—Max Blau, Up there with “Sweet Caroline” when it comes to most memorable horn licks of all time. The duo absolutely nails the song’s back and forth dynamic, making it a landmark soul record. It gives you chills. That included “White Rabbit,” an acid trip of a song inspired by moments in “Alice in Wonderland" and lots of drugs. As the 1960s began, we found R&B, Soul, DooWop, and instrumental beach music styles. The Ventures did something different with their version in 1960, giving the track a fuzzed out, instrumental guitar vibe that would point towards the popularity of surf rock. Still, the heart of the song is Simon’s introspective lyrics about a boxer struggling with life inside and outside the ring. “There’s something happening here; what it is ain’t exactly clear. Turn! There were points during that time when, despite the ire of rock ‘n’ roll hipsters, the so-called pre-fab four outsold their Liverpudlian predecessors, thanks in large part to the bouncing pop of 1966’s single “I’m A Believer.” Ultimately, The Monkees enjoy a kind of iconic pop culture status both because of and in spite of the unusual and even existential way the group came to be. Try to listen to this song, even in our current cynical and overstretched times, and remain unmoved or unemotional. Eric Burdon saw potential in it, adding it to The Animals’ repertoire in the early 1960s. "Simon Says" is a song by Iranian-Swedish singer-songwriter Laleh from her third studio album, Me and Simon which was released as the lead single of the album on 12 January 2009. If “Blowin’ In The Wind” is the first step in discovering Dylan’s genius, this is step two, being one of the great protests songs of all time. Her performance embodies joy, romance and triumph. —Robert Ham, We once designated this song as one of 10 songs people need to stop covering. If The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” was the album that proved pop music was art, then “God Only Knows" was its grand statement. “Whole Lotta Love” is a spark plug of a track with an epic guitar riff, haunting middle section and Robert Plant’s intense vocal. Ike & Tina Turner – “River Deep Mountain High”. You can have debates all day about which artist created which genre. Page continued to work on the song, which was released on Led Zeppelin’s debut album. But the song has come to mean so much to so many people, most listeners just can’t help themselves. It’s a storytelling slow-burner focused on one wild tale of love and murder. 75. “Sinnerman” creeps up on you. In this performance from 1973—the first time the trio had performed together in years—their harmonies are ragged and the delivery unrehearsed, but regardless, just having these musicians playing together again, and more importantly, obviously enjoying it, was a cause for celebration. It was a scene and a time in New York City that no one could capture in musical form like Lou Reed. “Crying” goes beyond a simple song of heartbreak thanks to its compelling production. “I Am The Walrus” lives in that spirit but is far more complex, with an intricate chord structure and the orchestral sounds injected by George Martin. And as we all know, the song went on to be a huge hit, giving this California-based pop group their lone No. —Max Blau, Our favorite moment comes around the three-minute mark, when Page concludes an extended trippy breakdown with peals of electric guitar that make the song’s signature riff seem boring by comparison. Everybody look what’s going down…” The title of the song is perfect: “For What It’s Worth.” There is no bitterness, no dialectic…just description, and a word of unspoken advice: hold back from the battle—look around—we’ve already won the War. The Zombies’ organist Ron Argent built “She’s Not There” around John Lee Hooker’s blues classic “No One Told Me." The opening track to Miles Davis’ “In a Silent Way” marks a moment in jazz history. “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” criticizes America’s futile Vietnam invasion with zing and zest over quick acoustic strumming in the tradition of folk heroes like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthie. The impact of this harmonic style, used effectively, is wondrous: “California Dreamin’” changes from a still image into a movie of emotion, tapping the listener on the shoulder and swirling him through the singers’ world. Quite possibly the most iconic guitar riff in music history leads “You Really Got Me.” But it didn’t begin that way. 36. Turn!, _said. Fogerty goes back and forth from point-of-views—from the millionaire’s son to the senator’s son to the folks born to wave the red, white and blue. The story goes that the film’s director, Robert Altman, gave the task to his teenage son to write the lyrics for “the stupidest song ever written”. Read Full Biography. But Cooke’s didn’t like the final product. Reggae originated in the Jamaica in this decade, combining elements of ska, R&B, and Caribbean percussion to give sound to the country’s diaspora and social issues. — Bonnie Stiernberg, With the signature kick drum intro that has been emulated and imitated ad nauseum since, Phil Spector outdid himself when he wrote the girl-group classic “Be My Baby.” The only thing that could improve such a simplistically genius song is the impeccable vocal capacity of the remarkable Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes. —Matt Fink, Probably the song that Redding is still the most well-known for, “Sitting On A Dock Of The Bay” was co-written by legendary soul man Steve Cropper and recorded mere days before Redding’s death, released posthumously. That startling drumshot of an opening: Al Kooper’s beckoning, carnivalesque Hammond B-3 organ part and Michael Bloomfield’s electric-guitar curlicues run around Dylan’s own determined rhythmic playing. Ray Davies originally wrote the song on piano. 