Music of North American counterculture
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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During the early 1960s, Britain's new generation of blues rock gained popularity in its homeland and cult fame in the United States. Folk singers like Peter, Paul & Mary ("Puff the Magic Dragon") and Bob Dylan (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan) influenced the British groups, and popular music became more closely aligned with the counterculture.
An international sound developed that moved towards an electric, psychedelic version of rock. In 1962 (see 1962 in music), The Beatles (Please Please Me) emerged from England and popularized British rock, while The Beach Boys' success brought harmony-laden surf music to the forefront of the American scene. With country and soul musicians unable to maintain their hipness, both faded from mass consciousness.
The Beatles went on to become the most prominent commercial exponents of the "psychedelic revolution" (e.g., Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) that occurred during the late 1960s, with few Americans able to challenge them--exceptions included The Mamas & the Papas ("California Dreaming") and Jimi Hendrix (Are You Experienced?). The most hard-edged psychedelic American bands, like the Jefferson Airplane (Surrealistic Pillow) and The Grateful Dead (Anthem of the Sun), achieved limited commercial success. As the first jam band, The Grateful Dead might also be considered the first cult act. Popular music underwent a sea of change, and psychedelic rock came to dominate the music scene for both black and white audiences.
As the psychedelic revolution progressed, lyrics grew more complex and long playing albums enabled artists to make more in-depth statements than could be made in a single song. Even rules governing single songs were stretched--singles lasting longer than three minutes emerged for the first time (Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" was the first of these).
Though not unheard of before the 1960s, the idea that popular music could and should lead social change came into its own during this period. Most existing musical styles were influenced, and new musical genres came into being, including heavy metal, punk rock, electronic music and hip hop.
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