Spirit of the 60s Music

Where could we possibly be without someone mentioning Motown Records and the impact it had on 60s music! Nowheresville, for sure! Simply reference Hitsville, USA, then, watch eyes light up as flashbacks of some of the eras greatest songs engulf every brain cavity!

During a time of racial division amid the turn of the civil rights movement, Motown became the sound that changed America.

Popular music, pop-culture, sprang forth with a tremendous influence on young and old. Now, after over 50 years of success, Motown's sound still reverberates worldwide. How many significant musical accomplishments or success stories do you recall from the 60s? Do you remember...

The Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson & the Jackson 5, the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight & the Pips, just to name a few.

WOW! So much music came out of the 60s. There is just no way to include all the music of so many different recording artists from such diverse cultures. 

The 60s began with soul music topping the charts, including pure soul divas and singers specializing in the new, R&B-gospel fusion with a secular approach. Later specialties in soul cropped up, including girl groups, blue-eyed soul, brown-eyed soul, Memphis soul, Philly soul and, most popular, Motown. The last part of the decade saw soul singer-songwriters like Marvin Gaye invent album-oriented soul, and James Brown and his ever-evolving backing band invent funk.
[Source: Music History of the United States in the 1960s]

   

One list of top 100 singles 1960-1969

Top 30 best rock songs of the 60's based on their influence, 

on their record sales and if they remained transcendent

Rock Music

Bob Dylan was the most influential
of all the urban folk-protest songwriters.

Rock 'n' Roll that originated in the 50s developed into a wide range of musical styles in the 60s, including hybrids like blues rock, folk rock, country rock, and jazz-rock fusion, many of which contributed to the development of psychedelic rock. The late 1960s became know as the "golden age" or "classic rock" period. Many singer-songwriters would transition into folk rock performers as the 1960s progressed. In the forefront of the newly coined term "singer-singwriters" (1965) were Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. The most influential of the new type, folk-protest songwriters, was Bob Dylan. Also reigning among the top was American folk singer, Arlo Guthrie.

One cannot leave the 60s without mentioning...

Woodstock
 

In 1969, a monumental music festival changed our world. More than half a million people came together - united in a message of peace, openness and cultural expression - and demonstrated how a generation could be heard. It is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history. Thirty-two acts performed over the course of four days. 

 

Want even more information. Click the links below for a list of notable events in music that took place in each year of the 60s.

1960 in music

1961 in music

1962 in music

1963 in music

1964 in music

1965 in music

1966 in music

1967 in music

1968 in music

1969 in music

Hopefully you have enjoyed this step back in time to the 60s. A decade of excitement labeled the "golden age" and "classic period" in music. The 1960s were, without question, the most exciting and innovative decade in the history of popular music. It's the soundtrack that altered the lives of millions and had a dramatic effect on everything from hairstyles to human rights.

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times. . .