99. That’s hard to argue with. "Groovy" sounds silly and quaint? —Robert Ham, “Good Vibrations” was Brian Wilson at his best, before he became his worst—a brilliant demonstration of what The Beach Boys may have done before mental illness derailed their frontman’s career soon after this song became released. Fogerty gave the people a voice so unique and honest that you couldn’t ignore it. Now we are up to taking that. Who’s your daddy?” gives the song an added risqué allure. But it’s a compliment of the highest order. Originally, The Rolling Stones intended to replace the rough guitar sounds on “Satisfaction” with horns. Folk enjoyed a political revival, yet, the British Invasion was blessedly not political. He sings phrases like “Mystery tramp?” “Chrome horse with your diplomat?” “Napoleon in rags?” as if they were a new language, a secret code, masquerading as popular song. If this list were simply about guitar playing, here’s your No. This time around, with the 1960s, we made things even harder, narrowing down the list to 100. It asks thought-provoking question after thought provoking question that has crossed the mind of anyone contemplating life’s meaning at one time or another. —Kurt Suchman, The early days of rock music found its many stars and wannabe stars digging through the treasure trove of folk and blues for inspiration. That’s debatable. Released on Sly & The Family Stone’s “Greatest Hits” album at the end of the 1960s, “Thank You...” became a massive hit. Those unforgettable power chords laid the groundwork for generations of hard rock bands to come. Jackie Wilson - “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher a & Higher”. The electric guitar’s role in rock music would never be quite the same. There aren’t too many genres of rock The Beatles didn’t influence. Dylan’s convention-defying song announced rock ‘n’ roll would become the voice—his voice—for disaffected Boomers out to revolutionize everything they could touch. It marked a defining moment in the history of southern rock. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “You Really Got A Hold on Me”, 30. 60. And yet, in 1969, when bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones were playing stadiums with electric guitars, he got his band of violins and horns together to record this emotional song in his unique style that endures to this day. 22. The song was based on the children's game "Simon Says". And “Like a Rolling Stone” was the song that kick started a musical revolution. “Blowin’ in the Wind” stood out for its brevity (rare for Dylan) and social consciousness at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. —Hilary Saunders, Girl-group perfection, this song took The Marvelettes to the top of the charts right out of the gate. The Groove was a soul-oriented band formed in Melbourne in 1967 with artists who had played in some of the biggest bands of the day. Please support high-quality local journalism. The 'old lover' referenced in the song has been interpreted to be either Simon's ex-wife Peggy Harper, from whom he was recently divorced, his former girlfriend from the 1960s Kathy Chitty, or even Art Garfunkel, who appears on the song that follows 'Still Crazy After All These Years" on the album. But the group moved into the spotlight with 1962′s hit record “Green Onions.” The flawless showcase of musicianship is widely considered one of greatest instrumental recordings of all time. With “At Last,” the title track of her 1961 album, she delivers arguably one of the most iconic songs of all time. The song eventually made its way to Wilson, who delivers an amazing vocal performance backed by members of Motown’s The Funk Brothers, who were moonlighting with Brunswick Records to make some extra cash. “I was probably the most incorrigible child you could ever meet. There is something special about listening to a good singer, singing his or her own words. While blues singers Irma Thomas and later Koko Taylor were howling “You Can Have My Husband (But Please Don’t Mess With My Man),” Lynn drew a line in the sand around her catting around lesser half Doolittle “Mooney” Lynn. The drums and electric guitar were a perfect fit for the new version. Yet, it wasn’t until 2010 that Holmes got the proper credit he deserved for inspiring one of Zeppelin’s signature songs. —Beca Grimm, One of the leading groups of the early ‘60s, Peter, Paul and Mary took inspiration from old-timey folk groups and reinvigorated it with pop harmonies fitting for the day. 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