Essay Sample on 1960s Music Culture

The 1960s represent a period when the American music industry was transitioning to the folk-rock genre. Protest music can be traced back to the colonial era during which the Yankee Doodle was recorded (Henwood, n.p). Before the 60s, most of the music recorded featured a style or sound of a group of artists who had succeeded in the 50s. The 1960s marked a period of upheaval in American history; these social political and economic changes influenced the evolution of music to what it is in this century. According to Hopkins (n.p), the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam war, and articulations of civil rights movements led to the evolution of music to the folk-rock genre. Artists used folk-rock to advocate for peace, voice their discontent on the war policies adopted by the then administration, and their civil liberties demands.

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The British invasion was a popular music genre that was adopted by the Beatles, the rolling stones, the animals, tom jones among other artists in the 1960s (Heilbronner, 688). Bob Dylan was among the American artists who used folk music genre to voice their disapproval of the invasion of Vietnam by American forces. In his 1963 song titled 'the times they are a-changing,' Dylan uses the acoustic guitar and harmonica sound and rhythm to create a melody that augers well with the message of disapproval in the song.

Another famous artist who represents the change in music trends during the antiwar period of the 1960s is John Lennon (Henwood, n.p). The song is popularly known as 'give peace a chance' was recorded in 1966, features a group of people crowded in a recording studio in Montreal. Lennon's guitar, a tambourine, and shouts and claps of people can be heard in the background as the artist asks listeners to think on the lines of the main chorus, 'give peace a chance.' In the lyrics of the song, Lennon lauds the united nations for its efforts to end the war. The harmony in the song signifies the unison with which Americans disapproved against the Vietnam war.

The Woodstock music festival, which was dubbed 'three days of peace and music' held in 1969, was one of the most successful antiwar concerts of the decade. Jimi Hendrix, a renowned guitarist of the decade, mesmerized the crowd with his rock guitar theatrics that involved the manipulation of sound using distortion and whammy bar techniques. During the festival, several war-sounds like gunfire and explosions were imitated, and the short play of the taps (an American military honorary burial tone) blended well with the disapproval feeling that most American artists harbored (Henwood, n.p).

Since rock n rock became a popular music genre of music in the 1950s, it has grown and evolved with many subgenres, each with its unique style and purpose. Sub-genres such as surf rock and psychedelic rock are some of the most popular styles that emerged from the 1960s anti-war folk-rock genre. Surf rock was a form of dance music that featured enhanced instrument sounds (Heilbronner, 688). The music genre remained popular until the 70s when British Invasion music took over the top ranks. The Beach Boys, Jan, and Dean are some examples of artists who popularized the subgenre in the anti-war period. The Beatles, The Yard Birds, and Jimi Hendrix are examples of artists who made psychedelic rock famous towards the end of the 1960s.

Works Cited

Heilbronner, Oded. "Music and protest: the case of the 1960s and its long shadow." (2016): 688-700.

Henwood, Bridgett. "The History Of American Protest Music, From "Yankee Doodle" To Kendrick Lamar." Vox. N.p., 2017. Web. 24 Apr. 2020.

Hopkins, Alexander E. "Protest And Rock N' Roll During The Vietnam War." Inquiries Journal. N.p., 2020. Web. 24 Apr. 2020.