It may have been a hard left turn away from the blues-based rock and pop the group was doing up to that point, but that doesn’t diminish the song’s power one iota. Find the latest in 60s music at Last.fm. Her performance embodies joy, romance and triumph. The result was spine-tingling and urgent, it would later feature on the ‘Nuggets’ compilation and with its dizzying energy was way ahead of its time. Released at the butt end of the 60s, Jagger and Richards captured the changing moods of the time, as race riots, Charles Manson and Vietnam had soured the hippie dream. Penned by Neil Diamond and played by session musicians, ‘I’m A Believer’ was a brilliant slice of 60s boyband pop, claiming its rightful place atop the US Billboard charts for seven glorious weeks. Based around the dirtiest of fuzzy riffs and piercing harmonica, ‘Psychotic Reaction’ moves from glam stomp to psych wig-out and was highly regarded enough for rock critic extraordinaire Lester Bangs to name a book after it. The shock saw him bow out of the music industry for a couple of years, but ‘River Deep Mountain High’ still stands up as a formidable chunk of rock-soul, introducing Tina’s colossal pipes to a mainstream audience and doing tidy business in Europe even if it stalled at home. Over the course of several weeks, thousands of SoulTrackers nominated and then voted on the Greatest Soul Songs of the 1960s. King Crimson, “21st Century Schizoid Man”, 80. They were signed up by Wayne Bickerton – later the svengali behind The Rubettes – and, after some near misses, clocked up a minor hit with this dramatic slice of Northern Soul, a Top 40 entry back in their native States. Hendrix exudes soulful swagger, dripping with leering bravado and uncoiled sexuality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jbdw43yvTY. Booker T and the MG’s, “Green Onions”, 74. Influenced by The Kinks’ ‘All Day And All Of The Night’, Pete Townshend’s choppy guitar has inspired The Clash and The Hives, while the song has been covered by David Bowie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPy18xW1j8. Patsy Cline had a “one of the guys” reputation—she supposedly could drink, cuss, and fight with the best of them. With the backing of The Wrecking Crew (including the twin electric and double bass lines of Carol Kaye and Chuck Berghofer that give the track its distinctive sliding runs), Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood created a classic. Yet another sterling pop track based on a dysfunctional relationship, Elvis’ final Number One was initially a flop for another songwriter, Mark James. Bryan MacLean worked it up for Love’s 1966 debut album, but didn’t get around to completing it for another year or so – and this time he barely appeared on it, finding his vocal wiped in favour of Arthur Lee’s harmony lines. This song fires twin darts at your heart from the beginning. But even if this 1963 single should actually just be taken at face value, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” exemplifies the era’s joyful pop rock, noted by kitschy handclaps, a swinging backbeat and perfect Fab Four harmonies. OK, it nearly was. Led by Jim McGuinn’s distinctive 12-string Rickenbacker, and Gene Clark’s pitch perfect lilt, this was originally the b-side to ‘All I Really Wanna Do’. And over which, Dylan’s strange lyrics seem triumphant, yet also full of warning, as his unglamorous voice brimming with attitude, holds onto syllables as if they were gleeful riders on a hurtling-downward roller-coaster. A product of the Brill Building hothouse of pop songwriters, ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ was initially marked up for The Righteous Brothers, who would’ve got the brooding right but never had the grubby, throaty force Eric Burdon brings to the job, nor The Animals’ stealthy blues groove. —Robert Ham, Just as “Umbrella” was kicked down to Rihanna after being rejected by Britney’s label, so too did a dozen or so other bands refuse to record “Happy Together” before it was offered to The Turtles in 1967. From the hit machine and conveyor belt of in-house stars produced by Motown to the burgeoning, melon-twisting dawn of psychedelia, it was a decade of exploration and experimentation. 1 singles by the time this single was released in 1968, but the country star’s incarceration a decade earlier gives this rueful number a particular authenticity. Is it a harpsichord? Columbia Records was more than happy to bring in members of the Wrecking Crew for session work to help supplement their meager earnings from Berry Gordy. And as we all know, the song went on to be a huge hit, giving this California-based pop group their lone No. Jazz felt free. Everybody look what’s going down…” The title of the song is perfect: “For What It’s Worth.” There is no bitterness, no dialectic…just description, and a word of unspoken advice: hold back from the battle—look around—we’ve already won the War. We recommend you to check other playlists or our favorite music charts. An apt follow-up No. —Kurt Suchman, The early days of rock music found its many stars and wannabe stars digging through the treasure trove of folk and blues for inspiration. Like many Cream