Just over a year ago I did a blog-post on my top five albums from the 1950's, so I thought I would do a continuation of this except do it in artists instead of albums - as it would just be way too hard. Therefore within this post I am going to write about the top five most influential artists of the 1960's according to myself, and the reasons why - if you're intrigued about the 1950's post feel free to give it a read. -
http://6townsmusicreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/top-5-albums-from-50s.html
The sixties was a decade absorbed by culture, politics and music on a global scale - and it was most probably the most important decade ever. The Vietnam War, China attempting to re-store capitalism, Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, The Stonewall riots in New York, The 1968 student uprisings in Paris (which inspired the Stone Roses to write the song 'Bye Bye Badman'), Decolonisation of Africa, Martin Luther King Jnr's 'I have a dream speech' and assassination, the construction of the Berlin Wall separating the East from the West, and the first man and woman going into out of space are just a few of the events that happened in the sixties.
"Turn on Tune in and Drop Out"- the decade which introduced psychedelia and the recreational use of drugs such as LSD, speed, marijuana, and even heroin. The 1960's was lavished with incredible artists and genres including the sensational Supremes, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Dusty Springfield, Pink Floyd and Johnny Cash are a few influential icons that emerged from the 1960's to say the least.
I'm going to begin my top five starting from the bottom, so at number five we have - Jimi Hendrix. Part of the '27 Club' Hendrix had a short-lived career, passing away sadly at the age of 27 due to a barbiturate overdose. Hendrix was known for his sensational, distinctive and mesmerising ability to play the guitar - it all really started for Hendrix in 1966 when the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards saw him play and wanted the world to be blessed with his sound - then came 'The Jimi Hendrix Experience'. Later on that year the band then got signed by The Who's manager to Track Records. Hendrix labelled his sound in an interview with journalist Bill Harry as 'free feeling' - a concoction of rock, freak-out, rave and blues. Hendrix changed the future of guitar music with; 'Voodoo Child' (1968), 'Along The Watchtower' (1968), 'Red House' (1966), his 1968 cover of the 'Wild Thing' originally by The Troggs, and 'Foxy Lady' being amongst some of his best pieces of work in the 1960's.
At number four is The Kinks, the London rock band that stole my heart. Their career really kicked off in 1964 with 'You Really Got Me' which ended up in the Ireland, Canadian, US and UK top 10 charts at the time - this rock'n'roll track with it's repetitive, deep, iconic guitar riff is one of The Kinks most famous singles. Their sound altered the following year from catchy bluesy rock tracks to more observant and peculiar tracks like 'A Well Respected Man' (1965), 'Death of a Clown' (1967), 'Set Me Free' (1965), 'Dead End Street' (1966), ''Sunny Afternoon' (1966) and 'Waterloo Sunset' (1966). These tracks had a very British feel to them, The Kinks to me are just an underrated version of The Beatles; their distinctive sound, idiosyncratic song lyrics and joyful British feel are just a few reasons why I love this band so much. The Kinks are one of the most influential artists of the sixties because they brought something new to the table, they brought authenticity and they succumbed a new sound and image because that's what worked for them... As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset I am in paradise.
In third place is The Rolling Stones, who still remain one of the most influential artists of the 1960's and even now. The names Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are two of the most iconic names in rock'n'roll, and their signature logo of the tongue still remains an endless affiliation to The Rolling Stones. All alive 50 years on and still performing, whilst consuming copious amounts of drugs, alcohol and smoking cigarettes - just how do they do it? (excluding a few of the band members who have left and been replaced). The height of their success was in 1965-1967 by this time the British rock band had built a strong following and had hit a number one album in the UK called 'The Rolling Stones No.2' by 1965. The Rolling Stones may have looked to have been glamorising the life of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll however in 1966 they released a track called 'Mothers Little Helper' which reached number eight in the US due it being the first pop song ever to address the realisation and issue of addiction to prescription drugs. 'Mothers Little Helpers' is a pseudonym for Diazepam the drug used to treat anxiety and insomnia amongst various other things.
The Rolling Stones are still one of the most influential and well-known rock bands to this day with songs like; 'Paint It Black' (1966), 'Sympathy For The Devil' (1968), 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' (1969), 'Satisfaction' (1965) and 'Under My Thumb' (1966). They are a band that are inescapable to not listen to at least once in your life time (unless you're Amish) - they have made a stamp on rock n roll forever. The sixties was their best decade because they had the genius input of Brian Jones, although he was sadly asked to leave the band in 1969 and just under a month later he passed away due to drowning in his swimming pool at the age of just 27 - another genius that is also labelled as apart of the '27 Club'.
Runner up is British rock band - The Who. During the mid sixties, The Who were starting to make a big influence on the mod scene alongside The Small Faces and they had written an album, created a film and even an opera was written about the mods vs rockers sub-cultural rivalry - this was called 'Quadrophenia'. However this was all produced after the sixties, due to The Who altering their sound towards the end of the decade from tracks like 'My Generation' (1965) , 'The Kids Are Alright' (1965), and 'Pinball Wizard'(1969) to more developed songs like 'Love Reign O'er Me' (1973), 'Who Are You' (1978), and 'You Better You Bet' (1981). The following that was built in the sixties lead to a strong and stable future and career, even fifty two years on they are still performing live and I had the privilege of watching them in Glasgow, April 2017 - they were incredible. Daltry's voice is one of a kind, and both his and Townshend's song writing is just unbelievable, everything is played and sung with such passion and meaning, you feel their talent and love for music radiate when listening to them. 'My Generation' is their most mainstream song however you can't be surprised as it is just the ultimate rebellious feel good song fighting for your age group "I hope I die before I get old", and this song was also later on covered in 2002 by the notorious rock band Oasis - a global phenomenon who were heavily influenced by The Who.
In first place, yes you guessed it - The Beatles. The rock band that stole all of the teenage girls hearts and swooned them with their lovey lyrics and dashing looks, Beatlemania was the intense fan crazy phase where fans were literally screaming that loud you couldn't even hear the band - people were mentally insane for The Beatles, and this wasn't a few hundred people - it was millions. How Charles Manson would have loved to have had the amount of power, fame and idolisation The Beatles had within their career... The Beatles were forever changing fashion, music and even perceptions throughout their career and this is why they are the most influential band of the sixties. 'Love Me Do' (1962) was their first hit to really kick off in the UK then came Beatlemania in '63. 'Yesterday' (1965), 'Yellow Submarine' (1966),'All You Need Is Love' (1967), 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' (1967) and 'Hey Jude' (1968), are just a few of The Beatles most well-known and famous tracks that were released in the sixties.
The 'Fab Four' are the best-selling band in history selling over 800 million physical and digital sales worldwide. Before their career together came to an end in 1970 the fab four released twelve studio albums - the most renowned ones being; Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The White Album (1968), and Abbey Road (1969). Now not every Beatles song was great, however that didn't matter when they could have recorded them burping and their fans would rave about how amazing it sounded, but The Beatles are the most influential band of the sixties without a shadow of a doubt - purely because they showed how four young lads from Liverpool could hit the big time, and just how quick it could all happen. Some of the biggest bands/artists in the world like: Nirvana, The Beach Boys, The Bee Gees, U2, ACDC, Oasis and Bruce Springstein are heavily influenced by The Beatles and they have all gone on to be huge successes - if The Beatles had never happened would these artists/bands ever existed?
Who do you think are the top five most influential bands/artists from the sixties?
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