Specifications and requirements documentation

American Society in the 1960s

Music and American Society

Music and American Society in the 1960s

Music in the 1960s in the United States was much influenced by the emergence of major pop stars, such as Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Woodstock, another important musical influence, took place in Woodstock, New York, when 400,000 people converged on the small town in 1969 to enjoy concerts by the folk artists of the day and to celebrate free love, sharing, non-violence, "psychedelic" drugs such as LSD and the hippie movement. Hippies had a kind of "back to nature," romantic ideology that involved loving, peaceful living in communes, and passive resistance. Their music was "folk" songs, sung by Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Neil Young, Crosby Stills & Nash, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Ravi Shankar each sang their brand of folk and popular music at the 1969 Woodstock, too. In every way, the music of the day reflected the issues and moods of the people living during that important decade (Goodwin 1).

The Vietnam War was highly influential on the youth of this decade, in that thousands of young men were shipped overseas to experience war and its devastating effects, while thousands of others fled to Canada to escape the draft. The folk songs of the day echoed the sentiments of those against war and violence ("Where Have All the Young Men Gone?").

The birth control pill became available, as well as artificial insemination, and abortion was legalized in 1967. "Free sex" was an element influencing music and the arts, as the stage production of "Hair" demonstrated. Getting an education was the privilege and passion of many, as 850,000 "war babies" entered college. These young people listened to Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones and lots of Motown. Motown fed the more conservative taste, compared to hippie music. Called "soul music," it included songs by Ray Charles, Chubby Checker, Diana Ross, the Supremes and the Temptations. The "Twist" was the most popular dance for those young people in mini skirts or beatnik pants with bouffant hairdos or Afros (Goodwin 1).