1960s MUSIC MAKERS...MILLION SELLERS
Today, years on, the 1960s is still regarded as the benchmark to which all other decades are compared. Not just in terms of popular music but also in language, style, attitude and the emerging youth culture that each ensuing decade’s ‘new youth’ thinks they invented.
In terms of popular music the decade got off to a very inauspicious start. Many of the ‘hot’ stars of the 1950s were becoming watered-down, sanitised versions of their earlier selves, as icons such as Elvis Presley in the USA and Cliff Richard in Great Britain (both of whom continued to have million-sellers) were being steered away from their rock n’ roll roots towards sugar-sweet family entertainment.
But in 1963 the world of pop suddenly changed. The age of the ‘super-groups’ was born and bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Kinks, to name just a few, led a British musical revolution that swept across the Atlantic to America and had the public on both sides of the big pond clamouring to buy more records than ever before. Although the USA had ruled the roost during the preceding decade by 1964 Britain was the dominant force with UK acts comprising the entire top ten for the first time.
The R&B and Soul scene had always included many talented people who far too often didn't receive the popularity of less-talented white groups because of barriers and prejudices. But in the 1960s there was a notable emergence of black music stars who were championed by the likes of The Beatles, The Who and The Stones who helped introduce them to a new audience. These groups/artistes were able focus their musical talents through quality labels such as Atlantic and Motown.
The mid-to-late 1960s also saw the emergence of the drug influenced pop song as artists such The Beatles and The Beach Boys experimented with substances such as LSD as exemplified by albums such as Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 1967 became known as the 'summer of love' as the youth of the day implored world leaders to give peace a chance. It was definitely the era to ‘tune in’ and ‘drop out’.
Although mono remained the master format for singles, by the late 1960s Stereophonic sound, which was first announced by EMI in the 1950s was becoming ever more popular, as were pre-recorded tapes which was helped by the launch of cassette players in Europe as well as the more bulky, and ultimately destined for extinction, eight-track tapes.
On the pages that follow we'll look at the million selling records and recording artistes from 1960 to 1969. Use the navigation menu on the right side of the page to view each year individually.
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