What Bands Are Psychedelic Rock?

Psychedelic rock is a genre of music that emerged in the 1960s and was characterized by its trippy, mind-bending sound. If you’re wondering what bands are considered psychedelic rock, look no further!

The Beatles

The Beatles are often cited as the most important and influential band of the 20th century, and their impact on psychedelic rock is undeniable. The group began experimenting with psychedelic sounds on their 1966 album Revolver, and continued to push the boundaries of the genre with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. The Beatles’ willingness to explore new sonic territory inspired other artists to do the same, and helped to make psychedelic rock a dominant force in popular music.

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965 by singer/pianist Ray Manzarek, singer Jim Morrison, and drummer John Densmore. The band gained popularity for their unique and controversial style of psychedelic rock music. They are widely considered one of the most influential rock bands of all time.

Some of the Doors’ most popular songs include “Light My Fire,” “Break On Through (To the Other Side),” and “Riders on the Storm.” The band released eight studio albums before Morrison’s death in 1971. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1967 and reached number two on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd was one of the most successful and influential psychedelic rock bands of all time. Formed in London in 1965, they achieved international fame with their concept albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), A Saucerful of Secrets (1968), More (1969), Ummagumma (1969), Atom Heart Mother (1970), Meddle (1971), and Dark Side of the Moon (1973). They are known for their groundbreakinglive performances, which often featured elaborate light shows and projections.

The Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band is known for its unique and experimental style, which blended elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, and blues. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Jimi Hendrix

Psychedelic rock, also called psytrance, is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Psychedelic rock is characterized by extended instrumental passages with complex changes in harmony and meter, as well as by the use of electronic effects such as feedback, echo, and reverb. As with other genres of rock music,psychedelic rock often uses distorted guitars, drumming techniques, and vocals.

Psychedelic rock developed out of the earlier subgenre of psychedelic pop, which itself was a fusion of pop and various electronic and experimental music genres. Psychedelic pop began to be widely known in the mid-1960s with hits such as The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966) and The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” (1966).Psychedelic pop bands such as The Byrds and Love were popular in the late 1960s. Psychedelic rock became more prominent in the early 1970s with groups such as Pink Floyd, Traffic, Syd Barrett’s solo work, Yes,Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stonesand Electric Light Orchestra.

Santana

Santana is a Latin rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966 by Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana. The band first came to public attention when their performance of “Soul Sacrifice” at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 provided a contrast to other acts on the bill. This exposure helped propel their first album, also named Santana, into a hit, followed in the next two years by Abraxas and Santana III.

Despite lineup changes, they continued to record and tour successfully into the late 1990s, winning eight Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards along the way. Rolling Stone ranked them at number 20 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2003, and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a group in 1998 with Carlos Santana and Gregg Rolie as founding members.

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in 1964 in New York City by singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise (replaced by Maureen Tucker in 1965). The band was initially active between 1965 and 1973, and was briefly managed by the pop artist Andy Warhol, serving as the house band at the Factory and contributing to the development of Warhol’s famed multimedia events known as the “Exploding Plastic Inevitable.”[1] Their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico was released in 1967 to critical indifference and poor sales but did not prevent their continuing work over following years.