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Listen To 
The Beatles
'Revolution'
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Music 1960-1964
The Sixties
Top 30 Rock Songs Of The Sixties

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Coming Soon
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Music 1965-1969


Progressive Rock: Cold War - Hot Music 



(Up To 1968)

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Jimi Hendrix
In the 1960s there was a broad change in the nature of western 

mainstream popular music. There was a transformation of early 

Rock n Roll to what became known simply as Rock – or 

‘Progressive Rock’. The Beatles were a major force behind this 

change. The 1960s represented a tumultuous era in the evolution 

of Popular music. It was also a tumultuous era in the international 

politics and domestic politics of the major Western powers. We'll 

now  briefly look at the emergence of Progressive Rock (and

later try and draw out some political connections with this form of 
music). And then look at the hard cold politics of the era. 
 

It’s very hard to know where to start with the 1960s and when to end. So let’s broadly 

run up to the beginning of 1968 – which  is generally accepted as the pinnacle or 

watershed year of both politics and Popular Music, at least in the Western World.


In the 1960s – Pop music, and domestic and even international politics became as one.

While much of the most Popular Music among teen audiences of this time in the West 

came out of Britain, the United States turned out to be major the engine of social 

change. The US was at the center of the political- military world which makes the US 

most relevant to focus on. 

An Overview To 1968

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_ 

Although Rock n 

Roll was largely 

dead by 1960 –
 

the Beatles soon 

re-injected life 

back into it. But while the Beatles 

were the major force behind this re-

emergence they were not alone. There

The Beatles - Hello, Goodbye
was also the Rolling Stones, and so many other mainly British groups of this era, which 

together formed what became  known as the ‘British Invasion’ of the US market. 


The 1960s was a tumultuous era in the evolution of Popular Music in the West, but not

only the evolution of Popular Music, the 1960s also saw the emergence of countering 

value systems and challenges to the cultural and political status quo in America, Britain
 
and elsewhere. In short, the 1960s saw the emergence of the ‘counter culture' in the 

West.

 
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone


The Beatles

The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
_
The Two Giant Acts Of The Era

The 1960s was certainly a tumultuous era 

in international politics and the domestic 

politics of the major Western powers. And 

we are still feeling the impact of that era 

today and still seeing the influence of it.

It was also in this decade that the 

intertwining of Rock as Popular Music and 

Politics overtly formed the tightest and 

strongest link. 


It was also in this era that we saw the 

death of Rock n Roll, the emergence of 

Schlock Rock, and then what became 

known simply as Rock, and then Folk Rock

and Progressive Rock and many other

variants of what became simply known as 

Rock music.


And most heavily influencing the events of 

this decade were two of the giant acts of 

Popular Music – Bob Dylan and the 

Beatles. And to some extent we need to 

focus on these above all others. But first 

we need to put the years of the 1960s into

their political context, both internationally 

and domestically.



The International Politics Of The Early 1960s. What Was Happening In These Early Turbulent Years? 




The Answer - The Cold War Was Continuing!


At the end of the 1950s, the US was still vigorously pursuing the containment of

perceived communist expansionism and getting dragged further and further into

Vietnam.


In the early 1960s the Cold War was continuing in all its ferocity. In 1960, the

Americans had tried to get rid of President Fidel Castro in Cuba but this ended with the 

debacle at the Bay of Pigs. 


In 1959, Cuba had fallen to Castro scaring the hell out of the Americans. President

Kennedy came to power in 1960 (in Camelot) and tried to flex his anti-communist

muscles. The world consequently slumped deeper into a more dangerous Cold War as

US President Kennedy implemented his 'Doctrine of Limited Wars' – wherein he 

pledged to commit the US to intervene anywhere thought necessary with Special 

Operations Forces and others to combat the perceived spread of communism in the 

Third World.

 
Squaring off against both the Soviet Union and China in an international arms race 

Kennedy did his best to beef up US armed forces to keep ahead with conventional and

nuclear weaponry, and particularly missiles and the Soviet advances into Space. But 

with the Soviets already having launched the 'Sputnik', in the late 1950s the US was 

being left behind, completely unnerving both the Government and the US people.