songs, ‘White Room’ was written by bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce with the English poet Pete Brown. The album also features Redding’s recording of the Sam & Dave hit “Knock On Wood,” which is also featured on this list. Shocking in both its lyrical frankness and its musical sparseness, ‘Heroin’ was Lou Reed at his most cliff-edge doomed and romantic. Quite the switch in style after ‘Paperback Writer’, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was released the same day as its parent album ‘Revolver’ and had ‘Yellow Submarine’ on the flip to lighten the mood – but it was a seismic shift on The Beatles’ part, dealing primarily in gloom, the banal, and underpinned by a severe string quartet. Top 60s & 70s Pop Songs. The impact of this harmonic style, used effectively, is wondrous: “California Dreamin’” changes from a still image into a movie of emotion, tapping the listener on the shoulder and swirling him through the singers’ world. The writing credit might be axeman Jimmy Page’s, but it’s widely accepted that it was “inspired” by folk singer Jake Holmes’s song of the same name, that The Yardbirds – featuring one, um, Jimmy Page – used to play. By itself, it’s no more than a melancholic mood piece, but then, after a sudden transition made from harsh glissandos, it changes into what sounds like a separate song—McCartney, churning out one of the light, gorgeous melodies he seemed to summon at will. “I was probably the most incorrigible child you could ever meet. Sorry, late ‘60s parents. Not really a fan of jazz, so there's a lack of it on this list. While the charms of this track are obvious upon exposure, its studio legacy is just as important. 49,021 43 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Laden with clap-along drums and a flourishing string section, “Be My Baby” is a aural depiction of fresh, undying love; the kind that makes people nauseous both from it’s sickening sweetness and everyone desire to find the same. The Mamas & the Papas, “California Dreamin’”, 51. The opening lick over the quick bass/snare drum combo is instantly recognizable. This one came from the end of Graham Gouldman, later one quarter of 10cc, who was inspired by gazing at the – yes – bus stop on his way to work. Whether the lyrics implied drug consumption (as listeners suspected) or a foggy-brained love song (as Hendrix claimed) is irrelevant. Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sound of Silence”. The innocent, fairy tale romance nature of lyrics that cradled at young love like a Disney movie (Spector was helped by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry) so touched Brian Wilson that he covered the track with The Beach Boys two years later in 1965. 1 single and knocking “Penny Lane” out of the top spot. In 1968, “Fist City” was a revolution—a woman with no shame taking care of what’s hers. Top songs of the groovy sixties. Marty Balin and Grace Slick’s harmonization remains one of the first important guy/gal pairings that has influenced countless bands through the decades. It took a 4am – 7am session at Tennessee’s American Sound Studio with Chip Morman to birth The King’s final calling card. —Robert Ham, California, land of Ronald Reagan and P. F. Sloan, deserves the credit for latching on to these four wanderers long enough to record them and turn them into superstars. Working at Muscle Shoals in Alabama, James delivered ‘At Last’ and this, a real body blow of a standard that loses none of its emotional heft no matter how often it’s covered. The Animals, “House of the Rising Sun”, 26. Heavily inspired by the Texas blues that imbued her first musical endeavors, “Piece of My Heart” is a symbol of the time it was released; the perfect mix of blues and psychedelic hard rock to soundtrack the free-love ideology of the Hippie counterculture. I live in New York, which is cold and sucks, and I’d be warm in LA. The news went everywhere…I was overwhelmed by it.”, This song incorporates so many important elements of R&B in the ‘60s—the call and response of “All you wanna do is ride around Sally” and “Ride, Sally, ride,” the 12-bar blues, and the brass funkiness. Author: Clarkone68. For a hopeful and everlasting sentiment, the song’s final line reads, “I am leaving, I am leaving / But the fighter still remains.” —Laura Stanley, Has there been any song from the ‘60s that has been more watered down and neutered by its continued use in commercials, TV shows, and films than “Born To Be Wild?” There are likely arguments to be made for a lot of tunes from that decade, but the unbound spirit and thudding oomph of this song has lost all its meaning as a result. The Supremes, “Stop! I said “hi” to Caroline, said a few words, and then I told her the story about how the song title came from a photo I’d seen of her and her little pony. 60 songs. (But don’t worry, you can just click here to find our best-of lists for some of those bands like The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Velvet Underground.) Laughing Len once sang in a honey-smeared pop register before trilbies and dodgy accountants had taken their toll. Rather, the glinting harpsichord and lightly Eastern-influenced percussion