THE SIXTIES

There has been a lot written about the sixties. It's a decade full of extremes. Between 1960 and 1969, we uncovered some of our worst characteristics as human beings, and some of our best. For the first time, both extremes were vividly introduced into our living rooms as the medium of television earned its wings. News about civil rights struggles in the South and a distant war in Vietnam moved from dispasionate words in a newspaper, far removed from the actual events, to compelling visual images which captured the emotions of the moment, and allowed viewers to feel both sides of the struggle for themselves.

Today's films and documentaries regularly focus on people and events from the '60s like Muhammad Ali, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy Presidency and Assassination, the Rat Pack, the Berlin Wall, Vietnam, The Kent State shootings, Southern and Northern city race riots, the Assassination of Martin Luther King, the rise of Hippies and "Flower Power", Sputnik and the Apollo landing on the moon. The music of Motown, The Doors, The Beatles and, at the end of the decade, Woodstock, captured the imagination of an entire generation. For those who grew up in the sixties, rock and roll was the ever-evolving soundtrack. Those who didn't grow up at that time may never fully appreciate what it meant.

Much of the best popular cinema from the 60s now has a retro feeling. The James Bond films, for example, built an extraordinarily successful franchise which continues even today, but the early films seem stylistically dated. The music of the period is another matter. Music from the sixties has been the soundtrack for dozens of contemporary films in the new millennium. In 2000, The Beatles released a CD containing 27 of their #1 hits, which quickly became one of the biggest selling CDs in history. Every one of the songs on that CD was written and recorded by the Beatles between 1962 and 1969.
 

Sixties music was built on the foundation created by1950s artists like Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Richie Valenz, Ricky Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Bill Haley and The Comets, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley and Elvis Presley. Buddy Holly's music, among others, used simple chords and basic guitar-bass-drum instrumentation, combined with imagination and passion to create a new form of music which would reach its peak in the decades to follow.

During the 1960s, the process of creating popular music was transformed. At the start of the decade, pop songs were usually created by talented songwriters like the folks at the Brill Building in New York City (Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, Neil Sedaka & Jeff Greenfield and so many more). Records were usually produced under the control of powerful record companies, featuring singing "Stars," backed by an elite group of talented studio players. By the middle of the decade, most popular "Top 40" hits were written, recorded, and in many cases, even produced by groups who shared a common musical passion. The audience began taking an interest in the whole group, and not just the lead singer.

Here's a list of the top songs of the decade. In 1960, only the Everly Brothers could be thought of as a "Group." By 1965, groups held all but one of the top ten positions on the chart. The bold listings indicate vocal or vocal/instrumental group performances. On most group songs, the singers played their own instruments (or we thought they did). On others, particularly the Motown hits, the singers rarely played on their own tracks, but who cared?

1960

Theme From A Summer Place - Percy Faith

It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley

He'll Have To Go - Jim Reeves

I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee

Running Bear - Johnny Preston

Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers

The Twist - Chubby Checker

El Paso - Marty Robbins

North To Alaska - Johnny Horton

Last Date - Floyd Cramer

1961

Tossin' And Turnin' - Bobby Lewis

Are You Lonesome Tonight - Elvis Presley

Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean

Exodus - Ferrante & Teicher

Wonderland By Night - Bert Kaempfert

Runaway - Del Shannon

Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Shirelles

Pony Time - Chubby Checker

Calcutta - Lawrence Welk

Please Mr. Postman - Marvelettes

1962

The Twist - Chubby Checker

I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles

Big Girls Don't Cry - Four Seasons

Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker

Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & The Starlighters

Stranger On The Shore - Mr. Acker Bilk

Roses Are Red - Bobby Vinton

Sherry - Four Seasons

Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp

Return To Sender - Elvis Presley

1963

Sugar Shack - Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs

He's So Fine - Chiffons

Dominique - The Singing Nun

Blue Velvet - Bobby Vinton

Hey Paula - Paul & Paula

Go Away Little Girl - Steve Lawrence

Fingertips (Part 2) - Little Stevie Wonder

My Boyfriends Back - Angels

Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto

I Will Follow Him - Little Peggy March

1964

I Want To Hold Your Hand - Beatles

Hello Dolly - Louis Armstrong

She Loves You - Beatles

Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison

Baby Love - Supremes

Louie Louie - Kingsmen

There I Said It Again - Bobby Vinton

I Get Around - Beach Boys

My Guy - Mary Wells

Mr. Lonely - Bobby Vinton

1965

I Can't Get No Satisfaction - Rolling Stones

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - Righteous Bros.

