Rock music from 60 to 80 remains popular today for several reasons, namely its pioneering spirit and innovation, with bands creating iconic sounds during this era.
Though some may view music of today as inferior, I do not share their sentiment. There is some great new music out there if you know where to look for it.
The Beatles
After dabbling in skiffle, a vibrant style of folk music popular in Britain, the Beatles began performing more complex musical ideas with their own distinct sound. Their recordings and television broadcast appearances created an exciting frenzy among young British rock fans; this subsequent widespread fascination became known as Beatlemania.
The band’s close vocal harmonies and sophisticated production techniques set new standards of excellence for rock music. Furthermore, their contributions helped transform pop into a cultural movement celebrating freedom of expression while acknowledging popular culture as an art form.
The Beatles influenced numerous other musicians worldwide. Artists from different nations used various influences as sources for inspiration; Carlos Santana’s use of Indian instrumentation shows George Harrison was influenced by Hare Krishna movement; Crosby, Stills and Nash also addressed current events through songs; they wrote about Kent State massacre among many other things.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones have long been considered one of the most influential bands in contemporary popular music. Their music spans multiple genres – American blues, country, R & B and folk among them. Furthermore, their reputation is known for being bold and controversial.
From Let It Bleed to Exile on Main Street and Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones have had a profound influence on countless rock bands. Black Crowes and Brian Jonestown Massacre, for instance, have adopted parts of The Stones’ discography as inspirations for their sound.
Although they began as a British Invasion band, The Stones gradually transitioned to more rebellious and rougher image as time progressed. Charlie Watts became obsessed with Civil War history while Keith Richards would only drink Southern whiskey. This image helped them become one of the most successful bands ever.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin became one of the most influential rock bands ever, setting an influential standard through their blend of hard rock, blues, and folk. They provided many subsequent bands with a blueprint on which to model themselves.
Page’s haunting acoustic strumming and delicate vocal crooning on this ballad of lost love are exquisite. This song showcases Plant’s talents at singing high registers.
The Lemon Song is an outstanding example of Zeppelin’s ability to take established influences and transform them into something entirely new. A remake of Howlin’ Wolf’s Killing Floor, it truly shows their masterful musical manipulation skills at creating mood through soundscape.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd was one of the first bands to use music as a form of activism and continues to inspire future generations of musicians with its profound musical legacy. Their influence extends from their start in psychedelic rock through progressive rock to their groundbreaking album covers and philosophical lyrics – they remain popular today!
Led Zeppelin focused on dynamic guitar riffs and drumming; Pink Floyd took their music one step further with timeless classics like Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here albums that didn’t worry too much about what the music industry expected of them, instead letting their creativity run wild.
Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro spoke openly and passionately about Pink Floyd in a 2012 interview, exuding black leather cool while conveying his enthusiasm.
The Who
Rock music 60 70 80 was an evolving subgenre that developed throughout the ’60s and ’70s, giving rise to many subgenres such as psychedelic rock and folk rock, leading to some of the greatest rock bands ever known today.
At this tumultuous period in music, musicians were increasingly exploring darker aspects of life through songs like ‘School’s Out’ – an iconic song from rock history covered by many artists such as Joan Jett and even Fergie of Black Eyed Peas! Critics have hailed its power, hailing it an instant classic!
The Kinks
The Kinks grew from their early garage rock roots into jangly folk-rock and orchestral pop. Their collection of songs exploring ordinary life became a key influence on Britpop music during the 1990s.
Although influenced by punk and heavy metal music, The Clash always retained an outsider identity; Ray Davies’ androgynous image stemming from his childhood experiences in Muswell Hill.
the Kinks regained their UK chart success despite an extended ban from touring the US, thanks to 1970’s Lola and 1979’s Low Budget albums. By 1983’s Come Dancing album release — an insightful take on transvestism — all original members had except Pete Quaife left, though Ray Davies continued as an active presence both in studio and live performance; also an accomplished painter, his unique vision could often be found on album covers as art work.
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are widely recognized for pioneering the California sound – an exciting fusion of catchy melodies with tight vocal harmonies and lyrics celebrating surfing, automobiles and girls. The band originally comprised brothers Brian and Dennis Wilson along with cousin Mike Love and Al Jardine as members.
Early Beach Boys work was an energetic celebration of surf culture and suburban aspirations; later they established themselves as auteurists with Pet Sounds, an emotionally complex collection of songs which captured unrequited love, coming-of-age trials, and other tough emotions associated with coming of age. Pet Sounds predated by years the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album; nonetheless they remain one of the most influential bands ever and continue touring and releasing new material today.
The Motown Sound
Motown Records was a record label that popularized soul music during the 1960s, popularized by producers and singers such as Barrett Strong, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and Smokey Robinson. Their music featured distinctive tambourines, driving bass lines and gospel-influenced vocal harmonies that have come to define Motown as a record label.
Gordy capitalized on this talent when founding Tamla Records, later known as Motown and with the slogan, ‘The Sound of Young America.”
Motown music helped establish stars like Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Marvin Gaye and the Temptations as stars in their own right. Motown also maintained subsidiary labels including Workshop Jazz for jazz recordings; Mel-o-dy for country records; Rare Earth Records which focused on blues-oriented and progressive rock styles.
The British Invasion
The British Invasion introduced American-style rock music to an entirely new generation. Pioneering bands such as Cream, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin helped introduce their groundbreaking sounds. Contrasting with skiffle bands of earlier years, these British groups blended traditional blues, rhythm and blues along with folk and jazz elements into pop-oriented sounds for maximum audience impact.
These bands were featured prominently on American television shows like Shindig! and Hullabaloo, promoting this unique form of rock. Many American pre-Beatles rock stars had dissipated from the scene prior to becoming mainstream musical artists such as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Gerry & the Pacemakers or Yardbirds; many American bands became more mainstream as British acts took their place onstage.
American influences on rock music of the 1960s included Brill Building sound, Phil Spector’s wall of sound, surf music and girl groups.
The Electric Light Orchestra
At a time when most music was focused around representational lyrics, artists like Helen Reddy and Elton John attempted to transport listeners somewhere else through song. Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood went one step further by creating their own world with each song they released.
ELO was formed out of an effort by Elton John and Lyle Scott and released its debut album with sounds that evoked his Beatles influences, featuring gurgling sounds and crystallized synthesizers that coalesce into an audible voice reminiscent of time travel.
ELO Part II fans must add this three disc box set to their collection! Although the band could easily have filled four CDs with material, they opted instead for three discs as an economical solution. Mik Kaminski, Kelly Groucutt and Hugh McDowell remained as members after Lynne co-owned the name but continued as ELO Part II with Lynne as co-owner.