FREE ESSAY ON THE THREE MOST INFLUENCIAL BANDS OF THE 60S

THE THREE MOST INFLUENCIAL BANDS OF THE 60S

The 1960's are said to be the most prolific decade in all of music. Many bands of this
decade have proven to have enormous effects on music, as we know it. Jimi Hendrix is said
to be the greatest rock and roll guitarist of all time. The greats, like Eric Clapton and
Carlos Santana, have all said that he truly made the guitar speak and transformed it into
an art. The Doors were true innovators and turned rock into an art form, by skillfully
blending rock and poetry. No one can deny that they were revolutionaries who set the
standard for rock being a defiant type of music, but with meaning in its lyrics. It is
impossible to talk about musical influence and not speak of The Beatles. No other band
has had more number one singles and no other band has held the number one spot in
"music's all time greats, etc.," lists. Not one, but two of its band members (Lennon and
McCartney) are said to be the greatest songwriters and musicians of all time. All this
echoes in their music, as it does for all three bands. Narrowing it down to three bands
was a difficult task, but these three bands may very well have had the greatest effect on
music, as we know it today.
Jimi Hendrix is widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential musicians
of the 20th century. He pioneered the explosive popularity of the electric guitar. His
innovative style of combining fuzz, feedback and controlled distortion created a new
musical form. Unable to read or write music, it is nothing short of remarkable that
Hendrix's unreal rise in music took place over a period of only four years. His unique
musical language continues to influence lots of modern musicians from George Clinton to
Miles Davis, and Steve Vai to Jonny Lang. 
Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942, at Seattle's King County
Hospital. He was later renamed James Marshall by his father of the same name. Young Jimmy
(as he was referred to at this time) took an interest in music, drawing influence from
virtually every major artist at that time, including B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy
Holly, and Robert Johnson. Entirely self-taught, Jimmy's inability to read music made him
concentrate even harder on the music he could hear.
Jimmy's father, James "Al" Hendrix, noticed his son's interest in guitar, recalling, "I
used to have Jimmy clean up the bedroom all the time while I was gone, and when I would
come home I would find a lot of broom straws around the foot of the bed. I'd say to him,
'Well didn't you sweep up the floor?' and he'd say, 'Oh yeah,' he did. But I'd find out
later that he used to be sitting at the end of the bed there and strumming the broom like
he was playing a guitar." (Are You Experienced?: The Inside Story of the Jimi Hendrix
Experience.) Al found an old one-string ukulele, which he gave to Jimmy to play with,
which was a huge improvement over the broom. By the summer of 1958, Al had purchased
Jimmy a five-dollar, second-hand acoustic guitar from one of his friends. Shortly
thereafter, Jimmy joined his first band, The Velvetones. After a three-month stint with
the group, Jimmy left to pursue his own interests. The following summer, Al purchased
Jimmy his first electric guitar, a Supro Ozark 1560S. Jimmy used it when he joined "The
Rocking Kings".
In 1961, Jimmy left home to enlist in the United States Army and in November 1962, earned
the right to wear the "Screaming Eagles" patch for the paratrooper division. While
stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Jimmy began working as a session guitarist under
the name Jimmy James. By the end of 1965, at only 23 years old, Jimmy had already played
with several marquee acts, including Ike and Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers,
and Little Richard. Jimmy parted ways with Little Richard to form his own band, Jimmy
James and the Blue Flames, shedding the role of back-line guitarist for the spotlight of
lead guitar. Throughout the latter half of 1965, and into the first part of 1966, Jimmy
played the rounds of smaller venues throughout Greenwich Village, catching up with
Animals' bassist, Chas Chandler, during a July performance at the Caf, Wha. Chandler was
impressed with Jimmy's playing and returned again in September, 1966, to sign Hendrix to
an agreement that would have him move to London to form a new band. 