simply nudged the door open for the group to embrace more psychedelic sounds. According to legend this track was inspired by Keith Richard’s gardener (along with the effect of quaffing too much acid ), The Stones’ ‘…Jack’ was led by Richards’ propulsive, open tuned guitar riff which he likened to “levitation.” Meanwhile Jagger’s vocal was the perfect blend of bullish and petulant. : 1: That's Amore: Dean Martin: 1953: Oldies: 2: Come Fly With Me: Frank Sinatra The late, great Etta James had hit the skids by the late-60s, frittering away a decent career with a devastating heroin addiction – but there was enough faith in her voice to give her another go on her recovery. A Phil Spector co-write and production, it featured his legendary ‘Wall Of Sound’ stylings. Is there a track in the world as gloriously filthy as this? It’s inspired countless “singing into a hairbrush” moments, in film and real life alike. Co-written by the artist with his longtime collaborator Bill Dees, the tune remains iconic thanks to its perfect structure, the range of emotions it hits on (joy, sadness, lust, envy, and more) in just under three minutes, and that opening guitar hook that will remain part of the rock canon until this planet disintegrates. —Hilary Saunders, Bob Dylan’s second album, Freewheelin’ came out in 1963 right at the beginning of his career. Throbbing, pounding, and dripping with latent energy it epitomises the lurid appeal of The Stooges at their very best. Misery never sounded so good. More than the specifics of what he did, it’s important to him that he stayed true to himself. Pickett’s version, which appeared on his 1966 album The Wicket Pickett is the most recognized, even getting adapted again in the early ‘90s in the music film The Commitments. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s sprightly Cajun blues was apparently a bit of soothsaying inspired by recent political occurrences. Imagine how racy this was in 1960, with a young girl considering whether to get it on with her boyfriend in an age of prurience yet to be wholly swept away from rock’n’roll. © 2021 NME is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. When creating a list of the best love songs of the 1960s, we also wanted to consider which songs are still prevalent in today’s era – timeless. A scrambling epic, the truth of “Emily”’s existence ( was she real or just a hallucination?) Frankie Valli’s voice drove the song to No. “My Way” is both melancholic and uplifting, not afraid to confront emotion. —Kyle McKenney, As the American public and mass media learned in the ‘60s, one of the best ways to protest unsavory governmental decisions was through song. But the dates don’t work and there’s too much joy in this kinetic blast of a record. As invitations to the dancefloor go, they don’t come more compelling. The results were a great selection of essential albums for Soul Music lovers. So it was with Eric Burdon of The Animals who heard this song first from a British folk singer and then brought it to his band who helped him turn it into a Hammond organ drenched hit that somehow felt both soothing and electrifying. Spitting the lyrics with a bit too much realness, the music spins into a frenzied “high” aided by Moe Tucker’s jiggling percussion and John Cale’s freakish viola. It also gave the world one of the catchiest love songs in the world that’s capable of turning a small group of people into a rousing choir once the chorus kicks in. —Robert Ham, It’s hard to think of any one record that has influenced an entire genre as much as the 13th Floor Elevators’ seminal debut The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators influenced the future of psych rock. The formal structure of a constant rhythmic ground can overcome any material. But it was Hampshire rockers The Troggs who made a proper go of it, detuning the guitars, throwing in an ocarina solo and attacking it with Reg Presley’s growling bravura – all in the service of grabbing a US No.1 single. The arrangement of this song is flat out ridiculous with those incessant castanets and the string section that dips and dives through the song like an excited bird. On Stand!, Sly & the Family Stone achieved a near-perfect balance, especially with songs like “Everyday People” that epitomized the refinement of their earlier work. And it helped bring their second guitarist Jimmy Page into the fold. — Zach Blumenfeld, This platinum-selling 1969 single was one of Neil Diamond’s biggest hits. Divested of any visual accompaniment, “Born” still sounds as fierce as ever with a searing guitar hook and growling vocal performance by John Kay that laid the template for hard rock and heavy metal. In the end this just missed out on the UK top spot to The Beatles’ ‘Help!’. Turn! In honor of Billboard magazine's 120th anniversary on Nov. 1, we're revealing the top 20 Billboard Hot 100 hits from each decade since the 1960s (for a total of 120 songs… The 60s was a time of social unrest, Vietnam war protest, the civil rights movement, and this was reflected in the oldies music of this era. —Hilary Saunders, Girl-group perfection, this song took The Marvelettes to the top of the charts right out of the gate. Since covered by everyone from Megadeth to Jessica Simpson. —Ron Hart, This song became a big deal even before the 13th state in the union officially decreed it the official state song in 1979. TOP 100 FOLK HITS OF THE '50S AND '60S. Their turbulent domestic life (Tina accused Ike of being an abusive husband) has overshadowed their legacy, but there’s no denying the electricity the two had on stage. