Psychedelic Rock Hippie Songs to Transport You Back to the 60s
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Looking for some psychedelic rock hippie songs to transport you back to the 60s? We’ve got you covered! Check out our list of the best tracks to take you back in time.
The Sound of Psychedelic Rock
The sound of Psychedelic Rock of the 60s was new and different. It was influenced by the sounds of Blues, R&B, and Folk. This new sound was created by using electric guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. The sound was a way for the artists to express themselves and their creativity.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Psychedelic rock, also known as acid rock, is a type of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. The music is intended to replicate and enhance the experience of taking psychedelics, and often has trippy, mind-expanding lyrics, extended instrumental solos, and sound effects.
Psychedelic rock was most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was created largely by bands who were influenced by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Cream. some of the most well-known psychedelic rock songs include “I Can See for Miles” by The Who, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by Iron Butterfly, “Somebody to Love” by Jefferson Airplane, and “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix.
The Beatles
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 utilised several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. In 1963 their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”, but as their songwriting grew in sophistication they came to be perceived by many fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions.
The Doors
While the term “psychedelic” is often associated with the hippie counterculture of the 1960s, it was actually coined in the 1950s to describe a class of psychiatric drugs. Psychedelic Rock, however, did not emerge until the mid-1960s. Prior to that time, there were a number of artists and bands who would later be classified as “psychedelic,” but they were not making music that was recognizably “psychedelic” at the time.
The Doors were one of the first American bands to embrace the psychedelic sound and style. Though their debut album, The Doors (1967), only contained two overtly psychedelic songs – “The End” and “Light My Fire” – it set the stage for their subsequent albums, Strange Days (1967) and Waiting for the Sun (1968), which are considered to be two of the finest examples of psychedelic rock.
Other early adopters of psychedelic rock include The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead. All three bands would go on to release a number of excellent psychedlic albums in the late 1960s, including The Byrds’ Younger Than Yesterday (1967), Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow (1967), and The Grateful Dead’s Anthem of the Sun (1968)
The Psychedelic Rock Lyrics
“I Can See for Miles” The Who
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
And miles and miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
I can see for miles and miles
And Miles And Miles And Miles
“Eight Miles High” The Byrds
“Eight Miles High” is a song by American rock band the Byrds, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Fifth Dimension, in March 1966. Written by band members Roger McGuinn and David Crosby and featuring lyrics adapted from a poem by Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac, “Eight Miles High” was one of the first pop songs to be explicitly influenced by R&B and Soul music.
The song was also influential in the development of Psychedelic Rock music, being one of the first pop hits to incorporate elements of jazz and Indian music. Upon its release, “Eight Miles High” received mixed reviews from critics, who variously praised and criticized its innovative musical style. In subsequent years, however, the song has been widely acclaimed as one of the Byrds’ best recordings and one of the key works of Psychedelic Rock.
“Somebody to Love” Jefferson Airplane
It’s getting hard to be somebody to love
With all these people, you’ve got to shove
All you can do is just do what you love
And hope that somebody loves what you’re doing too
You’ve got to be somebody to love
You’ve got to experiment and try stuff
Even if it’s somebody you don’t know well
Just reach out and touch them, give them a yell
And hope that somebody loves what you’re doing too
The Psychedelic Rock Look
Psychedelic rock bands of the 60s were well known for their eccentric on-stage look. The clothes they wore, the colors they used, and the overall aesthetic they created was all part of their attempt to visually represent the mind-altering sound of their music. Let’s take a look at some of the most iconic psychedelic rock looks.
The Haight-Ashbury Scene
Psychedelic rock, often referred to simply as psychedelia, is a style of rock music that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The style is characterized by a preoccupation with exploration of psychic and cultural realms. Psychedelic music attempted to replicate the experience of altered states of consciousness, often achieved through the use of drugs such as cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline and LSD.
Psychedelic rock reached its peak in popularity between 1967 and 1969, with bands such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, the Doors and Jimi Hendrix expanding the boundaries of what was considered possible in rock music. By the early 1970s, however, psychedelic rock had largely fallen out of favour with audiences, partly due to drug-related scandals involving some of its most prominent exponents.