Switching gears from bass player to manager, Chandler's first task was to change
Hendrix's name to "Jimi", a name that would become synonymous with the musical sound of a
changing generation. Featuring drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding, the newly
formed Jimi Hendrix Experience quickly became the talk of London in the fall of 1966. The
Experience's first single, "Hey Joe", spent ten weeks on the UK charts, topping out at
spot number six in early 1967. (Are You Experienced?: The Inside Story of the Jimi
Hendrix Experience.) The debut single was quickly followed by the release of the
full-length album, "Are You Experienced", a psychedelic musical compilation featuring
anthems of the generation. "Are You Experienced" has remained one of the most popular
rock albums of all time, featuring tracks like "Purple Haze," "The Wind Cries Mary,"
"Foxy Lady," "Fire," and "Are You Experienced?" Although Hendrix experienced overwhelming
success in Britian, it wasn't until he returned to America in June of 1967 that he
ignited the crowd at the Monterey International Pop Festival with his incredible
performance of "Wild Thing." Literally overnight, The Jimi Hendrix Experience became one
of the most popular and highest grossing touring acts in the world. Hendrix followed up
"Are You Experienced" with "Axis: Bold As Love". By 1968, Hendrix had taken greater
control over the direction of his music; he spent considerable time working the consoles
in the studio, with each turn of a knob or flick of a switch, he brought clarity to his
vision.
Back in America, Jimi Hendrix built his own recording studio, Electric Lady Studios in
New York City. The name for this project became the basis for his most demanding musical
release, the ever popular, two LP collections, "Electric Ladyland." Throughout 1968, the
demands of touring and studio work took its toll on the group and in 1969, the Experience
had disbanded.
The summer of 1969 brought emotional and musical growth to Jimi Hendrix. In playing the
Woodstock Music and Art Fair in August 1969, Jimi joined forces with an ensemble called
Gypsy Sun & Rainbows featuring Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Juma Sultan, and
Jerry Velez. The Woodstock performance was highlighted by the renegade version of "The
Star Spangled Banner," which brought about a new and defining collaboration featuring
Jimi Hendrix on guitar, bassist Billy Cox and Buddy Miles on drums. As 1970 progressed,
Jimi brought back drummer Mitch Mitchell to the group and together with Cox on bass, the
trio once again formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience. In the studio the trio recorded
several new tracks for another two LP set, tentatively called "First Rays Of The New
Rising Sun." Unfortunately, Hendrix was unable to see this new musical vision through to
completion due to his frantic worldwide touring schedules and his tragic, untimely
death.
On Friday, September 17,1970, Jimi was staying in London with a girlfriend named Monika
Danneman. He had a huge gig to play the next day so he desperately needed rest. Hendrix
took nine sleeping pills and went to bed. The next morning Danneman saw Jimi had vomited
while sleeping but paid no attention to it. When she tried to wake him a little bit
later, he didn't move. Immediately, she called an ambulance. By the time the ambulance
arrived, Jimi had died from suffocation from his own vomit. The night before he had been
working on a new song. The closing lines were:
"The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye. The story of love is hello and
goodbye until we meet again." (www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1035/frames.html)
Members Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek formed the Doors.
Ray Manzarek was the pianist of the group and he also came up with the themes to many of
their songs. Ray played electric keyboard for the band as well. The drummer, John
Densmore, used an unusual jazz style to his drumming with The Doors. He should also be
credited with keeping the band together as long as it could. Robby Krieger was a
phenomenal guitarist who could play any type of guitar. He is also a great songwriter
responsible for many songs, even "Light My Fire." Jim Morrison was the lead singer and he
was a baritone, which is a singer with a voice between tenor and bass. Morrison is often
seen as the band itself and a man who would go all the way or die trying.