The US had already put a total embargo on the Cubans, trying to starve the Castro 

regime out of business. The Americans, still stunned from losing Cuba to Castro and 

believing communists were on the march everywhere in the world, further tried to turn

the situation around by getting rid of Castro in Cuba via what is known as the Bay of

Pigs invasion, which was beaten back by Castro’s armed forces. This resulted in an

enormous loss of face for the Americans which only strengthened their resolve to get

rid of Castro and get tough on communism everywhere.



- Meanwhile In The Soviet Union, Premier Khrushchev was in power and, 

determined to match it strategically and militarily with the Americans, was similarly 

pursuing a full on Cold War;  while nevertheless from time to time trying to reach some

sort of easing of tensions with the US – like forging a detente. However, the Soviets 

were soon enraged after discovering US secret high altitude U2 flight spying missions

over their territory, thereby breaking all sorts of international protocols. As a 

consequence,  the Soviets soon locked the US into a deadly phase of the Cold War,

further intensifying the massive conventional and nuclear arms race. This included the 

added dimension of a 'space race' with both leaders trying to get the upper hand.



- Meanwhile in China, Premier Mao and the Soviets were quarreling over 

competing strategic, economic and even ideological interests and the two communist 

giants entered into a bitter split that eventually broke out into actual fighting in 1969.
    
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- And In Vietnam

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In another part of Asia, US President Kennedy decided to

also draw the line against perceived communism expansionism

in Vietnam. Thus the story of the 1960s was one of continued

expansion and intensification of the US-Vietnam War until 

the US commitment peaked at around one half a million men 

in a dirty war that the US was losing with such a high social,

human, political and economic cost.

 

 - Meanwhile in Europe

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In Europe the

superpowers were in a

stalemate with the two

massive military

machines, the Warsaw

Pact and NATO 

facing each other. By 

this time Soviet 

Premier- Khrushchev had also built the 

Berlin Wall dividing Berlin and figuratively

Germany into two.

Toni Fisher -  West Of The Wall

The 'Wall' soon became symbolic of the whole Cold War stand off - a barrier between

two competing systems and life-ways and a deadly one at that. It was a stalemate of

nuclear proportions and all was somewhat peaceful but extremely tense. The bi-polar

world, while squared off against itself, was beginning to crumble both in the East and

the West.


Returning to the main game, by 1962 both Superpowers were too scared to confront

each other directly, so instead were combating each other’s allies, both real and

perceived around the globe, with the US backing corrupt President Diem in Vietnam

and opposing Castro in Cuba.  This led to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and World 

War Three nearly breaking out – thereby becoming the lowest and most deadly point

of the Cold War.

 - The Missile Crisis In The Carribean

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On the other side of the globe in 1962 Castro, with the help of the

Russians, installed  nuclear missiles as a way of defending Cuba

against a future US invasion and as a means for the Soviets to get

one back on the US which had already surrounded them with a

ring of nuclear bases in Europe and the Pacific. This enraged

Kennedy and the US producing the all time low of the Cold War

with the onset of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and nearly World War

Three. Both Superpowers and the world stood on the brink of

nuclear war, but eventually the Soviets blinked and backed off.


 
 - Test Ban And Talking

The Cuban Missile Crisis did have a positive however as it led to agreements on

nuclear test bans in 1963 and talks between the two Superpowers. But the Cold War

between East and West continued on in the Third World while all remained relatively

quite for a while in Europe. 


Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction

Still, even though some talks were held –

the world remained in the grip of nuclear

standoff and possibly nuclear war and

everywhere people dug nuclear bomb

shelters. It was a depressing mindset for

all and sundry, and for a time this

apparent eve of destruction of the world

was directly expressed in Pop Music. 

Moreover, there was soon the 

proliferation everywhere of the 'Peace 

Movement and many ‘Ban the Bomb’ 

groups in Britain, the United States and 

even Australia.

But The Focus Of The Cold War Remained On Vietnam

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The Western Alliance in the early 1960s was still united at this

stage, but under Kennedy’s lead, the US was still determined

to defeat perceived communist expansionism everywhere.

Thus the focus of the Cold War remained on Vietnam.


With a standoff in Europe and hands tied with Cuba (although

the US tried at least 8 times assassinate Castro ( and possibly

many more) perceived Chinese expansionism became a major

target of US ambitions to reshape the world in its own image.

Vietnam became the target of this obsession with disastrous 

consequences for everyone.


