A Brief History of West Coast Psychedelic Rock

In the early 1960s, the West Coast of the United States became the epicenter for a new style of music that would come to be known as psychedelic rock. This genre was characterized by its use of mind-altering drugs, extended improvisation, and experimentation with new sounds and production techniques.

The Beginnings of Psychedelic Rock

In the early 1960s, American rock music was in a state of transition. Surf music, the dominant style of the previous decade, was giving way to a new wave of British Invasion bands. At the same time, a number of artists were beginning to experiment with mind-altering drugs, including LSD. These factors combined to create a unique new musical genre: psychedelic rock.

The San Francisco Sound

The San Francisco Sound of the late 1960s was a fusion of rock, folk, blues, and jazz that came to define the countercultural movement in the Bay Area. The sound was pioneered by bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Big Brother and the Holding Company, who blended traditional rock instrumentation with extended improvisational jamming and experimental sound effects. The San Francisco Sound became synonymous with the “Summer of Love” in 1967, when hundreds of thousands of young people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood to partake in the countercultural lifestyle. Psychedelic rock would go on to have a profound influence on popular music in the years that followed, with bands like the Doors, Pink Floyd, and Sly and the Family Stone helping to pioneer new sounds and styles.

The Summer of Love

In the summer of 1967, young people from all over the United States descended on San Francisco. They came in search of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, and they found all three in abundance. The music scene was particularly vibrant, with dozens of bands playing nightly in the city’s clubs and concert halls. The most popular acts were the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and the newly formed group Crosby, Stills & Nash.

The influx of young people had a profound impact on San Francisco’s already-tolerant culture. Psychedelic drugs became widely available, and their use was openly accepted. San Francisco became the center of the counterculture movement, and its music scene flourished.

In the late 1960s, a new style of music began to emerge from California: psychedelic rock. This new sound was characterized by lengthy jams, complex song structures, distorted guitars, and trippy vocal effects. It was heavily influenced by both Eastern music and the mind-altering drugs that were commonly used at the time.

Psychedelic rock quickly spread from California to the rest of the country. In 1968, The Beatles released their landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which featured several psychedelic songs. Other popular bands like The Doors and Jimi Hendrix also began to experiment with this new sound.

By the early 1970s, psychedelic rock had reached its peak popularity. But it was also starting to fall out of fashion, as newer styles like hard rock and disco began to take over the airwaves. Nevertheless, psychedelic rock left a lasting impression on popular music, and its influence can still be heard in many modern bands

The Mainstreaming of Psychedelic Rock

Psychedelic rock, also known as acid rock, began in the mid-1960s with the rise of bands such as the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane. The style was characterized by distorted guitars, mind-altering lyrics, and long improvisational jams. The music was often used as a soundtrack for LSD trips. In the late 1960s, psychedelic rock became mainstream with the release of albums such as The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Doors’ self-titled debut album.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The group, whose best-known lineup comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band of the 20th century. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after releasing their debut album, Please Please Me, in 1963. With their numerous hit records, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night and 1965’s Help!, the Beatles became global stars and are credited with helping to shape the cultural developments of the 1960s.

Psychedelic rock is a style of popular music that arose in the mid-1960s as part of countercultural movements in the United Kingdom and North America. Its origins can be traced to West Coast psychedelic bands such as the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, who were among the first to experiment with LSD-influenced improvisation and sound effects in their live performances. The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver is often cited as one of the earliest examples of psychedelic rock, prefiguring later works by bandleader John Lennon such as “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967) and “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966).

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group consisted of lead vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, bassist John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. The band got its name at Morrison’s suggestion from the title of Aldous Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception, which itself was a reference to a quote from William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: infinite.” They were unique and among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison’s lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison’s death in 1971 at age 27, the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanding in 1973.

