Same here, although TBH I prefer the 50s anyway...

For me I think it's a shame that so much of the 60s were dominated by third rate Beatles clones. Yes they certainly had an influence but it was by no means all good!

Actually, my favourite era of the decade is probably the mid-sixties, and I also like the late sixties a great deal, but I'm currently making early sixties related posts as I feel that with it being the period between early rock'n'roll and the Beatles its music is unfairly dismissed by some music historians and so-called music experts as being somehow inferior - imho it isn't.

There's an awful lot of great music from the 60s that gets largely overlooked...

With regard to the music you referred to I think a lot of it simply gets associated with the 50s because of it's style, as opposed to being actively dismissed. It just becomes part of a generic "Rock 'n' Roll" era which most think of as the 50s.

This is true, but I think that over the last eighteen months, Vabosity and the other usual suspects, including your good self and my good self occasionally, have supplied much of that great overlooked music of the sixties to the Rare 60's Classics thread.


Very true. Girls were still wearing flared skirts and boys still had DA haircuts in the early sixties, fashions that are generally associated with the fifties. Also, "American Graffiti" tends to be thought of as a fifties nostalgia film and yet it is set in 1962.

Well, everything didn't immediately change when 1959 became 1960, just as everything didn't immediately change when 1969 became 1970. Much of the rock music made in 1970 and 1971 is still thought of by many as sixties hippie music.

Hi guys!
So I wasn't around in the 60s and don't have much knowledge of the music of that era. Of course I could name some bands and songs but I really want to get into that decade music-wise but as it's so rich and full of variety I don't really know where to start!
I was wondering whether any of you on here would mind recommending me some albums to get started with? Anything at all that you've enjoyed from the 60s!
Many thanks

Hi, MissMusique.

It's difficult to know where to start or what to recommend. Obviously Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Motown, etc.

This thread generally deals with the more popular chart hit singles of the sixties. There's another thread called the Rare 60's Classics thread which is devoted to more obscure sixties music. There are loads of Youtube links to a wealth of great music in a variety of styles on that thread, and it's definitely worth exploring to give you a few ideas of artists and bands to investigate further, but I warn you - it's been going for a year and a half and it's more than fifty pages long, so it might take you a while to go through it!

Ah I have found the Rare 60s thread - wow you guys have been busy! I will start with the Beatles and Stones - I already know quite a lot of Beach Boys and some Motown (though even that genre is quite extensive!). My Uncle is such a huge Stones fan, he nearly disowned me when I said I didn't own an album of theirs!

true, but thats always been the case, from elvis onwards, popular acts attract copycats, still goes on today, just look how many acts now have that dubstep break in their material..

You can't really follow that with anything other than some classic stones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfJVeHKVcE8

well... im currently having some work done on my house, and i have no sound system linked up, so im not really in a position atm to post youtube links...

i read recently that theres a new 60's music radio station that has banned cliff richard from its playlist.

i think thats disgraceful! whether you like him or not he was one of the main players in the 60's, with a string throughout of hits, some of them were pretty good too!

so... could someone please post some cliff tracks up!

i like 'the day i met marie' , 'the next time', and 'blue turns to grey'.

They've also banned The Searchers and Herman's Hermits...silly people!

My favourite Cliff hit
Cliff - In The Country (1966)

Vintage Cliff Richard, none of that post 60s crap he produced here...

Bachelor Boy 1963 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQRytgGffV4

The Young Ones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNufA_ZUQOo

And of course Summer Holiday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbNP5yqg7hc

The 60s personified, pre-British invasion:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYJyVEUaC4

Lesley Gore, still going strong.

Early Cliff..........when he was being promoted as the English Elvis...........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AuhLVnkqQc

Thankfully that didn't last long..........

This is my favourite early Cliff, it was on the B side of a single my mum and dad bought me

A Voice In The Wilderness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlumIElHM-8

From "African Waltz" to "Albatross", from "Take Five" to "The Good The Bad and the Ugly" and from "Gurney Slade to "Flingel Bunt", we've had some tremendous instrumental tracks on this this thread, and here are half a dozen more.

Starting with the magnificent theme to a magnificent film:-

Elmer Bernstein - The Magnificent Seven Theme (1960)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLTHW0ZwK7U


You can't really have a post devoted to sixties instrumentals and not include this classic:-

Acker Bilk - Stranger On The Shore (1961)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jzx664u5DA


Ditto for this one:-

Booker T and the MG's - Green Onions (1962)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpS-cOBK6Q


We've already had the brilliant "Midnight In Moscow" on the thread, so here's Kenny Ball's other top five hit single:-

Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen - March Of The Siamese Children (1962)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wj8g-n0D9k


This gem has been mentioned on the thread, but the poster didn't supply a Youtube clip, so here it is now:-

Sounds Orchestral - Cast Your Fate To The Wind (1965)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMSPR...eature=related


As we started with the magnificent theme to a magnificent film, let's end with another magnificent theme to a another magnificent film:-

John Barry - The Midnight Cowboy Theme (1969)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGORPUzLxtU

As so often happens on YouTube this lead me to a host of others including this which only just crept into the 60s... 1960 in fact....

This Magic Moment" by Ben E. King & the Drifters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX1mBpsWoMI

Unfortunately I couldn't find a good quality original 1960 recording.

