1966 Overview

    Oh boy, If you ever wanted to rank the best years of rock and/or pop music starting from the 1950's, 1966 would not only be among the top five, it may even be the very best. Many years that I will eventually cover had some of the most fantastic rock albums of all time released, but were also terrible years for pop music, (example, 1974). 1966, on the other hand, was a great year for rock and pop. 

     In terms of pop music, earlier 1960's styles such as Brill Building pop lose the high popularity they once had. Replacing this was a mass of singers, musicians, and songwriters, who wanted to emulate some of the more current trends such as folk music. It was the rise of the creative artist as opposed to the pop craftsman. 

     However, despite the downfall of the girl group scene, R&B oriented groups like The Supremes reigned...er...supreme. Motown especially continued to produce classic after classic. Anything put out by The Four Tops this year constitutes their very best work. 

     1966 was also the year for garage rock. Countless one hit, and no hit wonders recorded tunes with their bands, all hoping to make it big. Very few in fact managed to break through. In fact, many of these amateur groups broke up before they had a chance for success or worse, were drafted into 'Nam. The sounds produced by these bands ranged from hard/heavy to neo psychedelic. It remains a fantastic melting pot of sounds that has been covered on hundreds of compilation albums over the years. 

     Speaking of psychedelia, the rise of LSD, anti-war sentiment, and free love, gave way to a fascinating counterculture. Especially in California, where pioneering bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Big Brother and The Holding Company, spent this year honing their sound. Outside of California and especially when you got as far as the east coast, psychedelia wasn't mostly underground. It would take one massive album, released in June of 1967, for the hippie scene to become a pop movement. 

     There was also a darker and more poetic side to the counterculture. This included The Doors and The Velvet Underground. Neither of these two groups could be considered hippie bands, even though the hippies certainly dug their sounds. Both of these bands recorded their groundbreaking debut albums in 1966, although both weren't released until 1967. Just by listening to something like "The End" or "Venus In Furs", and realizing that only three years prior, songs like "There I've Said It Again" was recorded, goes to show you just how far music was evolving. 

     Another reason 1966 remains so great is the sheer amount of classic or influential albums released. This included: The Beatles' "Revolver", The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds", Bob Dylan's "Blonde On Blonde", The Byrds' "5th Dimension", and Frank Zappa's "Freak Out". There were also countless classic singles put out. Many of these I don't even need to cover in this overview as they were all well-deserved #1 hits, and thus, will each get their own post.

     Critically, there were few duds and/or fluffy songs which made it big this year. While I already can spot two #1's that don't stand the test of time, that means that 24 other songs potentially were flawless. Either way, I'm going to listen to them all once again, and decide if this really was among the best years of pop music, or if I'm somehow wrong...not likely...

      First Up For 1966 - "The Sound Of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel. 

Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, join me as we go Eight Miles High, and Break On Through, one fantastic year of music!