Last week’s TMV article on the soundtrack of the 1960’s got me thinking about some of the great music I experienced in my 1960’s youth. As promised in my comment on that article, I decided to take a chance and curate a list of great songs of the 60’s. As with any curated list there will be disagreements so use the comment section to tell me what I missed or should not have included. I am not egotistical enough to even try to list these songs in rank order but merely to list those I think belong on such a list. I thought about making a top 50 list or a top 100 list but I stopped at the top 65 songs of the 1960’s just to be obstinate. This list is NOT a affirmation that these songs are Great Music, but every song on the list was influential in the emergence of the that decade’s culture.
There were a number of societal movements in the 1960’s and music reflected those movements. The Civil Rights movement and the rise of black soul music came out of its’ 1950’s shadows, There was the rise of the “Hippie” counterculture and its’ emphasis on psychedelics as well as the anti-war movement. The Beatles came to town and made a major impact on American music. In between these major movements, hundreds of bands emerged and some of them produced one hit wonders but still important contributions to music of the decade.
Without trying to rank order these songs, give a listen to the links of the songs and enjoy a few memories of your own youth if you were fortunate enough to be alive during this turbulent decade.
A – The British Invasion
Beatles – Eleanor Rigby
Beatles – Hey Jude
Beatles – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Beatles – Twist & Shout
Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Woman
Rolling Stones – Satisfaction
The Animals – House of the Rising Sun
Procol Harum – Whiter Shade of Pale
Moody Blues – Nights in White Satin
The Kinks – You Really Got Me
The Who – My Generation
The Zombies – She’s Not There
B – The Rise of Black Soul Music
Chubby Checker – The Twist
Etta James – At Last
Roy Orbison – Only The Lonely
Roy Orbison – Pretty Woman
Ben E. King – Stand By Me
Percy Sludge – When a Man Loves a Woman
Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay
Aretha Franklin – RESPECT
Marvin Gaye – Heard it through the Grapevine
Ray Charles – Hit The Road Jack
The Supremes – Stop in the Name of Love
Smokey Robinson – Tears of a Clown
Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World
Ike & Tina Turner – River Deep. Mountain High
C – The American Originals
Beach Boys – Good Vibrations
Beach Boys – Fun, Fun, Fun
Beach Boys – I Get Around
Simon & Garfunkel – Sound of Silence
Bob Dylan – Mr. Tambourine Man
Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan – Blowing in the Wind
Dave Brubeck – Take Five
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising
The Byrds – Turn, Turn, Turn
The Ventures – Walk, Don’t Run
Mamas& Papas – California Dreaming
The Doors – Light My Fire
Mason Williams – Classical Gas
Sly & the Family Stone – Everyday People
Frank Sinatra – My Way
Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling in Love
Booker T & the MGs – Green Onions
Turtles – Happy Together
The Monkees – I’m a Believer
D. The Hippie Movement
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Teach Your Children
Janis Joplin – Me & Bobby McGee
Janis Joplin – A Piece of my Heart
Jefferson Airplane – Somebody to Love
Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit
Jimi Hendrix – Purple Haze
Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower
Steppenwolf – Born to be Wild
Cream – Sunshine of Your Love
The Band – the Weight
E – The Anti-War Movement
Peter, Paul & Mary – Where Gave All the Flowers Gone
Clearance Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son
Buffalo Springfield – For What its Worth
Country Joe & the Fish – Fixing to Die rag
Barry McGuire – Eve of Destruction
Phil Ochs – What are We Fighting For
Edwin Starr – War – What is it Good For