3 Songs That Prove the 1960s Were Rock’s Most Adventurous Decade

The 1960s were a turning point for rock. The decade began by rehashing 1950s ideals, then exploded in the back half with new subgenres. The three 1960s songs below illustrate how adventurous this decade was. Revisit them for a small but potent dose of what this decade had to offer.

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“Tomorrow Never Knows” — The Beatles

This Beatles song made the recording studio an instrument in and of itself. The band got in there and broke every rule rock had come up with up to that point. The result was a rock track that’s hard to wrap your brain around today, not to mention the 1960s.

“Lay down all thoughts / Surrender to the void / It is shining / It is shining,” the heady lyrics read. This song was certainly the product of the band’s LSD experimentation, leaning into a hallmark of this era. That substance opened up doors for the band, leading to oddball, inventive songs like this one. This is just one of their many 1960s songs that pushed the envelope.

“Good Vibrations” —  The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” put them into a new league entirely. This 1960s rock song proved they were more than summery pop sensations. They were artists with something to offer rock in terms of longevity. The genre got a fork in the road when this song made its move.

“I love the colorful clothes she wears / And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair / I hear the sound of a gentle word / On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air,” the calm opening lines read, only to erupt into a kaleidoscopic chorus. Not just any songwriters could’ve come up with this unique convergence of sounds.

“White Rabbit” — Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” is a seemingly impossible mix of tones. From a Spanish bolero rhythm to psychedelic ideas, this song stands alone in its decade as a powerful example of sonic experimentation.

“One pill makes you larger / And one pill makes you small / And the ones that mother gives you/ Don’t do anything at all,” the lyrics read, referencing Alice In Wonderland. This song transports you right back to the 1960s, when rock took listeners on a trip, influenced by their own drug-fueled ones. Though perhaps not the most sustainable creative force, this era’s experimentation with rock stars’ personal lives produced some exhilarating results.

(Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

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