Despite this disbandment, the band has seen a resurgence in popularity over the years with their music being adapted for film and television. In 2002, Manzarek and Krieger started touring again as The Doors of the 21st Century with Ian Astbury of The Cult on vocals. Densmore opted to sit out and sued them over usage of the band name; he was awarded 50% control over it in 2008. In January 2015, Manzarek died at age 74.

Jimi Hendrix

By the mid-’60s, San Francisco had become the epicenter of the counterculture in America, and its music scene was thriving. Bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Big Brother and the Holding Company were helping to define a new genre of music that would come to be known as psychedelic rock.

One of the most influential figures in this scene was Jimi Hendrix. Though he only released three studio albums before his untimely death in 1970, Hendrix left a lasting impact on the world of rock music. His innovative style of playing, which made use of feedback and distortion, was unlike anything that had been heard before. Hendrix’s masterful guitar work can be heard on tracks like “Purple Haze” and “All Along the Watchtower.”

In addition to his musical talents, Hendrix was also known for his charismatic stage presence. He was often seen wearing brightly colored clothes and robes, and he would often light his guitar on fire during performances. Hendrix’s flamboyant personality helped to make him one of the most popular musicians of his time.

Though he was only active in the music scene for a few years, Jimi Hendrix left a lasting legacy. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and his influence can still be heard in the music of today.

The Legacy of Psychedelic Rock

In the 1960s, a new type of music started to gain popularity on the West Coast of the United States. This new style of music came to be known as psychedelic rock. Psychedelic rock was heavily influenced by the use of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, and the music often reflected the experience of taking these drugs. The sound of psychedelic rock was often very trippy and experimental, and the lyrics often dealt with themes of love, peace, and mind expansion. Psychedelic rock quickly spread to the rest of the United States and to the rest of the world, and it had a profound impact on the course of popular music.

The Grateful Dead

Psychedelic rock, also referred to as acid rock, is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the mid-1960s. Psychedelic rock is characterized by distorted guitars, drumming, and mind-bending lyrics and visuals. The music is intended to replicate and enhance the experience of using drugs, particularly psychedelic drugs such as LSD.

The Grateful Dead were an American psychedelic rock band from San Francisco. The band was founded in 1965 by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Ron McKernan. The Dead were known for their extended jams, which could go on for hours. They built up a large and devoted following, known as Deadheads. The band’s main songwriters were Garcia and Robert Hunter. The Dead released 13 studio albums between 1967 and 1989.

The Grateful Dead had a massive impact on the development of psychedelic rock music. They were one of the first bands to use extended jamming as a central part of their musical approach. Their live performances were legendary, and their fanbase was incredibly devoted. The Dead’s impact on psychedelic rock was so strong that they are often considered one of the genre’s founding bands.

Santana

Santana is a Latin rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966 by Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter Carlos Santana. The band first came to public attention with their performance at the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969. Their debut album, Santana (1969), released shortly after the Woodstock festival, became a huge hit and established Santana as one of rock’s most popular groups. They followed up with a number of successful albums and singles, including “Evil Ways” (1969), “Black Magic Woman” (1970), “Oye Como Va” (1971), and “No One to Depend On” (1972). In the late 1970s, Santana experimented with a more pop-oriented sound on albums such as Inner Secrets (1978) and Marathon (1979), before making a successful return to their roots with the Grammy-winning album Supernatural (1999).

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin was an American singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead vocalist of the psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. She was one of the most successful and acclaimed rock stars of her era, known for her powerful contralto voice and stage presence.

Joplin achieved commercial success with Big Brother with their debut album, Cheap Thrills (1968), which reached number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. She left Big Brother to pursue a solo career and released her debut album, Pearl, in 1971. It peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Joplin died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27 in 1970, just months after Pearl was released. Her premature death coincided with the beginning of a decline in popularity for psychedelic rock. Although she had a limited output, Joplin is regarded as one of the most significant and influential singer-songwriters of her generation and is considered to be one of the greatest rock singers of all time.