I was a little kid through the ‘60s, having been born in 1961. But I was fortunate to have older siblings who were born between 1948 and 1953, and through them, I was exposed to a lot of music from the ‘60s that I still listen to today. This was an interesting time in American history; in the latter half of that decade the controversy over the Vietnam War was starting to gather steam, and the hippie movement was likewise getting started; my siblings were all involved, to one degree or another, in the whole “hippie” thing. And, while I was a little kid, I remember riding around from time to time with my brother or my sisters, and they always had the car radio on.
Some of the music was fun and these days, all of it brings back memories – including memories of my big brother’s 1968 Chevelle SS with the L-88 427 engine, which was a lot like being fired out of a cannon.
In memory of that long-ago time, I’ve tried to compile five songs that stuck in my mind but avoided the “protest” political theme that was becoming common. These are just fun.
Sorry, no Beatles tunes this time. So, in no particular order:
Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man, 1968. Dusty was famous for her piled-up bouffant hairdo and good looks, but she was a great singer as well. This song is probably her best-known tune and boy, any young man who has ever dated a preacher’s daughter can understand this song – and the message behind it. Also, Dusty is another example of Heinlein's Principle of Least Action in combining talent with beauty.
Shocking Blue – Venus, 1969. Lead singer Mariska Veres really let go on this song. With some great, rollicking guitar work and a good bass line, it wasn’t a fancy or complicated song, just one of the best rock songs to ever come out of the Netherlands; granted that’s not a huge assemblage of tunes, with Shocking Blue being the only Dutch band of note to get a lot of play in the States until Golden Earring came along sometime later.
See Related: Start Your Weekend Right With Five Great Fun Rock Tunes From the Early Seventies
The Lemon Pipers – Green Tambourine, 1968. With an almost Beatle-esque, light, picky guitar accompaniment, and light, almost airy vocals, and a sharp undercutting percussion beat, this song always screamed “’60s” to me, and still does – you can almost see the ponytails and tie-dyed t-shirts. I'm pretty sure my brother still has some tie-dyed to-shirts around someplace, in fact.
Tommy James and the Shondells – Crystal Blue Persuasion, 1968. I always thought this was a fun song; smooth, soothing, almost liquid in the instruments and vocals. Even the title is smooth, and evokes the whole “Hey, man, groovy” vibe of the time. It wouldn’t have been out of place in an Austin Powers movie.
See Related: Start Your Weekend Right With Four Great Songs by Ex-Beatles - And One As a Bonus
Steppenwolf – Born to be Wild, 1968. We all remember this song from the Peter Fonda/Dennis Hopper film “Easy Rider,” but I have a dim memory of one of the band members saying they hadn’t imagined motorcycles at all when they wrote this song; instead, they had more in mind high-school kids piling in their cars and hitting the roads in search of adventure. That may be; I certainly did enough of that myself in my teenage years, and it wasn’t at all unusual for me to have a cassette with this song on it in my car’s tape deck.
The ‘60s were, in some ways, a troubled time for America. But we got through it, and it left some great music behind. Have you any ‘60s tunes of your own to share? As always, the comments are yours.
