1965 marked the true beginning of a pop music renaissance in America. 1964 was dominated mostly by British music. Many of the former music styles that were able to chart so high in previous years were becoming unfashionable and unhip. 1965 saw many bands, artists, and styles emerge, much of whom wanted to equal or surpass The Beatles. This period lasted up until around 1968-1970, when AM radio became the choice for top 40 pop artists while only FM would become dominated by the artists who strived for every one of their albums to be brilliant. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Several distinct American styles emerged during this year, the first being folk rock. Introduced in The Byrds' cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", the genre would become the next big American sound for the next couple of years. Surf rockers put down their surfboards and instead picked up Rickenbacker guitars. Bob Dylan would cause outrage in the folk community by going electric. Out of this phase of his career, we got some of his best albums. One of those songs, "Like A Rolling Stone", remains one of the greatest songs of all time.
Another result of The Beatles' success was the surge of garage rock bands sprouting up all over the country. Teenagers and 20-somethings all wanted to form bands of their own and have their own slice of success. Many of these bands became no-hit wonders, forever destined to appear on some of the many garage rock and Nuggets compilations over the years. However, therein lies the charm of the genre as many of these garage rock unknowns produced long lost gems that are downright fascinating to discover. Notable songs and artists who recorded in 1965 include The Standells ("Dirty Water"), The Seeds ("Pushing Too Hard"), and The Sonics ("Psycho").
This year also saw the very beginnings of the psychedelic scene. By year's end, The Grateful Dead were the house band for a series of acid tests. Many bands and artists that would become counter-cultural icons began making themselves known. One of those groups, The Doors, recorded demos in September. Even Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys had taken acid and strived to make music that way ahead of its time. By year's end, influenced by The Beatles' Rubber Soul, he had started work on what would become a classic - Pet Sounds. The times were a-changin' indeed.
American R&B and soul music remained strong during 1965 with Motown releasing some of the best work by The Temptations, The Four Tops, and The Supremes. Over in Memphis, Stax records gave us such legendary songs by artists such as: Otis Redding ("I've Been Loving You Too Long"), Wilson Pickett ("The Midnight Hour"), and Sam & Dave ("You Don't Know Like I Know"), to name a few. However, it was Motown that charted the highest on the pop charts so unfortunately, no artist from Stax or Atlantic records will be on the list this year.
Meanwhile over in Britain, The Beatles continued to reign supreme. They began the year by recording songs meant for their second film: The rather campy, but nonetheless enjoyable, Help! Their second release of the year, Rubber Soul indicated the beginning of a new direction for the group. Here was an album full of folk rock influence with not a single bad song among the bunch. The Moptop era was nearing a close.
Other noteworthy British bands and songs included The Who, who exploded onto the scene with songs such as "I Can't Explain" and the classic "My Generation". However, they would remain unknown in the US for a couple more years. The Kinks also saw a change in song subject matter as songwriter/lead singer Ray Davies started writing more narrative and quintessentially English songs such as "A Well Respected Man". The Rolling Stones had an equally amazing year with several of their greatest early work being recorded.
1965 could be the best year for top 40 music and again, this is due to so many pop artists wanting to progress musically and put out music that meant something. There will still be pure pop artists who top the chart, but even those groups and singers added a level of sophistication to their simple tunes. Needless to say, there is not a single #1 from 1965 that I'd consider bad. Consequentially, if you're reading my reviews to hear me bash the living daylights out of a bad pop song, this isn't your year.
So join me as we venture in to a year which began with jingle jangle mornings and ended with the first seeds of psychedelic rock/pop being planted. The days of innocence and naivety are already ancient history.
First up for 1965 - "Downtown" by Petula Cark.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock -
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