Ohio," was written in response to the deaths of four students at Kent State University. The students were shot by Ohio National Guardsmen during an anti-war protest on the campus in May of 1970.
In 1972, an Australian born vocalist working for Capitol Records in the United States, wrote and recorded a song that would become an "anthem" for the women's movement, a movement that was just gaining public attention in these years.
Helen Reddy, I am
Woman
