The sixties was the golden age of pop music. Heroes of the decade such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, are still respected by many today. Such gifted individuals gave pop music a new status as a key element in modern cultural life.
A large youth market for records had developed for the first time in the 1950's, as young people came to have more spending money. The new recording business grew phenomenally in the 1960's. By 1967, record sales in the USA were worth more than $1 billion a year. This was more than double the value of record sales 10 years earlier.The records were all shiny vinyl discs (cassettes only began to come in at the very end of the decade). Records were often released in two versions, mono and stereo. Early in the decade, only a minority of people had stereo equipment. The sound quality available to most listeners was quite poor. Their record players had small built-in speakers, and the records gathered dust and got scratched.
At the start of the 1960's, pop was at a low point. The rock'n'roll boom of the 1950's, led by the likes of Elvis Presley
Another line in the creation of the 1960's music scene was the protest music of singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez (pictured above). By 1965, Folk had gone Hip. Dylan got an electric backing band and produced songs that were close to being the first rap.
The main influence that turned Bob Dylan electric was the British bands which burst on to the scene in 1963. Until this time, most British
pop had been a weak imitation of American music. But British youth culture was beginning to bubble with fresh ideas in music and fashion. The
biggest influence the Beatles, a well-established Liverpool band, who arrived on the pop scene in 1962. They recorded their first national
single 'Love me do' and within a year, 'Beatlemania' had swept Britain. In scenes of mass hysteria, crowds of screaming teenagers
mobbed the 'Moptops' wherever they went. Screaming fans blocked airports and caused trafic jams both sides of the Atlantic. The Beatles had 21
9th February 1964. Britains top pop group, the Beatles, have arrived in the USA and are taking the country by storm. When the Fab Four (pictured right) touched down at New York's Kennedy Airport two days ago, thousands of screaming fans had turned up to give them a big welcome. Their song 'I want to hold your hand' is already top of the Hot 100 singles chart, and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show tonight has drawn a record TV audience of 73 million. For the first time, Americans are rocking to a British beat.
In the wake of the Beatles, a series of British bands stormed the pop charts on both sides of the Atlantic: The Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Animals, and the Who. The Rolling Stones (pictured left) were very different to other groups as their dress and approach to music was quite shocking. They were very popular with rebellious teenagers - to the horror of their parents. They became known as the best live band in the world, and their fans caused such chaos, that sometimes their concerts had to be cancelled. The Beatles themselves split up in 1970, to pursue solo careers. Other British faces that were popular in the 60's were Cilla Black, Lulu and Cliff Richard, all of whom are still performing today.
The new British sound was fresh, brazen and fun. But 1960's pop music soon began to get heavier. The influences of the Hippie drug culture and of youth protest began to be felt. Pop stars became conscious of being the 'voice of a generation', often at odds with the authorities. They wrote their own material, creating lyrics that were far removed from the simple 'luv' songs of most previous pop. Unusual instruments such as the sitar appeared on pop records, as did strange electronic effects. Bands such as Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience explored the potential of the electric guitar to the limits in often rambling solos.
In 1967, the era of open-air pop festivals began. It reached its peak in the Woodstock festival (pictured right) in the USA in 1969 and the Isle of Wight festival in England in 1970. These events were much hyped. Listening to bands such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead and the Doors, the young generation were supposed to experience itself as a 'counter culture' of peace and love, opposed to the money-obsessed, war-making culture of its parents. For most who went, however, it was more a fun way of passing the weekend.
Growing up in the 60's - Main page