1960s Rock Music Notes

Music Evolution and Influence

• "Turn on, tune in, drop out!" by Timothy Leary is the ideal way to summarize what kind of environment was happening in 1960s.

  • Urged a peaceful revolution, promoting mindfulness and freedom through LSD usage.

    -Rock music's evolution through the turbulent socio-cultural changes of the 1960s.

• 1950s rock musicians like Buddy Holly set the stage but faced challenges fading away.

• 1960s rock resurged with significant changes:

  • Major labels initially pushed wholesome music by artists such as the Beach Boys and teen Idol groups.

  • New rock styles emerged influenced by American blues and rock.

Brill Building Movement

• Central hub for music production; commercialized music - Assembly line Pop.

  • Had professional writing teams (Carole King & Burt Bacharach).

  • Famous songs included:

  • "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes

  • "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles

  • "You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling" - Righteous Brothers

Teen Idols and Girl Groups

• Teen Idols were visually-focused, they believed that having a more innocent and girly look was appealing to all audiences

• Girl groups were often young Black female singers

  • Successful examples include:

  • "Be My Baby" - The Ronettes, lead vocalist Ronnie Bennet.

Signature Sounds

• Wall of Sound: Phil Spector = developer

  - characterized by heavy use of reverb and layers of many instruments.

  • Darlene Love - "Da Doo Ron Ron"

  • Ronnie Bennet, Ronettes - “Be My Baby”

  • Tommy Tedesco - guitar

Surf Rock

• Early 60s West Coast rock- themes of surfing, cars, & romance.

  • Beach Boys: "Surfin’ USA"

  • Jan and Dean: "Little Old Lady From Pasadena"

  • Dick Dale: "Miserlou"

British Invasion (1964-67)

• British bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones influenced American rock

  • The Beatles' rise post-Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, characterized by their unique style and synchronized personas.

• Early music styles included folk-influenced rhythm and blues.

Psychedelic Rock

• Associated with the counterculture movement, integrating Timothy Leary's views on LSD being positive.

• Examples:

  • "Tomorrow Never Knows" - The Beatles

  • "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane

• Iron Butterfly - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida": jam resembles early heavy rock

Music Festivals

• Woodstock: 1969 festival symbolizing peak of hippie movement, ending in a disaster at some point.

  • Attracted over 400,000 attendees; had artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and more

• Altamont: Supposed to be another Woodstock but had a violent outbreak due to poor planning.

  • Hells Angels provided security and escalated chaos leading to violent outcomes.

Closing Era of the 1960s Rock Movement

• The idealistic perception of "flower power" was clouded by violence, political tensions like the ongoing Vietnam War, and deaths of influential figures of the time like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin passed due to drug overdoses, marking the end of the era.