The music of the sixties , and is sometimes
considered the greatest era in music of all time! The sixties brought
us music that is currently fondly remembered as music you can sing or
dance to, and the charts of the United Kingdom were popping with hit
after hit from many famous people and bands, as well as the charts in
America. One of the most significant points to consider about the famous
musicians of the sixties decade, is that most of the more popular bands
of that time are still listened to today, over forty years after they
started playing music! It’s also common to hear re makes of popular
songs played during the sixties with only slight changes to the original
records.
The early sixties number one single’s charts of the United Kingdom
were mainly dominated by the famous Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and
The Everly Brothers- until about 1963, when the Beatles reached their
first number one song on the United Kingdom charts, “From Me to You”,
followed a few months later by “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your
Hand”. Elvis Presley was knocked off the charts altogether for about
two years, and so started the British Invasion of British pop music
into America, and the incredible period of time known as “Beatle Mania”,
where the public just couldn’t seem to get enough of the four long haired,
young men who were changing the sounds of music in the United Kingdom,
bringing the sound to America, and introducing pop rock in a way that
the young and old alike fell in love with.
In 1964, The Rolling Stones decided to contend with the revolutionary
Beatle Mania, and reached number one with “It’s All Over Now” in July.
In 1965, Elvis Presley managed to make it back onto the United Kingdom
number one single chart, with “Crying in the Chapel” but it was a short
lived victory of just two weeks. The Rolling Stones and The Beatles
came back with several more number one hits through 1965 and into 1966,
keeping Elvis’s music off the number one spot!
In 1966, America fought back with a new band. The United Kingdom got
wind of the American chart toppers, The Beach Boys, and they landed
their first number one on the United Kingdom charts with the song, “Good
Vibrations”.
The Monkees- the United States creation to try and rival The Beatle
Mania, had a single hit on the United Kingdom charts in 1967, called
“I’m a Believer”, which enjoyed the number one spot for four weeks.
The Monkees were also famous for there television series that was designed
to show the audience what it was like to be famous musicians. The show
was quite popular in America for quite some time.
The Beatles continued with a string of number ones in 1967 and 1968,
and had their last chart topping single in 1969, with “The Ballad of
John and Yoko”. This last number one single’s recording did not include
George and Ringo, as the group was beginning to separate at this time.
Interviews have indicated that the band members were tired of the music
scene- as crazed fans were getting more and more out of control, often
threatening to hurt the band members, the Beatles street drug use was
increasing as they tried to deal with the overwhelming stardom they
had found, and things seemed to have been falling apart all around them.
Their music is often re created and performed by today’s musicians,
and many radio stations currently play the original versions even now.
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