Task 1: Watch the Introductory Video to this Unit (5 minutes)

Task 2: Explore the provided images and attached links for music during the 1960's (35 minutes)

Music was such an influential part of the 1960’s and helped spread the message of a generation.  Music became more than an art form in the 1960’s it became a form of political expression and the voice of a movement.  It embodied the changing ways in which people viewed America and the traditional ways of life. 

• Take some time to listen to the music of the decade and messages they are sharing

  • You may want to look at music on the Hippies page as well (bottom of the page)

• Explore beyond the musical examples provided on this page

• At the end of class you will be asked to share some of what you discovered

  • What are three things you learned as you explored the music of the 1960’s?

  • What is ONE (1) similarity to the music of the previous decade?

  • What is ONE (1) major shift from the  music of the previous decade?

Task 3: Free Explore and Wrap Up Questions (10 minutes)

The ultimate pop phenomenon, they appeared everywhere in the '60s: on TV, movie screens, magazine covers, lunch boxes, dolls, dishes and more. Beatlemania influences hairstyles and clothing, but most of all, the Beatles revolutionized music. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame puts it this way: "They literally stood the world of pop culture on its head, setting the musical agenda for the remainder of the decade."

Beatlemania hits the U.S. on February 9, 1964, when the Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show Forty percent of the country watches and soon after divides into camps of worshipful fans, and critics upset by the boys' long hairstyles and beatnik attitudes. The fans win: on April 4, 1964, the Beatles hold the five top positions on the Billboard pop chart, a feat never achieved before—or since. (https://www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/topics/culture/newsmakers_1.html )

Johnny Cash grew up in a poor farming community and joined the Air Force in 1950. He co-founded a band following his discharge, and within a few years Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two had scored hits with songs like "Walk the Line." Cash's career was nearly derailed in the 1960s by a serious substance-abuse problem, but his marriage to June Carter and acclaimed album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) put him back on track. In later years, Cash joined the country supergroup the Highwaymen and released a series of recordings with producer Rick Rubin. (https://www.biography.com/musician/johnny-cash )

One of the most influential groups of the 60s music era, The Beach Boys were formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. Best known for their tight vocal harmonies, the most famous lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love and their friend Al Jardine.

From the simple surf rock in the early 1960s (“Surfin USA”, “Surfer Girl”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “I Get Around”, “Help Me, Rhonda”) the group’s creativity began to get more ambitious in the mid-1960s that led the band into a more serious musical direction. This culminated in their now-classic album Pet Sounds that yielded the famous songs “Sloop John”, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, “God Only Knows”; the following album Smiley Smile yielded the now-oldies music classic “Good Vibrations”. (https://mentalitch.com/history-of-the-beach-boys/ )

The Beatles are heard everywhere: pocket-sized transistor radios, eight-track stereos in cars, and portable record players. Everyone with a radio can sing along to the thrilling quality of stereo FM broadcasts. Although Elvis works hard to keep up, music is changing for good. The brightest stars are linked to the British Invasion, and the Motown and San Francisco sounds.  (https://www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/topics/culture/index.html )