As an aside here is another who along with the Seekers and a few others stood out from the crowd as something different: Paul & Paula - Hey Paula http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZIYF...eature=related

Talking of which with probably there biggest hit, Peter Paul and Mary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOYAZOcn92w and sad to note that Mary is no longer with us.

Some tracks from The Beatles album that cemented their place perhaps better than any other, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I think I read somewhere that John Lennon didn't care what got into the album as long as A Day in the Life made the cut. To me it feels like a McCartney album although being a Paul fan myself I'm probably biased.

I like a good intro and this is a great one

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Joe Cocker's cover of this is brilliant but I think both songs can stand side by side and so do youtube viewers who gave them an identical 6 million plus views!

With A Little Help From My Friends

My fav song on the album, classic Paul.

Fixing A Hole

Contemporary, relating to the Ken Loach film, this brings out the emotion of the story.

She's Leaving Home

To me this rather than his other signature song on the album, Lucy in the Sky, is John Lennon at his best. To think a local news story about a council counting potholes in Blackburn would lead to this.

A Day In The Life

My previous post contained half a dozen great sixties instrumentals, and there's only one way to follow that, and that's with another half a dozen great sixties instrumentals.


Let's start with the King of the Twangy Guitar, who on this great track appears to be being out-twanged by an orchestra:-

Duane Eddy - Because They`re Young (1960)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKm2_67xtVs


If this one had words it would be called a novelty song, but as it doesn't I suppose it can be called a novelty tune:-

Johnny and the Hurricanes - Rocking Goose (1960)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR7hAWbwh4g


The Bossa Nova sound may have come from Brazil, but it took two American jazzmen to put it into the charts:-

Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd - Desafinado (1962)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AjBWxFrDeo


Not too many surf instrumentals made the British top ten, but here's one that did:-

The Surfaris - Wipeout (1963)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG2naf70MbY


This Italian trumpet instrumental was a very big hit in this country, perhaps because it was so different from anything else around at the time:-

Nini Rosso – Il Silenzio (1965)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFtME...eature=related


Not as good as "Green Onions" (imo), but still a great track, and also the group's biggest hit in this country:-

Booker T and the MG's - Time Is Tight (1969)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nkHR...eature=related

Apologies if already listed.

Love these songs.

Chris Farlowe. Out of time.

http://youtu.be/GNyAzuB1-rE

Small Faces. Tin soldier.

http://youtu.be/wcKZoFRpZCI

Donovan. Turquoise.

http://youtu.be/wnxqu82yuf0

thanks for keeping these threads going guys..im still without sound system so cannot post links (i dont like doing it if i cant check them out first).

As with all decades the 60s wasn't short of novelty releases and this one from 67 is probably one of the best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWoT9elA-oY

Although you probably need to be smoking something to fully appreciate it

Another novelty record that was a big hit...........listening to it again now it's pretty good !

If Frank Zappa had written this it'd probably be considered a masterpiece.............

Napoleon XIV - they're coming to take me away, haha !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-eafUBULWA

I'm still very much in early sixties mode, so let's once again return to that innocent time. Here's a mixed bag of goodies in a post I'm calling Before the Beatles Part 4.

The Temperance Seven - Pasadena (1961)
I’m not sure whether the Temperance Seven’s sound was a sincere homage to twenties style music or an amusing parody of it. I suspect the latter. Either way their sound went down very well with Great British record buying public of the day, who rewarded the Temperance Seven with two Top Five hits in 1961, the first being their chart-topper You’re Driving Me Crazy, and the second being Pasadena, which I much prefer.

The Shirelles - Baby It’s You (1961)
The original version of a terrific Burt Bacharach song famously covered by the Beatles on their debut album, Please Please Me.

Sandy Nelson - Let There Be Drums (1961)
This excellent rock ‘n’ roll instrumental was a UK Top Five hit single and features the percussive skills of one of the best drummers of the era.

Leroy Van Dyke - Walk On By (1962)
According to Wikipedia this is the biggest Country record in history, topping the US Country chart for a record-breaking nineteen weeks. It was also a Top Five pop hit in both the USA and UK.

Bobby Darin - Multiplication (1962)
The late Bobby Darin was a superlative artist, who recorded a multitude of superb tracks in a multitude of different styles. Unfortunately, the only Darin tracks that tend to get played today are his two UK Number One singles from the fifties, Dream Lover and Mack The Knife.
Multiplication, which reached number 5 in the UK Singles chart in early 1962, is a particular favourite of mine; a real forgotten gem with some rather clever lyrics.

Dion - The Wanderer (1962)
One of the great rock ‘n’ roll songs of the early sixties. Classic track.

Dick Dale - Misirlou (1962)
This brilliant instrumental track was never a hit, but it did become extremely popular in the nineties after being famously featured in the Quentin Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction.

The Springfields - Say I Won’t Be There (1963)
I thought this one was from 1961 or 1962 so decided to include it in the post. After checking I discovered it was actually a hit in April 1963, making it contemporaneous with rather than being before the Beatles. I then decided that as I liked it so much I’d keep it in the post anyway!

I found this stunning performance by Connie in 1966 earlier today.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kEhs...eature=related

Perhaps the X-Factor contestants should take note on how to belt out (I hate that expression) a note without shouting!