In Vietnam, Kennedy decided to draw the line against

perceived communist expansionism and the sad story of the 1960s is a story of 

continued expansion and intensification of the US-Vietnam War until the US 

commitment peaked at around one half million men in 1969.


It was a dirty war that the US waged with such social, human political and economic

cost. As such, Vietnam became both synonymous with, and the focus of, the Cold War.

But it was also the Vietnam war which ultimately proved a political watershed for it

ultimately caused a redefining of international relations, a redefining of the US political 

culture, and reassessment of the nature of politics and culture for many nations on this 

earth.  In essence, it was the Vietnam War which sparked a massive social and 

‘cultural revolution’ in the West which ultimately changed our whole globe and left 

nobody untouched.



The Course Of The War

In 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated, and Lyndon Johnson came into power

deepening the US involvement in Vietnam. In 1965 Australia entered the war somewhat

misguidedly to prevent the so-called 'spread of communism'  in Asia and to prevent its

spread southwards via the 'Domino'  effect. But the conflict was really a nationalist 

conflict for the re-unification of Vietnam.


While domestically nothing much was said by the US public at first, by 1968 after

heavy losses it became clear the war was  un-winnable particularly after the Tet

Offensive
. It was also above all seen as an unjust war particularly by a growing amount

of the US public. Increasingly, the war was seen for what it really was - nothing less

than a nationalist struggle for re-unification – and not about communist expansionism

as such.


At home in both Australia and the US, the Vietnam War began tearing both countries

apart. A massive domestic anti-war movement grew fed by the emergence of the

counterculture
in the West. Along with this there emerged the popularity of guerrilla

leaders,  such as Che Guevara, whom became revered as cult figures in many sections 

of the counterculture, with subsequent social challenges to the status quo in the West.


There was also the beginnings of the break up of bipolarity and the disintegration of the

two power blocs, as many Western countries began to assert more independence and 

do their own thing – after many disagreeing with the US role in Vietnam.


The US economy also entered into decline steadily drained by its costly involvement in

Vietnam where it was fighting the wrong cause and trying to fight 'peoples war' with

conventional war and losing.

   
Throughout the 1960s, the war continued and became very much the centre piece of

the play off between East and West.  Meanwhile the Soviets for their part continued

their massive build up in armed forces against the Chinese, both of whom became

enemies over personal rivalries of their leaders, ideological differences and conflicting

national interests as well as disputes over historic border differences etc (all the stuff of

normal disputes over national self- interest), thereby exposing the notion of monolithic

communist expansionism in the Third World to be a myth.



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Nixon Enters

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By 1968 President Johnson wanted out, and Nixon came to power 

in 1969 promising a way out of the war. But he tried to do it by 

bombing the North into submission and spreading the war into 

Cambodia (more later).

Domestic Politics In The West

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During the mid to late 1960s economies were booming in 

both the US and Australia. There were high living standards
 
and full employment  in the First World (not so in the Third 

World though). Above all it was a time of prosperity and 

education expansion, a time of freedom and questioning by the
 
youth - a growing time of rebellion brought on by the Cold 

War and other influences. But in the US there was also the assassination of Senator
 
Robert Kennedy, the tensions of the Vietnam War - and the  influence of Rock music 

that itself had undergone a revolution. There was also the generation gap fed by the
 
War, Rock music and education freedom that exposed many flaws in the politics of the
 
status quo and the older generation. As such Western youth began to question the 

foundations of society, particularly in the US. The Kennedy era of 'Camelot' had 

imploded into an era of disquiet and rebellion. The system that sent the youth to die in 

an unjust war  and continued to deny black civil rights soon became the enemy, 

especially so with the Nixon Administration.



Interlocking Forces And Processes In The 1960s
  
Now it is probably here in this decade that the intertwining of Rock /Popular Music

and Politics forges the tightest, strongest link, and in a lot of ways is the essence of 

Rock Mountain's central interest - and hence this warrants much attention.


  
Let's Now Look At The Era Of  'Rock Politics' In Detail Up To And

Including 1968.       
                             
       
                          




Go To Segment Four - Continued



The Era 

Of Rock Politics
Era Of Rock Politics


Go To Death Of 

Rock  N Roll And 

Rise Of Schlock Rock
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Death Of Rock n Roll
Return 

To 


Rocking The World
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Rocking The World
Return 

To 

Home
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RM Home


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