Woolly Bully - Sam The Sham & The Phaoros

Downtown - Petula Clark

I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops

Come See About Me - Supremes

Let's Hang On - Four Seasons

Turn! Turn! Turn! - Byrds

Help - Beatles

Mrs. Brown - Herman's Hermits

1966

Ballad Of The Green Berets - Barry Sadler

Winchester Cathedral - New Vaudeville Band

96 Tears - Question Mark & The Mysterians

Last Train To Clarksville - Monkees

Soul & Inspiration - Righteous Brothers

Devil With A Blue Dress - Mitch Ryder

Cherish - Association

Reach Out I'll Be There - Four Tops

Born Free - Roger Williams

Good Vibrations - Beach Boys

1967

I'm A Believer - Monkees

To Sir With Love - Lulu

The Letter - Box Tops

Light My Fire - Doors

Windy - Association

Ode To Billy Joe - Bobbie Gentry

Daydream Believer - Monkees

Happy Together - Turtles

Somethin' Stupid - Nancy & Frank Sinatra

I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Gladys Knight

1968

Hey Jude - Beatles

Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat

Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

People Got To Be Free - Rascals

Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding

Love Child - Diana Ross

This Guy's In Love With You - Herb Alpert

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly - Hugo Montenegro

Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream

Woman, Woman - Union Gap

1969

I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

Aquarius - 5th Dimension

Sugar, Sugar - Archies

In The Year 2525 - Zager & Evans

Everyday People - Sly & Family Stone

Honky Tonk Women - Rolling Stones

Get Back - Beatles

Crimson And Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells

I Can't Get Next To You - Temptations

Dizzy - Tommy Roe

GARAGE BANDS

The arrival of the Beatles in the US in 1964 may be the start of the Garage Band boom of the 60s. The image of four friends playing music together that they so obviously enjoyed, provided a model for thousands of now forgotten groups in basements and garages across the country. The boom was fueled both by the many English bands that hit the charts in the Beatles' wake, as well as hundreds of American groups.

Many of the popular groups at the time, like the Beach Boys, Paul Revere & The Raiders and The Monkees, used top studio musicians to back the group's vocals. In many groups, the primary creative force came from within the group itself. In others, producers took control in the studio, and often replaced some members of the group with more accomplished studio performers. In all cases, the illusion of four or five friends playing music together was powerful enough to encourage aspiring young performers to buy millions of dollars worth of guitars, amplifiers, keyboards and drums, to play in garage bands which most of us have no idea even existed.

For a look at 60s amateur garage bands throughout the US, check out My First Band, a website and book project started by Keith Buckley and Dan Angott. Lance Records, in New Mexico, specializes in reissues of '60s rock recordings. Their web site, and their electronic publication, The Lance Monthly, are also devoted to the Garage Band phenomena.

THE GEAR

Music technology was transformed during the 60s. The electric guitar and bass (particularly Leo Fender's Telecaster, Stratocaster and Precision Bass) became the foundation of most live and studio recording. Traditional keyboards like piano and organ evolved into synthesizers. Guitar players got a rainbow of effects, like distortion, wah-wah, echo and reverb to enhance their playing. Amplifiers moved awkwardly from tubes to transistors. We rethought that decision several decades later and restored tubes to a place of honor, but at the time "Transistorized" and "Solid State" meant "Cool."

Studio recording technology was evolving as well. The introduction of multi-track recording in the mid 60s allowed groups to "layer" their sound, having one performer play several different parts, or record their vocals independently from their instrumentals. At the beginning of the decade, studios were equipped with one and two track recorders, using 1/4" audio tape. Three and four track machines, using 1/2" audio tape, arrived in time for The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" sessions. By the end of the decade, most studios were equipped with 8 track machines (using 1" tape) or 16 track machines recording on 2" audio tape. Multi-track recording allowed groups to create music in the studio which they could never accurately reproduce on stage, and yet, the demand for groups to tour in the support of new record releases remained high.

