Key Events/People: JFK, the “New Frontier”, Lyndon B. Johnson, “Great Society”, War on Poverty, nonviolent protests, Martin Luther King Jr.: “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act, Medicare and Medicaid, Job Corps, Vietnam War, 1964 draft begins, Vietnam War protest begin, organized protests on college campuses, The Feminine Mystique, 1963 Equal Pay Act, 1968 Tet Offensive, Richard Nixon, urban riots, Woodstock
I’m not gonna lie to you, I was amped while typing the key words this week; the 1960’s were a transformative and crucial time in American society. Much of what we are as a nation and who we are as Americans has roots in this decade. Basic human rights were finally guaranteed for all American citizens independent of race, sex, gender, wealth, nationality, or religion. The American public began acting on their right to protest, opening the door to political action groups on college campuses and local communities. For the first time in since World War II, Americans felt connected to the political realm and forced the government to listen to their struggles, bringing this energy into their culture and everyday lives. This decade changed the American people, creating a generation of young people who were not afraid to question authority while creating a new trend of freedom of expression.
Although they did not make the Top 10 hits of the week according to Billboard Top 100 Hits, the counterculture of the 196o’s had a huge impact on the youth and attitude of 60’s society. In my opinion, these are the artists that performed at Woodstock and the Monterey Pop Festival such as: the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, and Jefferson Airplane.
Top 10 Songs of the 1960’s
- The Twist (Chubby Checker)
- Hey Jude (The Beatles)
- The Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ (Percy Faith and His Orchestra)
- Tossin’ And Turnin’ (Bobby Lewis)
- I’m A Believer (The Monkees)
- Aquarius/ Let the Sunshine In (The 5th Dimension)
- Sugar, Sugar (The Archies)
- I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
- Are You Lonesome Tonight (Elvis Presley)
- I Can’t Stop Loving You (Ray Charles)
The 60’s were an interesting an innovative era for music because although pop music stayed relatively the same, with R&B and soul topping the charts. Pop music continued to be an equal playing field for all races and genders, with women topping the charts and blacks continuously being fully incorporated into the American pop culture. Radio stations refused to play popular music that could be seen as propaganda against the Vietnam War because of the wide audience it reached, so for the most part neutral music about love and dancing continued to top the charts, meanwhile the music of choice spoke what pop culture could not. What was different about the 60’s was the effects of drugs and political events on counterculture and the music it created that was not represented by mass media.
As previously said, the singers that spoke for this generation were not as much the voices on the radio or at dances, but those who appeared at music festivals that did not carry heavy meaning in lyrics, but rather the need for defiance in its uneasiness and chaos, along with the support from the youth who wanted their struggles to be expressed and heard. Rock ‘n’ Roll was meant to draw attention and evoke the need for change, addressing issues that pop culture tried to pretend weren’t there.
Here are the Top 11 Rock ‘n’ Roll songs of the 1960’s
- (I can’t get no) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
- Respect (Aretha Franklin)
- Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)
- Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys)
- Light My Fire (The Doors)
- My Girl (The Temptation)
- Sunshine For Your Love (Cream)
- Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
- A Day In The Life (The Beatles)
- Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)
10 a. My Generation (The Who)
Understandably, radio stations were not comfortable endorsing music that so blatantly supported the use of drugs and political protest, but these were the ideas of the generation and completely changed what was allowed to be played in public places. Today, songs like these would be played without a second thought and it was because of this generation of artists who weren’t afraid to break the social norm and try something new. It was your parents’ generation (maybe only some of you) that allow the music you hear on the radio today to be played without censorship. This was the first truly American generation that tested the boundary of “freedom of speech”, it was these “hippies”that introduced the idea of freedom of expression and stressed the values of individuality.
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