The Summer of Love
In 1967, the media dubbed San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district “The Summer of Love.” Young people from across America converged there, drawn by the region’s permissive atmosphere and the pervasive sense that something new and exciting was happening. Psychedelic rock became the soundtrack of this momentous cultural shift, as bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and The Doors delivered mind-expanding music that matched the swelling trippiness of the times.
The Psychedelic Rock Concerts
The Psychedelic Rock Concerts were a series of live music events that took place in various venues across the United States between 1965 and 1967. The concerts featured some of the most popular rock bands of the time, performing songs with psychedelic themes. The concerts were often accompanied by light shows and other special effects, making them an unforgettable experience for those who attended.
Despite being held in different cities, the Psychedelic Rock Concerts all shared a common goal: to provide a forum for the new genre of music known as psychedelic rock. Psychedelic rock was still in its infancy at the time, and the concerts helped to popularize the style and bring it to a wider audience. With its combination of catchy melodies, toe-tapping rhythms, and mind-bending lyrics, psychedelic rock was an instant hit with concertgoers.
ThePsychedelic Rock Concerts featured some of the most iconic bands of the era, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix. These legendary performers helped to define the sound of psychedelic rock and cement its place in music history. If you’re a fan of classic rock, then these concerts are definitely worth checking out.
The Psychedelic Rock Movement
Psychedelic rock, also known as “acid rock”, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s. The style is characterized by its use of feedback, distorted guitars, and heavy use of drums and cymbals. The Psychedelic Rock Movement was a social and musical phenomenon that took the world by storm in the 1960s.
The Counterculture
Psychedelic rock, also referred to as acid rock or hippie rock, is a style of rock music that emerged in the mid-1960s and was popularized in the United States and Britain. The style is characterized by distorted guitars, feedback, outlandish fashion and trippy lyrics. Psychedelic rock bands sought to replicate the experience of taking psychedelic drugs, often using novel sound effects, feedback and extended jams.
The counterculture of the 1960s began in earnest in the United States with the coming of age of the Baby Boomer generation. The culture was marked by a rejection of traditional values, including traditional ways of thinking about politics, religion, sexuality and social mores. The counterculture also embraced new ways of thinking about music, art and fashion. Psychedelic rock was one manifestation of this new way of thinking about music.
Psychedelic rock bands such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Jeff Beck Group, Cream and Jimi Hendrix Experience were at the forefront of this musical revolution. These bands incorporated elements of blues, folk and jazz into their music, creating a unique sound that was both experimental and accessible. Psychedelic rock quickly spread to Britain, where it found an eager audience among young people who were exploring their own identity in a rapidly changing world.
The Sexual Revolution
The Sexual Revolution, also known as a time of Sexual Liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Originating in the United States during the early 1960s, the Sexual Revolution spread throughout much of the Western world over the next two decades. Its historical importance is tied to its major cultural significance during a period when rapidly developing technologies were dramatically changing traditional views of sexuality.
marks a key moment in the development of Western society’s attitude towards sex. Prior to the 1960s, pleasure-oriented attitudes towards sex were often seen as dangerous, as they could lead to increased promiscuity and official sanctioning of deviant sexual behavior. The Sexual Revolution was a social and cultural upheaval that challenged traditional Western values regarding sex and sexuality. For many people, it marked a new era of sexual freedom and experimentation.
The Psychedelic Rock Legacy
Psychedelic rock, or just psychedelia for short, is a style of rock music that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. The term “psychedelic” refers to the idea of altering one’s consciousness, and psychedelic rock music often includes drug references and distorted sounds. The genre is associated with the hippie movement of the 1960s, and many of the classic psychedelic rock songs are about peace, love, and freedom.
Psychedelic rock is often divided into two subgenres: acid rock and sunshine pop. Acid rock is characterized by its heavy use of feedback, distorted guitars, and extended jams. Sunshine pop is a lighter, more melodic style of psychedelia that often features close harmonies and extensive use of studio effects.
The Psychedelic Rock Legacy
While the psychedelic rock movement was short-lived, it left behind a lasting legacy. Psychedelic rock laid the groundwork for many subsequent genres, including punk rock, new wave, and grunge. The genre also influenced fashion, art, and literature. Many of the classic psychedelic rock songs are still popular today, and continue to transport listeners back to the countercultural world of the 1960s.