In the summer of 1965 at Venice Beach, California, The Doors had their first rehearsal at
Ray's beachfront. The band's name came from a poet by the name of William Blake. Blake
wrote, "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear as it is:
Infinite." (Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors.) Also, English author Aldous Huxley,
who was a reader of Blake, titled one of his novels The Doors of Perception. Morrison was
so connected with the thought of doors and different perceptions that he proposed it as
the name. Everyone agreed to the name and it fit them quite nicely. It stood for the
point they were trying to get across. The Doors main goal was to accomplish musical
alchemy, which is to make their music pure. They wanted to bring rock and roll music and
poetry together. The band wanted their music to have meaning.
After playing in small nightclubs, The Doors began to move up by Morrison connecting with
the audience. They soon got bigger and more controversial. At one club The Doors had the
place packed and Morrison had the crowd going with his stage dives. It is probable that
he was on acid at this time because of what he was going to say. In the middle of a slow
song, Morrison turned from the crowd and said, "Father? Yes, son. I want to kill you.
Mother? Yes, son. I want to @! $& you." (Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors.) This
sent the audience into and absolute frenzy and caused chaos in the room. Quickly, they
were kicked out by the manager. Outside they were confronted by Jack Holzman of Elektra
Records and signed to do recordings. They would end up doing six LPs and two live
performances. A cult following developed and they were soon one of the hottest acts in
the country.
The Doors lead singer, Jim Morrison, was a risk taker. He had something in him that made
him take things to the edge or die trying to reach it. Another goal of The Doors was to
make their live performances unpredictable. The fans never knew what Jim was going to do
next and they loved it. Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore kept with Morrison's improvisation
not by underestimating him but by trying to keep up with him and edge him on. What they
did became known as the art of intuitive companiment. They would often follow up whatever
he did with a riff of some sort causing his actions and the music to somehow link
together. Morrison didn't see what he was doing as an act at all, but as a way of
connecting with the audience and their own private views. Morrison released this
statement to the press, "For me, it was never really an act, those so called
performances. It was a life-and-death thing, an attempt to communicate, to involve many
people in a private world of thought." (The Doors: The Illustrated History.)
The Doors ran into many problems with the authorities and the media. The first real bad
thing they did was probably the worst. They were really getting hot across the country
and they were invited to the Ed Sullivan Show. They were to play "Light My Fire." The
network executives wanted them to not use their own lyrics because they were too sexual.
Little did they know that Morrison would not only say, "Light My Fire" but turn to the
camera and yell it. They were basically finished on TV after this stunt. Other than that,
they would often have problems with police at their shows, where Jim would purposely mock
them. 
During the late 1960's, the bands often sang of peace and love, while people were
tripping on acid. The Doors tried to use this as a weapon. They said that they used acid
to expand their minds. Perhaps it worked, but they certainly had a connection to their
audience. The band had many wild ideas. They thought their nights belonged to Greek Gods,
like Pan and Dionysus. They thought they died and were re-born. Jim Morrison possibly
believed he was a Shaman, an Indian medicine man. When he was a child his parents drove
by an accident involving Native Americans. One was dead and Jim believes that his spirit
went into his body. Morrison wanted to be a poet, and not just one who wrote poems. His
idea of a poet was to accept the tragic fate that has been chosen for you and fulfill
that destiny with nobility. At the end of it all, after The Doors took America by storm
and tore up the charts, after being fined and confined by the laws of the country he
loved, Jim Morrison left the country and moved to Paris. He went to Paris to further his
career as a poet, but the end was near. He had partied too long and too hard and it had
taken its toll on his body. On July 3rd, 1971, in Paris, Jim Morrison would die with one
last wish; to be seen as a poet.
The Doors had a huge affect on society and on music. One affect they made on music was
that one of their songs, "Five to One," is the basis of heavy metal. Another affect was
that they successfully brought poetry and rock and roll together. They gave their music
deeper meaning than words. They did this through improvisation and connecting with their
audience like no one ever has. The Doors music still has an influence on society. People
still are listening to The Doors thirty years later. The Doors did accomplish their goal
of making rock beautiful and deep.
