I was listening to Sirius Channel 73, 60’s Gold, and it occurred to me that while 1967 was The Summer Of Love, something more important was happening in music.
A lot of people credit The Beatles for this profound change in music with the release of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, I think a little bit of a deep dive is in order because there really was a musical sea-change in 1967 and forgive me purists, it wasn’t just The Beatles.
The change was subtle at first but when you look a little deeper into the music of 1967, you will see that not only The Beatles were expanding what was possible, The Rolling Stones did as well. Along with every major group during that period. It wasn’t just some drug fueled psychedelia that music was going through. It was deeper, more complex and artists were finally saying something other than “She Loves You” or “Good Vibrations”.
Obviously, the War in Vietnam was on everyones mind and with that the Civil Rights movement had momentum as well. Artists felt the freedom now to express their true feelings about these causes and many many more.
Groups like Love and The Blues Magoos released game changing songs that opened the door for dozens of other popular bands. The Doors released their self titled debut album which had zero pop in it. It was dense, well structured and, at the time, very unique. The album version of “Light My Fire” was rarely played in it’s entirety on AM radio but was a staple on FM.
I bring up the Blues Magoos because if you listen to “We Ain’t got Nothing Yet” you can sense that music in 1967 is taking a turn to something a little deeper, more sophisticated. Even though the song was released in late 1966, I include it in 1967 because that was when it actually started getting serious airplay.
Listen to the lyrics of “For What it’s Worth” by The Buffalo Springfield and tell me there aren’t some serious issues being brought up. The production, as with most Buffalo Springfield songs was spare but it was never about what the engineers could do with this band, it was always about the lyrics and the music.
Another band that expanded what can be recorded was The Jefferson Airplane. Surrealistic Pillow was the first album with Grace Slick on lead vocals and it changed the course of the band and maybe changed the course of history. She had one of the most incredible voices in Rock and Roll and she worked perfectly with Marty Balin. “White Rabbit”, an ode to drug use that certainly turned some heads back then and “Somebody to Love” where instant classics. I think, with the success of Slick joining the band, other female artists found that they could be integral parts of any successful Rock and Roll band. The band brought well deserved attention to the San Fransisco music scene.
Speaking of the Bay Area, Scott Mackenzie’s “San Fransisco” ushered in an era of flower power and love ins. The song was actually written by John Phillips of The Mamas and The Pappas. It became an anthem of sorts for the era.
Another song that I think showed the maturation of Rock and Roll in 1967 was The Grass Roots’ “Let’s Live for Today”. The Grass Roots were this pop amalgamation that some producers in Hollywood cobbled together. They did lite pop music with some excellent vocals and chorus work. Nothing they did prior to this song could be considered deep or impactful. This song was. It was a song that resonated with every young person during that era and became a touchstone for every soldier in Vietnam. Powerful and complex, it epitomizes the changes that were happening in music in 1967.
1967 was also the year that The Jimi Hendrix Experience released it’s debut album “Are You Experienced?”. In what World would anyone think a left handed black guitarist could explode onto the scene like Jimi Hendrix did? I didn’t think the World was ready back then yet this album sold millions of copies and that is just a testament to how the musical landscape changed in 1967. It is impossible to pull one song from this album that symbolizes the changes that were happening. Every song is a unique example of Hendrix’s skills but also how the audience has opened their minds to soaring guitar solos that go nowhere, tons of feedback and lyrics that may or may not make sense, depending on what drug you are enjoying. It was so different that I think it was a major tipping point (I hate that term but it fits) for Rock and Roll.
Circling back to some singles that showed that Rock and Roll was maturing, I am going to throw a song out there that has been relegated to the pop pile of trash and yet it is a much more nuanced song than you might think. The Strawberry Alarm Clock were a local Southern California band that had a couple of minor local hits until “Incense and Peppermints”. Laugh if you must, this song was not a bubblegum song at all. If you actually listen to the lyrics, they make little sense. I think it was more about the beat and a good rhyme. Plus, they attempted doing some rudimentary electronic sound machine during the song.
Another song in that same vein is “Green Tambourine” by The Lemon Pipers. A simple song but the production is a lot more complex. Multiple sounds swirl through the song and you do get a sense of being out on a busy street watching these guys play for money. Unique in it’s sound, this song again was showing changes in Rock, maybe not blunt like Hendrix, but changing nonetheless.
You can not write anything about music in 1967 without talking about protest songs. Even though 1968 and 1969 could be considered the true protest era, 1967 had no shortage of great songs regarding the Vietnam War. Number one in my mind would be Nina Simone’s “Backlash Blues”. Nothing pretty about this song and Ms Simone had just one of the most uniquely powerful voices ever recorded. She has never gotten her due and that’s a shame. The other song that a lot of people will recognize is Country Joe and the Fish’s “I feel like I am Fixing to Die Rag”. The first I heard of this song was in 1970 while watching Woodstock with my brother. I had to dig to find the original and it was well worth it. Great protest song never get old.
The last song I will bring up is “The Walrus” by The Beatles. It comes from the Magical Mystery Tour EP and it is equal parts weird and complex. While the record sold extremely well it ended up being lost when Sgt. Peppers was released. The arrangements are so complex, I doubt any group or artist would even attempt something like this today. There were no 32 track masters back then and the synthesizer, electric drums ,overdubbing, under-dubbing, reverse loops of today just did not exist. They recorded and re-recorded it a few times and released it. I know this was John Lennon’s little joke since back then, everyone tried to decipher the underlying meanings of all The Beatles Catalogue. Come on, you don’t remember all the different interpretations of the cover of Sgt. Peppers? Genius is never linear.
Thank You for the Excellent walk down memory lane. Its going to be a Great Weekend searching for these cuts!