 Decade Overview
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It is virtually impossible to summarize a decade as tumultuous as the sixties. It was an era where America shifted from optimism to disillusionment, from blind acceptance to distrust. In ten short years, “My country, right or wrong” morphed into “Question authority”. It was a time of violent confrontation, with the civil rights movement and youth culture demanding equity when the war in Southeast Asia put civil loyalty to the test. The media reflected that confusion, with music in particular serving as a means of expression that heretofore did not exist. English bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones introduced America to the essence of its own culture by building unique styles from their interpretation of black musical forms that had previously gone unheralded in America. Bob Dylan invented a new form of social protest and personal expression by writing songs that demanded a sense of awareness from the listener. James Brown and Aretha Franklin brought Black awareness front and center, while seemingly ‘innocent’ bands like the Beach Boys crumbled in the midst of cultural upheaval.
In an environment where virtually all totemistic beliefs were being brought into question, pop culture flourished like never before. The decade started with the sense that rock and roll had burned itself out, or had been emasculated by the payola scandals, but ended with rock and roll so dominating pop culture that no creditable alternative existed. Music was the primary force that drove fashion, movies, art and television. A Counter-culture took hold and grew exponentially, coalescing in 1967’s ‘Summer of Love” peaking at the three day festival known as Woodstock, and then fracturing soon afterward, in the wake of a murder during a concert at Altamont Speedway. With drugs playing an ever-increasing role in alternative culture and without any charismatic leaders to develop a valid political agenda, the sixties ended with a sense of anarchy, disunity and distrust.
Top Ten Artists of 1960
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Elvis Presley
Connie Francis
The Everly Brothers
Brenda Lee
Bobby Rydell
Fats Domino
Jackie Wilson
Brook Benton
Paul Anka
Bobby Darin
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Top Ten Artists of 1968
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Aretha Franklin
Marvin Gaye
James Brown
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Otis Redding
The Beatles
Dionne Warwick
The Rascals
Tammi Terrell
Herb Alpert
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