As you may have guessed from my title, here is the 60s. A trip that no other generation has seen since, flower power and LSD was at it's peak, Beatlemania had hit the world with a bang! 2 major icons of society were unfortunately assassinated, JFK and Martin Luther King, RIP.
Taking what the late 50s had begun and grabbing it by the testicles was what this decade was about, the beginning of the era brought us more of that wonderful early Elvis sound and rock 'n' roll has distinctively defined itself, it's look, it's sound and it's attitude. One band I'm sure you will have heard of is that small Liverpudlian band by the name of The Beatles. Yes, John, Paul, George and Ringo took the essence of the 60s by storm, from the early 60s and their rock 'n' roll teddy boy look, to their late 60s experienced hippy aura. The acid trip had begun around 1965, everywhere hippies were organising meets in fields to smoke marijuana and take a trip to another dimension through the use of recreational drugs. The Beatles released 12 albums through their 8 year career, ranging from rockabilly to psychedelic, The Beatles created a cult following in youth culture, women would tear their clothes off and weep at the sight of the Fab Four, men wanted to be them and women wanted to be with them, it's safe to say The Beatles were at the forefront of the swinging sixties, a decade that gave two firm fingers up to the establishment, but in the name of peace rather than violence.
This decade provided many greats in each industry that made it hard for future generations to live up to. Bob Dylan, the man who made the most controversial appearance of the Newport Folk Festival 1964, coming on with an electric band rather than his usual acoustic guitar, many Dylan fans felt he had flown the coop of folk music, but he felt it was a natural progression in his music. He remained popular with some fans, but was massively slated for this change, in the documentary 'Don't Look Back' Dylan feels a range of emotions to why his fans have turned on him, anger at their lack of acceptance, and sadness that they didn't like the music he was creating. However, Dylan pursued and has come out the other end of the tunnel one of the most glorified musicians of the era, he is still performing to fans today at the grand old age of 68 years of age.
Another God of the 1960s is only Jimi Hendrix, the guitar legend has achieved massive popularity despite his death at the young age of 28, his short career has left a massive print on the world of rock 'n' roll, he has inspired the majority of guitarists and singers to pursue their passion. This genius only released 3 studio albums and 1 live LP, yet he has created music that most musicians will never better, he has become an icon due to his fairly unique sound and ability with the electric guitar. Another unfortunate death of a 1960s God comes in the form of The Doors' Jim Morrison, the poetic songwriter and singer of the 1960s rock acts, he was one of the most charismatic frontmen of rock, the great Jim Morrison had a drug addiction, whilst alive this added to his character and his stage persona, but fans realised he was in too deep unfortunately too late and he had supposedly died of a heroin overdose, having sniffed what Morrison believed to be cocaine.
The 1960s gave us many cult icons, musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and more, journalists such as Hunter S Thompson, politicians such as John F Kennedy. It's safe to say this was perhaps the most explosive decade the world has encountered to date.
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