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, the song spins the tale of “Major Tom” an unfortunate astronaunt trapped drifiting in space. We have all, at one point or another, longed to stumble upon that special someone in “meet cute” fashion. They may have been beaten to the punch by Nina Simone and Bob Dylan, who both recorded versions of the song earlier, but it’s The Animals whose rendition dominated the hearts of listeners for decades to come. More Holland Dozier Holland action with a song first earmarked for Motown labelmates The Marvelettes, who turned it down. The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, 55. ‘The Tracks Of My Tears’ is one of their most enduring songs, a chest-bursting ballad that somehow failed to make the US Top 10. Having finished an exhaustive tour of England he’d lost interest in the music game, but the creation of this track – one of his finest moments made even better with Al Kooper’s signature organ line – reinvigorated his love for music. 1. Everyone from Blur to The Libertines owes a reasonable debt to this slice of wistful British storytelling. In Memory of Kitty , some of her favs from the 60s & 70 & a few from the 50s I was an unknown songwriter at the time and it was just an idea I had. A stabbing at their infamous Altamont gig added an extra dimension of bitter twang as the soulful crisis of the track signaled the end of an innocent era. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQSGw0hMd_I. The call-and-response of lines like “What’s your name? Like an American version of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, Nancy and Lee were a sultry pairing who radiated with danger and mysterious sexual allure. The ever-trippy “White Rabbit,” one of the album’s two major hits, helped a counterculture movement filled with an influx of traditional pop and hallucinatory vibrations. However, bands with votes for multiple songs were limited to two tracks each. Thanks to Brian Wilson’s fervent experimentation, endless takes and overdubs, a pretty hefty cash injection from Capitol, and of course that electro-theremin, ‘Good Vibrations’ really showed producers in 1966 – and in every year since – what could be achieved within those soundproofed walls. Although its chart performance was modest, the song has deservedly been covered on countless occasions by everyone from Jimmy Somerville to Leonard Cohen. Those unforgettable power chords laid the groundwork for generations of hard rock bands to come. Here on his debut album ‘Songs Of Leonard Cohen’ he bids farewell to Marianne, his love and muse throughout the 60s, with a pristine bit of poetry and a typically stately and swinging folk-pop arrangement. We were sure Rick Wakeman wouldn’t make it anywhere near this list, but here he is, sat behind the Mellotron for Bowie’s classic early single. There were points during that time when, despite the ire of rock ‘n’ roll hipsters, the so-called pre-fab four outsold their Liverpudlian predecessors, thanks in large part to the bouncing pop of 1966’s single “I’m A Believer.” Ultimately, The Monkees enjoy a kind of iconic pop culture status both because of and in spite of the unusual and even existential way the group came to be. Although the band broke up shortly after this song’s release, the arid R’n’B stylings of this track would live on decades after their demise. —Sandy Pearlman, With Frank Sinatra now long passed, “My Way” has taken on a new, beautiful significance. The blues bled into hard rock. The song starts with Lennon’s reflections on the news of the day, tinged with his usual dark outlook. Heavily distorted guitars, incessant piano stabs and of course Iggy’s desperate drawl combine on one of the most visceral tracks laid to acetate. I was already on the way to prison before I realized it, actually.” The marrying of sweet sentiments towards mama and the gruffness of life behind bars has lent the song a staying power in country music and popular culture at large, and the track has been covered by a multitude of acts, including The Grateful Dead, Reba McEntire and The Everly Brothers. Many musicologists trace them to the red raw chords of this track, the ludicrously heavy third single from The Kinks and the one that sent them stratospheric. It’s easy to underestimate the raw power and sheer importance of the Motor City Five, who let’s not forget were writing punk tracks seven years before the Pistols. It’s since been covered by The Vines and speed-metallers Helloween. “Ground control to Major Tom” it begins, introducing the world not only to the first of his many characters but in many cases to the man himself. Marvin Gaye, “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, 6. Noel Redding’s bass bobs and weaves around howling guitar leads. For many, it’s the epitome of a “feel good tune” with it’s sunny backing vocals, chugging guitars and Wilson’s ecstatic vocals, so happy that he’s found “The One.”