5 Popular Psychedelic Rock Bands You Need to Know

Psychedelic rock music was popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The genre is characterized by a distorted, “trippy” sound that is often created by extended guitar solos and feedback. If you’re a fan of classic rock, then you need to check out these 5 popular psychedelic rock bands.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. They became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the history of popular music. Their popularity helped to introduce British rock and roll music to the United States and the rest of the world. The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide.

Band Members

The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963, their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”; as the group’s music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the band were integral to pop music’s evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960s.

The band’s best-known lineup was:
-John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals)
-Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals)
-George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals)
-Ringo Starr (drums, vocals)

Notable Songs

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963, their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”; as the group’s music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived by many fans as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions.

The Beatles are recognized for leading the mid-1960s musical “British Invasion” into the United States. Although their initial commercial success occurred during the early 1960s with songs such as “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You”, their greatest acclaim comes from a series of albums released during 1967–70. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is regarded as one of the first concepts albums; it helped to pioneer experimental recording techniques such as storing significant alternate takes on tape reels rather than discarding them, utilizing balanced microphones rather than close miking of lead instruments, heavily multitracked vocals featuring pitch correction devices such as vari-speed and ADT Duping/Copying devices (which were invented for The Beatles project), sound effects added during post-production – including reversed tapes (such as on “Rain”), distorted vocals treatment (on “Tomorrow Never Knows”), extreme reverb (on “I Am The Walrus”)

The double A-sided single “Strawberry Fields Forever” / “Penny Lane”, released in February 1967, was their first release without a photo of the group on the cover; it was also a marked change in direction from their previous singles. The complex recording process used for these songs foreshadowed many of the studio experimentation that would come to characterize their later work.

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were one of the most controversial and influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, mostly because of Morrison’s lyrics and on-stage antics, which often generated outrage among conservatives. Nevertheless, the band produced eight studio albums and many successful singles before Morrison’s death in 1971.

Band Members

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group consisted of vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were one of the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s because of Morrison’s lyrical declarations of drugs, sex, and violence and his erratic onstage behavior. The band also cultivated a following as one of the first popular American psychedelic rock groups and was credited with giving the genre its name.

The Doors achieved national recognition after signing with Elektra Records in 1967 and releasing their self-titled debut album. The album included the hit singles “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” and “Light My Fire”, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album was a commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and selling over three million copies in the United States by early 1968. Their second album, Strange Days (1967), also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and produced two Top 40 singles: “People Are Strange” and “Love Me Two Times”.

The group’s third album, Waiting for the Sun (1968), peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its July release; it included another Top 40 single with “Hello, I Love You”, which became their second single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1968; their first hit single had been “Light My Fire”. The fourth album soft rock-influenced The Soft Parade (1969) peaked at No. 3 on Billboard 200; it included Top 10 singles with “Tell All the People” (“Touch Me” was released as a single but did not make the Top 10 or 20), “Touch Me”, and “Wishful Sinful”. Morrison became increasingly uncooperative during touring for this album as he started drinking heavily and indulging in other substances such as marijuana§ LSD; his onstage antics also grew more confrontational as he began taunting audiences with long speeches about politics or improvised poems such as during live renditions of “The End”. He was finally fired from six months before his death in Paris at age 27 from an apparent heart attack brought on by years of substance abuse

Notable Songs

The Doors were one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the 1960s. They were unique in their blend of psychedelic rock, blues, and jazz, and their lyrics often dealt with dark and provocative subjects. The band released eight studio albums between 1967 and 1971, including the hugely successful “The Doors” (1967) and “Xanadu” (1971). Some of their best-known songs include “Hello, I Love You”, “Touch Me”, “Light My Fire”, and “Riders on the Storm”.

Pink Floyd

psychedelic rock, also called psyrock, psychedelic pop, or simply psychedelia, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The style is defined by its use of electronic effects and feedback, as well as its fusion of Eastern and Western musical influences.

Band Members

Pink Floyd was an English rock band formed in London in 1965. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. The band consisted of Syd Barrett (lead vocals, guitar), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals), and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals).

Notable Songs

While there are many great psychedelic rock bands, Pink Floyd is one of the most well-known. With hits like “Another Brick in the Wall,” “Money,” and “Wish You Were Here,” they remain one of the most popular and influential bands of all time. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock, Pink Floyd is a band you need to know.

The Grateful Dead

One of the most popular psychedelic rock bands of all time, the Grateful Dead was founded in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its live performances, which often featured lengthy jams, and for its unique musical style, which blended elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, andcountry. The Grateful Dead’s live shows were a major influence on the development of the jam band scene, and their music has continued to be a popular influence on subsequent generations of musicians.

Band Members

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, country, and Improv to form a sound that was uniquely their own. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Band members:
-Jerry Garcia
-Bob Weir
-Phil Lesh
-Ron “Pigpen” McKernan
-Bill Kreutzmann

Notable Songs

“The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)”

“Winter Warlocks”

” Dark Star”

” St. Stephen”

” The Eleven”

” Turn On Your Love Light”

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a pivotal figure in the development of psychedelic rock. His sound was characterized by distortion, feedback, and use of feedback loops. He was also one of the first rock guitarists to use wah-wah and phaser effects pedals. Hendrix was a master of the jazz chord progression and was able to use it in a rock context. He was often referred to as a “genius” and “the greatest rock guitarist of all time.”

Band Members

Jimi Hendrix – lead vocals, guitar
Noel Redding – bass, backing vocals
Mitch Mitchell – drums, backing vocals

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an American-English rock band formed in London in 1966. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell comprised the group, which was active until June 1969. During this time, they released three studio albums and became one of the most acclaimed and influential groups in rock music.

Notable Songs

“Purple Haze”
“Fire”
“The Wind Cries Mary”
“hey Joe”
“All Along the Watchtower”