In the beginning, The Beatles were not, in fact, The Beatles, they were The Quarrymen,
then the SilverBeatles, before finally settling on one name, The Beatles. Also, they were
not the same "Fab Four", as we now know. There were five members when they started out.
They were John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best.
At this point in time, the standouts were John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe. 
Lennon and Sutcliffe had attended art school together and got the idea to form a band. At
first it was just for fun and, seen by them all, as just another way to pass the time.
Early on, you could see that Sutcliffe wouldn't last. When the rest got serious with
their music, he became lost. Lennon then began to simply write songs with McCartney,
instead of Sutcliffe, and he would just have really deep conversations with Sutcliffe.
This early on, the band was nothing more than five James Dean look-a-lies, complete with
leather jackets and greasy hair. They would act rowdy wherever they played, often getting
thrown out of their own gigs. The music they played was a form of souped-up rock and
roll, heavily influenced by Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly. It was not very original and
they were a far cry from exploding onto the scene. Each night they managed to play
various gigs in their hometown of Liverpool, England. Every night they would play
murderous hours and they damn near starved to death. They managed to get themselves on a
small tour. They played all over Wales and their popularity slightly increased. They were
now known well in their hometown of Liverpool, but unbelievably they weren't even seen as
the best band there yet. Soon after this, Stuart Sutcliffe would leave the band. He did
so to pursue an art career. He wouldn't get far with it, though. Three months later he
died of a brain tumor at age 21. At the same time, The Beatles had begun to move up a
little bit. They made an album in Germany. It was not very good but it was an album
nonetheless. They developed a small following in Germany and back in England. Everything
seemed to be going all right but trouble was brewing. 
No one really knows the reason why Pete Best left The Beatles. The members of the band
rarely speak of it and it is left up to speculation. Many people believe that Best's loud
clumsy sound on the drums didn't quite match up with Lennon, McCartney and Harrison's
sharp tones. Perhaps this is why he left. Nevertheless, it was a mistake on his part for
not trying to stay in the band, for it wouldn't even be year later until The Beatles
would prove to be one of popular music's biggest acts. Most people would tell you about
Ringo Starr now and the band's first hit, "Love Me Do". When The Beatles went in to
record "Love Me Do" they didn't have a drummer. Andy White, an expert drum set player,
came to their rescue and without him, no one may have ever heard of The Beatles. 
They were not without a drummer for long, though. Ringo Starr, who played in Liverpool's
top band at the time, joined the band. They were then taken over by manager Brian
Epstein. Epstein went to Decca Records and they refused to sign The Beatles. This went
down in history as one of the worst management decisions in the music industry of all
time. Finally, Epstein got EMI Records to sign The Beatles and history had begun. This is
how it was, and this is how it would stay: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison,
and Ringo Starr.
What is so great about The Beatles and what made them such a catch is their diversity.
They were almost like four bands in one. The "Fab Four' appealed to everyone. Whatever
one was, the other would be different and balance things out. For example, if Lennon's
brash and tough attitude wasn't your bag then I'm sure McCartney's romanticism and "good
boy" image would win you over. If you thought Harrison was too somber, then Ringo's
goofy, fun-loving persona would brighten your day. 
John Lennon trapped the intellectuals. He started writing books about deep subjects,
wrote poetry, painted, and other odd things geared toward intellectuals. He was tagged as
an instinctive poet and was seen as the voice of a new generation.
