1966, 1967 and 1968

stoutblock

"If it sounds good, it is good." Duke Ellington
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I was only 9-11 years old at the time but I remember it well. The world changed in these three years in so many ways I can't even count them all. It represents a pivot point for many, many things including music as we will know it forever. By 1969 the world was basically a different place than it was in 1965.

The Beatles were so successful they were given full liberty to experiment with their musical creativity. Sgt. Pepper being the result. Jimi Hendrix set the world on fire in the guitar world. Moody Blues captured a sophisticated audience that was way more than just teen age kids going crazy. Stones got away with being really naughty and made some great rock at the same time. Of course The Beach Boys did their best of the time. The Mamas and Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, The Doors, Procol Harum, Van Morrison, Cream, Creadence Clearwater, David Bowie.

Granted new things were being explored before 1966 but they were catapulted towards the future in these three years and still have a huge impact on current times.

What are the most influential bands from this period?
 
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1966 -1990 ... is the zone for me ... w/ the early 70's being the peak ... tales off from there IMHO. Bands :dunno: ... I think more in terms of albums. The list below was played by a radio station some years ago (new years I think).
Anyway ... it was the Sound 103.3 (heard it over the net). Really like the list. Was compiled from listeners of the Classic Rock radio station .... general public, so it was not a Rock Critic list.

100 Greatest Rock Albums

The list omits the #1 album ... which was Pink Floyd DSOTM

The first date I remember writing on my Elementary school paper was 1967 ... so my
favorite Classic Rock period have always been oldies to me.
 
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If you`re talking influential as in inspiration for changes in music that would follow the late 60`s into the 70`s you have to include and admit the tremendous impact of James Brown - 1963, The Who - 1964, Pink Floyd 1965, The Guess Who - 1965, Black Sabbath - 1968, Led Zeppelin - 1968, Judas Priest - 1969 and Aerosmith - 1970. We also have to recognize Janis Joplin with Big Brother & The Holding Company for their stunning debut at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 as a template for the women of rock that would follow.

For what was considered to be ``progressive rock`` you had Jethro Tull - 1967, King Crimson - 1968, Uriah Heep - 1969. These three bands were huge in their day. I believe that Led Zeppelin actually was the opening act for Jethro Tull at some point if I`m not mistaken. Of course there are many others but I think these bands left a big old mark in the history book right along side of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as being some of the most original, popular and influential bands of all time.

And hey we can`t discount Bob Dylan`s ``Like a Rolling Stone`` in 1965 or the fact that Dylan introduced the Beatles to pot in 1964 largely shaping the band`s subsequent recordings. If you consider the shape and sound of music before these bands listed came out and what music became afterwards there is no question that the influence and impact for subsequent artists was more substantial than any other time in history - ever. IMHO.
I know I colored outside the lines a bit mentioning bands pre 1966 so forgive me OP but they were still huge in the late 60`s so I included them.
 
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Hmm, I was 20 in '66 and well remember mini skirts getting shorter :naughty:

Otherwise stoutblock pretty much nails it :thumbsup:

Roger
 
@stoutblock I was in that same zone as you, 8 to 10 years old in 66 to 68. Problem was I lived in semi-rural Southeastern Oklahoma and the music I heard was under the control of my Dad. So it was Big Band, Jazz and lots of Country & Western. It wasn't until 1969 that I had my own radio and record player, then I could listen to more music like what you had already heard.

It wasn't until about 10 years ago that it finally sank in that my Dad was gone and no one would complain if I let my beard and hair grow like I had wanted to in the 70's. Now I have a beard and pony tail, the wife likes them.

Mark Gosdin
 
@stoutblock I was in that same zone as you, 8 to 10 years old in 66 to 68. Problem was I lived in semi-rural Southeastern Oklahoma and the music I heard was under the control of my Dad. So it was Big Band, Jazz and lots of Country & Western. It wasn't until 1969 that I had my own radio and record player, then I could listen to more music like what you had already heard.

It wasn't until about 10 years ago that it finally sank in that my Dad was gone and no one would complain if I let my beard and hair grow like I had wanted to in the 70's. Now I have a beard and pony tail, the wife likes them.