. Turn! The romantic swoon and playful swing of those earlier singles was replaced with a Sinatra-like cool as he looks to the ocean and wonders what his lover is doing on the other side of that body of water other than “watching the ships that go sailing.” Would that he could split it in half like Moses and reunite with his lady love. —Hilary Saunders, Although it’s tried ever since, progressive music has never been as heavy-hitting as the opener of King Crimson’s 1969 debut album In the Court of the Crimson King. Bassist Noel Redding got fed up during the sessions and walked out, and Hendrix redid his guitar parts umpteen times, moving from four track to eight track to 16 track as he went. Top 100 Songs of the '60s. — Bonnie Stiernberg, This 1964 single maybe have been the last time Roy Orbison reached the top of the charts in the U.S., but the impact it had on the pop music world was marked. One of our favorite performances of this song actually came almost 20 years later, though, after divorce and solo careers. The very concept of the song (“California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day”) is evocative; but it is the execution of the song that makes it a masterpiece. 2 and No. Smokey Robinson did it first. His pain, our gain. Less breaking boundaries than headbutting them into submission, the MC5 exploded into a clueless ’69 with their debut album of the same name, and this nitrous calling card would stamp firm their legacy forever. Chip Taylor – brother of US actor Jon Voight – wrote ‘Wild Thing’, which was originally recorded by The Wild Ones. “Dazed and Confused,” one of the lead, legendary originals from the band’s self-titled debut, however, helped lay down the groundwork for a storied decade to come. —Beca Grimm, One of the leading groups of the early ‘60s, Peter, Paul and Mary took inspiration from old-timey folk groups and reinvigorated it with pop harmonies fitting for the day. She sings, “You been making your brags about town/ That you been lovin’ my man/ But the man I love, when he picks up trash/ He puts it in a garbage can.”, Owning her man “ain’t” a “saint,” Lynn has no trouble suggesting to the brazen gal stay clear. The 6/8 time signature and the renaissance feel of the instrumentation give the song the tone of a dirge but Cohen’s vocal performance – exploding into each refrain with a tangible sense of awe – is the essence of rock ’n roll. And the vocal is framed with precision and love by the instrumental solos: guitar at the opening, electric violin and flute in the middle of the song. 100 best tracks of the ’60s – Spotify playlist. Phil Ochs, “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”, 52. The opening track on Lenny Kaye’s ‘Nuggets’, his essential compilation of late-60s garage and psych rock, ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’ was written by professional songwriting team Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz but musses up its classic structure with needling, distorted guitar from Ken Williams – recorded backwards – and a growling lead vocal from James Lowe. A cheery bolt of daydream escapism, amongst a background of social upheaval. This mysterious, mariachi horn-drenched kickstarter from fantastic 1967 album ‘Forever Changes’ was almost not on it at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_Aq2W2Yi0. Bands and artists in these awe-inspiring decades mesmerized audiences with their free flow form of music. This paean to the grisly aftermath of an unforgiving curry – or tribute to love’s steamy embrace, whatever you fancy – was written by Johnny Cash’s future wife June Carter with Merle Kilgore, and originally recorded by June’s sister Anita. That voice—sounding pissed and possessed—lit up the band’s two releases, 1965’s Here Are The Sonics and Boom, released the following year. Is it… actually, yes, it’s a half-speed electric piano. Following a legal battle with his label King Records, a reinvigorated James Brown re-emerged revitalized. Steamy and frantic, this funky cut from 1967 debut album ‘Are You Experienced?’ is just about as pop as Jimi Hendrix ever got. Nice bell work on the cymbals too. The song, which was dressed up with over-distorted guitars, finger-flying note runs and radio-filtered hooks, brought a new focus to rock music by leaning on jazz and classical influence over the English love of blues music. Fifty years later, the chemistry between organist Booker T. Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper still feels like it’s happening live. —Laura Stanley, The King of Soul was known at times as a gospel prodigy, a pop star, and a stirring soul singer, but with this song, he cemented his place as a voice in the Civil Rights Movement. It became his only No. While Young sings as politely as before, the guitars riff and buzz with menace, setting out a whole new stall. As the orchestral strings and horns assemble and rise, Cooke proffers a timeless mantra in the refrain—part hope, part prayer, part demand—that a change is going to come.

best songs of the 60s 2021