How the 60s changed music
Here at East Coast Gold we play the
greatest music ever! Okay, I realise that’s not a very objective statement to
make so perhaps let me reword that to: we play music that shaped the music
industry as we know it today! Each decade made its mark on popular music
in one way or another, but I think it’s worth pointing out that the 1960’s
probably saw the biggest changes and progression of music and there are quite a
few reasons why I believe this is true.
The 1960’s were a time of upheaval in
society, fashion, attitudes and especially music. Before 1963, the music of the sixties largely
reflected the sound, style and beliefs of the previous decade and many of the
artists that had mainstream success in the 1950’s, like Elvis Presley, Ray
Charles and the Everly Brothers.
In 1963 and the years that followed, numerous
social influences changed what popular music was and, in essence, created the
space for diversity in music that was previously unseen.
Some of these events included the
assassination of John F Kennedy; the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement,
all of which began to influence the music of the day.
The “British Invasion” also began around
1963 with the arrival of four young men from Liverpool who called themselves ‘The
Beatles’.
The hysteria from fans was unprecedented and I believe changed the way people would interact with music and musicians forever.
Other British influencers were The Kinks, The
Who, The Rolling Stones and many others.
Then along came genres like Surf Rock, Hard Rock, Folk and Protest Music that
gave a platform to the Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many others who
helped shape and influence music and musicians.
Every time I host my More Music Breakfast show on East Coast Gold, I’m reminded
just how rich our playlist is with songs from people who changed the world of
music!