Mark Gosdin
Never to late to let your freak flag fly. :thumbsup:
 
mgosdin. We use to listen to the J. Michael Wilson show early in the morning on KOMA, Oklahoma City. 1964 to 1966. He was a fun and crazy DJ. That was in northern New Mexico. KOMA was a 50,000 watt clear channel station.
 
You need to add the Kinks, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and a bunch more to the list.
 
As per the op, I would say it was an era of enlightenment where the whole music scene reached a pinnacle of development which flourished in it's grandeur with a race til all was discovered/accomplished by the 80's. There were a few stragglers. It's over folks.
 
66 67 68.. I was in high school back then. A pretty important time for music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cream, Hendrix, The Doors, The BeacBoys. The list goes on. Maybe it was just because I was a kid, but it all seemed pretty important.
 
Maybe because the mid-sixties was the first time that songs were written about real life, things that people didn't normally talk about. Like "Hang On Sloopy : Mc Coys or " Time Of The Season : Zombies, which like many songs during the mid-sixties to late sixties had a message that had inspired people to become involved in. The inspiration from what people wanted in 1965 was horrendous, this was before the civil rights movement and the social action inspired Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and the Beatles because I'm sorry....it was a little more than just weed that shaped the song "Come Together" because of what people wanted back then. It was a terrible thing to watch body bags come back from Vietnam and if you belonged to a big church you went to a funeral at least once a month. So a passion for change inspired expression in the music at a time when people demanded to be heard. People don't realize how many firsts came during the 65-69 to include why a person could make a movie like Easy Rider.
 
66 67 68.. I was in high school back then. A pretty important time for music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cream, Hendrix, The Doors, The BeacBoys. The list goes on. Maybe it was just because I was a kid, but it all seemed pretty important.
"important" is a very good descriptor. Music of that era is a commentary on the maturation of our existence.
 
mgosdin. We use to listen to the J. Michael Wilson show early in the morning on KOMA, Oklahoma City. 1964 to 1966. He was a fun and crazy DJ. That was in northern New Mexico. KOMA was a 50,000 watt clear channel station.

We were on the wrong side of the Jack Fork Mountains ( Mountains? In Oklahoma? Yep. ) and always had trouble getting any of the OKC stations. So it was WBAP clear channel out of Dallas, Texas that was always tuned on the radio in our cars or dad's pickup. Mom would listen to the local FM station in Her car, when she was driving, but that only got you a heavily censored Pop playlist. Beatles and Beach Boys, but no Hendrix, Stones, Who not in those days. The world for me changed when I hit college in '76.

Mark Gosdin
 
No boundaries during those years. Bands were crossing lines and creating genres. Most of the heavy hitters have already been mentioned. Some cities had their own "sound", LA, Frisco, Bakersfield, Nashville, Chicago, Memphis, NY, and others spawned lots of bands and scenes. Think about how many garage bands started during the mid 60's. The Band and The Byrds are two that come to mind that broke new ground. The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape were freaking people out. Dylan was making statements with each new release. Crazy years.
 
that time period was organic

now we live in an inorganic world

the switch over was around max headroom's time


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Good stuff guys! I lived way out in the sticks and had no access to recorded music but got some great channels on the radio from Portland. In 1966 when driving with my parents it was AM radio and they would not listen to anything beyond the norm. My Dad had several Johnny Cash 8 tracks he played quite often. By 1969 both of my parents seemed to enjoy most anything on the radio unless it was the most radical of rock. It was also a really tough time for many who lost loved ones in the war. I know my Mom could not understand all the anger until a close friend lost her son. She changed over night. I remember her crying when she watched the news in the evening. Tough times indeed.
 
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Most groundbreaking album and band in my opinion is Revolver by the Beatles. Side 1 Track 1 gets right to it and flips the English government the bird with Taxman and they got away with it. A line was crossed opening the door for everybody that followed.

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Gotta agree with @elcoholic. When my older brother brought Revolver home, it was awakening.

I immediately went out and grabbed this,...

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and this one, too.

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