Sound reinforcement was forced to change to reflect the changes in studio technology. Groups also needed more powerful equipment to play in larger and larger venues. Throughout The Beatles live performing career, things we take for granted today, like foldback monitoring (so singers can hear their voices) and mixing all the instruments into a robust PA system, had not yet been introduced. During the 60s, we watched live sound move from the Stone Age to the Space Age.
 

In Cincinnati, and elsewhere in the country, musical influences changed dramatically throughout the decade. In 1960, radio stations were fairly segregated. "Top 40" stations rarely played Little Richard, Chuck Berry and other black artists who went on to influence the big English bands. Instead, they played the  "less offensive" cover versions by artists like Pat Boone. Kids growing up in Cleveland and other larger cities were exposed to a broader range of urban sound than we were, at least at the start of the decade. The influences expanded quickly over the years.

Another strong factor in the development of Cincinnati's garage bands was the strength of one radio station. WSAI-1360 dominated the radio ratings for teens and young adults for most of the decade. It's hard to imagine now, with so many stations and formats competing for listeners, but in 1964, virtually every high school student knew the names of the WSAI "Good Guys" (DJs), and could probably tell you which record was number one on any given week. WSAI's "Fabulous 40" survey sheets were available at most local record stores. When a record got air play on WSAI, a live performance of that song, even by an average garage band, would bring immediate recognition.

Click on the "Fabulous 40" Survey sheet for a
look at WSAI's weekly and annual surveys in the 60s

The performances which inspired most garage bands were primarily the 45 RPM hits and album cuts from guitar-bass-and-drum" groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, the Searchers, the Jefferson Airplane, the Kinks, the Byrds and the Ventures. Bands featuring keyboards like the Kingsmen, the Animals, the Young Rascals, the Dave Clark Five, Booker T And The M.G.s, Question Mark And The Mysterians, Procol Harum, Yes, the Doors and the Zombies encouraged groups to add keyboard players to their bands. (For some kids, those early piano lessons finally paid off in popularity.) Garage bands with horns were relatively rare. Groups with horns were usually a cut above the average Garage group. When Garage bands covered songs with prominent horn parts, they simply played the parts on keyboard or guitar.

Several local performers managed to get significant airplay and further influenced the Cincinnati garage band repertoire. Fraternity Records had local, regional and national hits with  Lonnie Mack (Memphis, Don't Make My Baby Blue, Wham, Chicken Pickin', Save Your Money), The Casinos (Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye), The Dolphins (Hey Da Da Dow) and the Two of Clubs (Heart, Walk Tall). Other groups like The Lemon Pipers (Turn Around and Take A Look, Green Tambourine), Tony And The Bandits (It's A Bit Of Alright), Bo Dollar and the Coins (Any Day Now, Soul Serenade) and The Us Too Group (The Only Thing To Do) also got airplay and encouraged imitation.

Click here for a complete list of the groups that fueled Cincinnati's Garage Band Boom of the '60s.

"The local rock group down the street is trying hard to learn their song..."
Pleasant Valley Sunday by Gerry Goffin & Carole King - Performed by The Monkees, July, 1967

It was a regular occurrence on summer nights in the mid sixties to hear garage bands practicing on almost any block. The music floating across the backyards often attracted an impromptu audience to a rehearsal, and frequently brought complaints from the neighbors. The most successful bands were the ones (with some basic talent) who spent time learning chords, working out arrangements and harmonies, practicing new tunes and "tightening up" their sound. A few groups wrote their own music and lyrics, but the songs people wanted to hear at parties were usually covers of contemporary pop hits and party songs like "Louie, Louie," "Land of 1000 Dances," "GLORIA" and "Twist & Shout."

The ingredients for a successful Garage Band were simple... find 4 or 5 friends who have an affinity for music... Start thinking, "We could do that!"... Get some gear... Learn some songs... Put on a show.

For a look at T.H.E... the guys, their music and their gear... use the links below.