Psychedelic Rock Bands of the 60s: Folk Music to Hard Rock

Psychedelic rock bands of the 60s were some of the most groundbreaking and influential groups of the decade. From folk music to hard rock, these bands helped shape the sound and style of an entire generation.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band that became arguably the most successful act of the 20th century. They formed in Liverpool in 1960 and by 1962 they were regulars on the British live music circuit, playing nightclubs and record labels. In late 1962, the group released their first single, “Love Me Do,” which reached the top fifteen in the British charts.

Their music

The Beatles became popular in the UK in late 1962. Their first single, “Love Me Do,” was released in October of that year and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. From there, they released several more successful singles, including “Please Please Me” and “She Loves You,” which topped the charts in the UK and started to garner attention in the United States.

In 1964, The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which resulted in mass hysteria among teenage girls (and boys) across America. They became a sensation overnight and went on to release a string of No. 1 hits in both the UK and US, including “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and “A Hard Day’s Night.”

Over the next few years, The Beatles continued to experiment with their sound, delving into psychedelic rock with tracks like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and “Tomorrow Never Knows.” They also became increasingly influenced by Eastern music and culture after meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and spending time at his ashram in India.

In 1969, The Beatles recorded their final album, Abbey Road. Although John Lennon had already left the band by this point, he still contributed to two songs on the album: “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Across The Universe.”

The Beatles officially disbanded in 1970, but their music continues to live on 50 years later. They are widely considered to be one of the most influential rock bands of all time.

Their influence

It’s impossible to overestimate the Beatles’ impact on popular music. In the space of seven short years, they took the world by storm, starting off as a mop-topped pop group and ending up as serious musicians whose work would be adapted for orchestra. Their influence can still be felt today, even though the band broke up over 40 years ago.

The Beatles were more than just a musical group; they were a phenomenon. They became a part of popular culture in a way that no other band has come close to matching. They appeared on the cover of Time magazine, played sold-out stadium concerts, and their faces were plastered on billboards and magazine ads. In many ways, they were the first truly global celebrities.

The Beatles’ influence extends beyond their music. They helped to shape fashion trends and hairstyles, and their movies (A Hard Day’s Night and Help!) were hugely influential in the development of music videos and concert films. They also inspired other bands to push musical boundaries and experiment with new sounds and styles.

The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, and improvisational jazz. The band was also known for its live performances, which often featured long jams and improvisational passages.

Their music

The Grateful Dead’s music was at once reflective of the spiritual quests of the counterculture, while also lighthearted and fun. They drew influences from a wide variety of musical styles, making them one of the most eclectic bands of their era. Their early songs blended elements of folk, bluegrass, and blues, while later years saw them dabbling in country, jazz, and even world music. They were also willing to experiment with long improvisational jams, which became a hallmark of their live shows.

Their influence

The Grateful Dead were not only one of the most influential psychedelic rock bands of the 1960s, but they were also a highly important force in the development of folk rock, country rock, and jam band music. Formed in 1965 in San Francisco by guitarist/singer Jerry Garcia, keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Bob Weir, and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, the band went through a number of personnel changes in its early years before stabilizing around the core lineup of Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Kreutzmann, and singer/keyboardist Tom Constanten (who joined in 1968). The band’s music was an eclectic mix of Garcia and Lesh’s love of blues and R&B; McKernan’s passion for soul and R&B; Weir’s interest in folk and country; and Kreutzmann’s enthusiasm for jazz.

Jefferson Airplane

The psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane was one of the most popular and influential bands of the 1960s. They were known for their experimental and innovative music, which was a mix of folk, blues, and hard rock. The band was founded in San Francisco in 1965 and was originally composed of singer-songwriter Marty Balin, guitarist Paul Kantner, bassist Jack Casady, drummer Spencer Dryden, and singer Grace Slick.

Their music

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success. The group was headlining nightly at the Fillmore West by early 1966 and released their breakthrough album Surrealistic Pillow in February 1967. Their initial success was followed by a string of top ten hits that lasted through 1974, with further creative and commercial acclaim.

Their influence

Jefferson Airplane is often said to be one of the most influential Psychedelic Rock bands of the 60s. They were known for their experimental and improvisational style of music, as well as their political lyrics. The band’s unique sound was a result of their diverse range of influences, which included Folk music, Hard Rock, and Jazz. Jefferson Airplane was one of the first Psychedelic Rock bands to achieve commercial success, and their music continues to influence artists today.

The Doors

One of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the 1960s, the Doors were unique for their time. They were one of the first American bands to infuse psychedelic rock with blues-based hard rock, and were also one of the first to rely heavily on the extended use of lead singer Jim Morrison’s powerful, poetic lyrics.

Their music

The Doors’ sound was unique and unlike anything else that was happening in rock music at the time. They were one of the first bands to use a keyboard as a lead instrument and incorporated elements of classical music into their sound. The result was a dark, atmospheric, and psychedelic sound that was perfect for their lyrics about love, sex, death, and drugs.

The band members were all excellent musicians and they quickly developed a reputation as one of the best live bands in the business. They would often improvise entire songs on stage, which sometimes resulted in jams that would last for 20 minutes or more. This spontaneity was one of the things that made their live shows so special.

Although they only released six studio albums, The Doors have maintained a loyal following over the years and are considered to be one of the most influential rock bands of all time.

Their influence

Doors producer Paul A. Rothchild said that the Doors were “the first psychedelically oriented group who made hard rock acceptable”[39] and that Morrison was “the first real poet in rock and roll”.[40] Author Ben Fong-Torres wrote, “No band better symbolized the psychedelic sixties … No band took harder knocks for what critics saw as a profligacy bordering on self-indulgence.”[41] Morrison’s lyrics often contained appears to be cryptic messages about drug use and political topics such as Vietnam War, censorship, and the civil rights movement; Morrison was quoted as saying that his favorite books were Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams.[42][43][44]

The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.[45] They were ranked number 41 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”,[46] and number 42 on VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock”.[47] In 2015, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work in music.[48][49]

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1942. Hendrix is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock music history. He rose to prominence in the late 1960s with his band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and is best known for his innovative and distinctive guitar playing. Hendrix’s musical style blended blues, rock, and jazz influences, and he was one of the first guitarists to make use of feedback and distortion.

His music

Jimi Hendrix’s music was characterized by distortion, feedback, and extreme amplification.[1] His innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback, and controlled distortion created a new musical form.[2] He was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967, he won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for his performance of the song “Up from the Skies”. In 1970, readers of Melody Maker voted him the Pop Musician of the Year, Mira Award for the Most Progressive Musician of 1970, and he received two posthumous Grammy Awards in 1971. These were awarded for Best Rock Album for The Jimi Hendrix Experience album Electric Ladyland and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his rendition of “Hey Joe”.[3][4] Rolling Stone ranked him number one on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” in 2003[5] and number six on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” in 2004.[6][7] He was inducted into the US Army’s Ranger Hall of Fame in 2002.[8]

His influence

During his lifetime, Jimi Hendrix’s impact was both immediate and profound, disrupting not only what popular music sounded like but also how it was created and disseminated. His combination of novel sounds, technique, stagecraft, songwriting ability, and showmanship redefined what it meant to be a rock guitarist and helped make the electric guitar one of the defining sounds of 20th century music.