Genre guides and stories on the music of the 1960s.
New hubs, artist profiles and song features are published here as they go live.
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Genre Hub · Aug 24, 2026
Garage Rock: The Raw, Fuzzed-Out Sound of 1960s America
Garage rock explained: how fuzz guitars, cheap organs, and teenage garages built the raw sound of 1960s America, from Louie Louie to the Nuggets revival.
Genre Hub · Aug 24, 20261960s Country Music: Nashville Sound vs. Bakersfield Sound
1960s country music split into two rival camps: Nashville's polished strings and Bakersfield's twangy honky-tonk. Meet the sounds, artists, and hits.
Genre Hub · Aug 24, 2026Brill Building Pop: The 1960s Hit Factory Explained
Brill Building Pop ruled early 1960s radio from one crowded Manhattan office, pairing songwriting teams like Goffin-King with girl groups and teen idols.
Genre Hub · Aug 24, 20261960s Easy Listening Music: The Complete Genre Guide
1960s easy listening music paired crooners and orchestras with the bossa nova craze and Oscar-winning film themes, from Sinatra to Astrud Gilberto.
Genre Hub · Aug 23, 2026Motown Music: How Detroit's Hit Factory Ruled the Charts
How Berry Gordy's Detroit hit factory and its Southern soul rivals built the sound that crossed over America's pop charts.
Genre Hub · Aug 23, 2026Folk Rock: How Bob Dylan and The Byrds Changed 1960s Music
How Bob Dylan going electric and The Byrds' jangly cover of Mr. Tambourine Man built one of the decade's most literate, most political sounds.
Artist Bio · Sep 22, 2026
The Beach Boys: California's Surf-Pop Pioneers
The Beach Boys turned Hawthorne, California garage rehearsals into Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations, becoming 1960s surf pop's most influential and tragic band.
Artist Bio · Sep 9, 2026The Doors: Jim Morrison's Psychedelic Rock Legacy
The Doors fused Jim Morrison's poetry with Ray Manzarek's organ to become one of the defining, most controversial bands of 1960s psychedelic rock.
Artist Bio · Sep 7, 2026The Searchers Band: Merseybeat's Longest-Running Hitmakers
The Searchers band rode jangling twelve-string guitars from Liverpool clubs to three UK number ones, becoming Merseybeat's longest-running touring act.
Artist Bio · Sep 3, 2026Herman's Hermits: The Band That Briefly Outsold the Beatles
Herman's Hermits rode singalong hits and Peter Noone's boyish charm to the top of the 1965 US charts, briefly outselling the Beatles during the British Invasion.
Artist Bio · Sep 1, 2026The Dave Clark 5: Britain's Drum-Driven Answer to the Beatles
The Dave Clark 5 knocked the Beatles off number one, played the Ed Sullivan Show a record 18 times, then vanished for decades when Dave Clark shelved the tapes.
Artist Bio · Aug 25, 2026The Animals: The Band That Found Jimi Hendrix
The Animals rode House of the Rising Sun to a transatlantic No. 1, then watched bassist Chas Chandler go on to discover Jimi Hendrix.
Song Story · Sep 24, 2026
Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys: Story Behind the 1966 Hit
Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys took seven months and four studios to build, mixing an Electro-Theremin into the pocket symphony that hit No. 1 in 1966.
Song Story · Sep 23, 2026Surfin USA by The Beach Boys: Story Behind the 1963 Hit
Surfin USA turned a borrowed Chuck Berry riff into The Beach Boys' first top five hit and the song that defined American surf rock in 1963.
Song Story · Sep 16, 2026The Crystal Ship: The Doors' 1967 Breakup Ballad
The Crystal Ship is Jim Morrison's farewell to his first serious girlfriend, a piano led ballad The Doors tucked onto their 1967 debut album.
Song Story · Sep 12, 2026Album Strange Days: Inside The Doors' 1967 Moog Turn
The album Strange Days pushed The Doors into darker, theatrical ground in 1967, with an early Moog vocal effect and a Sniffen Court street shoot for the cover.
Song Story · Sep 11, 2026The End by The Doors: Story Behind the 11-Minute Epic
The End by The Doors began as a breakup song, got the band fired from the Whisky a Go Go, and became the closing epic of Apocalypse Now.
Song Story · Sep 10, 2026The Doors Light My Fire: Story Behind Their Breakthrough Hit
The Doors Light My Fire grew from Robby Krieger's first finished song into a number one hit that got the band banned from The Ed Sullivan Show.
Trending · Sep 28, 2026
Dolly Parton's Catalog Is Surging. It Started With "Dumb Blonde"
Dolly Parton's streams are surging after her death. The real story behind Dumb Blonde, her 1967 breakthrough single, and how it led to The Porter Wagoner Show.
Trending · Sep 4, 2026Be My Baby Is Having a Moment on TikTok Again
The Ronettes' 1963 hit Be My Baby is racking up fresh plays on TikTok. Here's the real story behind Hal Blaine's drum intro and why it's trending now.
Trending · Aug 27, 20261960s Rock Legends Are Still the Reference Point in 2026
A new 2026 interview reframes the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney as 1960s rock legends nobody has replaced yet, and here's why.
Trending · Aug 20, 2026Rhythm of the Rain Is Trending on TikTok Again
Rhythm of the Rain by The Cascades is resurfacing on TikTok decades after its 1963 chart run. The real story behind the song, and why it's trending now.
On This Day · Sep 25, 2026
On This Day: October 3 in 1960s Music
12 verified 1960s music events from October 3: the Beatles begin recording Savoy Truffle, the Zombies release She's Not There in the US, Led Zeppelin open a European tour, and the Beatles' last night at the Indra Club.
On This Day · Sep 23, 2026On This Day: October 2 in 1960s Music
9 verified 1960s music events from October 2: Elvis Presley releases Return to Sender, Coltrane records A Love Supreme live in Seattle, the Beatles start Hello, Goodbye, and three Rolling Stones tour dates.
On This Day · Sep 22, 2026On This Day: October 1 in 1960s Music
15 verified 1960s music events from October 1: Abbey Road hits US shelves, Hendrix jams with Cream, Dylan debuts The Band at Carnegie Hall, and Brian Epstein signs the Beatles.
On This Day · Sep 21, 2026On This Day: September 30 in 1960s Music
13 verified 1960s music events from September 30: Hendrix cuts an early version of Woodstock, BBC Radio 1 launches, The Flintstones premieres, and the Rolling Stones play three different UK shows across the decade.
On This Day · Sep 17, 2026On This Day: September 29 in 1960s Music
14 verified 1960s music events from September 29: the Beatles splice a live King Lear broadcast into I Am the Walrus, Ricky Valance tops the UK chart, and Jimi Hendrix recruits Noel Redding.
On This Day · Sep 15, 2026On This Day: September 28 in 1960s Music
16 verified 1960s music events from September 28: Hey Jude begins its nine-week run at number one, the Rolling Stones play four different UK shows across the decade, and Jim Morrison gets arrested in Tallahassee.