(www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1857) His best songs are his in-your-face songs
that use their lyrics as raw power: "I am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever,
Happiness is a warm gun." (The Beatles. 1996) 
Paul McCartney was stylish, clever, and always elegant. He was a charming boy who won
everyone over with just a smile. He made The Beatles respectable from the start to
finish. His work with Lennon creates hits early on like, "She loves you, Thank you girl,
I saw her standing there". When he ran loose with string quartets he would let his heart
pour out and create some of The Beatles best like, "She's Leaving Home" and "Yesterday",
which is widely considered the bands best song. Also, it shouldn't be overlooked that he
was handsome and made the girls go crazy. (www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1857)
Ringo Starr has often talked about playing with The Beatles like playing with toys,
having fun. This best sums up the drummer. He was always cool and calm. He always had
some great one-liners and he knew he wasn't the best drummer in the world and he admitted
it. Something else that shows what type of a guy he is, is that instead of marrying a
supermodel, he married his old sweetheart, a hairdresser's assistant from Liverpool.
(www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1857)
George Harrison is pretty much the opposite of Ringo. He remains somewhat of an enigma. A
lot of people didn't like that he played with no emotion and often would stand back from
the microphone and just play. I believe it was because he was such an extraordinary
musician. One of his songs, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", showcases his talents on the
guitar and is considered by true Beatles fans as one of the best. Towards the end of The
Beatles, he got really involved in Indian music showing how diverse his talents were.
(www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1857)
The music of The Beatles can be summed up in three parts. Their early works were mostly
loud brash rock and roll songs. The middle years were a kind of transitional phase in
their music in which they began to place more meaning into their songwriting. The final
years are when they got real arty, and frankly, real stoned. Their writing, however,
seemed even deeper than ever before and much more poetic and beautiful. Towards the end,
The Beatles began to grow apart. John married Yoko Ono and this caused the other members
of the band to question him. Paul, George, Ringo, and basically most everyone thought
that Yoko Ono was crazy and bringing the band down. One day John Lennon received a letter
that read, "To John and Yoko". He thought it was simply fan mail but when he read, it
trashed him and his wife so bad he began to cry. He went to Paul McCartney sobbing and
asked him what kind of a person would write something like this. Paul simply said, "Me".
He had written the letter. This was basically the end of The Beatles: the end of an era.
(The Beatles. 1996)
Of all the Beatles, three are still alive, Harrison, Starr and McCartney. A psychotic
would tragically shoot John Lennon about ten years after the band broke up and would die.
They have all done work after The Beatles and Lennon's "Image" is probably the best
known. Paul McCartney has done lots of work and to this day is still producing albums.
(The Beatles. 1993)
These bands are so great because they are not only the best of their time, but of all
time. They have withstood the test of time and have always come out on top. If there are
any doubts to why these three bands are the best bands, look at some of the many,
"Century's Greatest Musicians" lists and see where they stand. These bands come out on
top. Some people think these bands and their music is dead. Those people are wrong. Jimi
Hendrix, The Doors, and The Beatles legacy live on in music forever. 
Bibliography
1. Redding, Noel, and Carol Appleby. Are you Experienced?: The Inside Story of the Jimi
Hendrix Experience. Da Capo, 1996
2. Black, Johnny. The Final Days of Jimi Hendrix. Omnibus, 1997
3. Moriarty, Frank, and Noel Redding. Bold As Love: The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Metro
Books, 1996
4. Marsch, Michael. Home page. 1 Oct 1998 
www.hendrix-links.de
5. Vickers, Kevin. Home page. 
www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1035/frames.html
6. "Jimi Hendrix" Microsoft Encarta Online. Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com 1997-2000
7. Home page. www.thedoors.com
8. Artist Direct network. www.imusic.com/showcase/rock/doors.html
9. Sugarman, Danny, and Ben Edmonds. The Doors: The Illustrated History. William Morrow &
Co., 1983
10. Manzarek, Ray. Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors.
Berkley Publishing, 2000
11. Celsi, Theresa. The Beatles. 
Andrews McMeel, 1993
12. Davies, Hunter. The Beatles.
WW Norton & Co., 1996
13. Lentz, Guilherme. Home page. 1 July 1998
www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/studio/1852
14. Home page. 20 March 2000
www.geocities.com/clevebeat/homepage.html