Progressive Rock And Roll In The 1960's

Music has been a way for artists and listeners to spread their message, values, and beliefs through song. Progressive Rock had more influence on its listeners in American society in the late 1960’s than music prior to this time. Rock and Roll in the 1950’s and early 1960’s was more about the sound of the music and having fun. The emergence of progressive rock changed all of that. Progressive rock was more serious with a message and meaning in its songs and lyrics. The late 1960’s was a difficult and progressive time in American society and progressive rock had a major influence on the values and beliefs of the younger generation. Rock and roll changed because the songs were changing. More artists and bands produced songs out of a studio
because of the success that The Beatles had during the British invasion. More time in studio stations meant longer songs and more albums were being produced than rock and roll singles in the 1950’s. With more time in recording studios, rock and roll artists focused more on their sound and lyrics. During the 1960’s America had a lot of things going on, such as the Vietnam War, civil rights issues, and the JFK assassination. The events going on in American society influenced rock and roll artists to sing and perform their songs about the issues that America was facing. So progressive rock was born. In the late 1960’s half of the American population was under thirty years old and during the late 1950’s they were teenagers listening to rock and roll that the older generation were against.
Now many young people were in their 20’s and were aware of the problems and issues in American society. The demographics of the progressive rock movement were now black and white males and females in their 20’s and early 30’s . In 1964 the official start of the Vietnam War and the draft system in the United States split the country in two. Many were upset with 18 year olds going to war, but not being able to vote in an election. Barry Mcguire song Eve Of Destructions message was about the soldiers under 21 who have the right to kill and defend the United States but were not allowed to
vote. In Feburary of 1965 Malcom X was assassinated during a time when he had much support from many African American’s who changed their religious beliefs from Christianity to Islam. In 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. held many marches to stop the violence of blacks and whites, as well as influencing Lydon B. Johnson to amend the voting right act to allow for people that can not read to be able to vote. Progressive rock became more serious because of these following reasons. American society was dealing with this and progressive rock songs became about the issues in the United States. “[A]uthenticity in prog[ressive] [rock] is earned by the display of mastery over the materials and in lofty intellectual ambitions projected through formal manipulation and deep, cosmic lyrics” (Brackett, 335). This quote from the author summarizes what the great progressive rock artists and bands mastered great sound and lyrics with a great performance. Artists like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix are considered to be two of the best artists of all time as well as two of the greatest progressive rock artists of this time and they mastered the art of performing with amazing talent and spreading a message and meaning behind all of their songs that influenced many of their listeners. Janis Joplin was unlike most female singers “she did not sing them so much as struggle with them, assault them”, she had the passion and emotion that most progressive rock fans loved (DeCurtis, 385). Technology was changing in music for the better. Better musical sound and the best live performances, so it only made since that progressive rock artist were able to spread their message more than any artist before the progressive rock era. In the late 1960’s the majority of the baby Boomer generation was upset with what was going on in America. All of the racial tension down south and the Vietnam War, which was seen as an unwinnable war, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy who most Americans liked, played a tole on the American people and the baby Boomer generation wanted a change. Progressive rock was the first format where a large amount of people with the same beliefs could enjoy and spread the message of peace, love, and not war and hate. Progressive rock changed the way music was heard and performed forever.
Songs had a political and societal meaning behind them, then songs in the past. The messages of progressive rock songs in the late 1960’s were important in making change in the American culture. Spreading messages of equal rights, love not war, and enjoying yourself through music, are not bad messages to sing about. America still faces issues like this today, but progressive rock helped start the conversation of change in America and lead to much more active change than ever before seen. Without progressive rock many of the issues and problems of the late 1960’s would have been delayed. Putting a meaning behind a song is the best way to express how you think and feel and progressive rock did just that in the late 1960’s. Freedom of expression through music lead to people living their lives with these values. Hippies in the late 60’s and 70’s were very influential in making changes in American culture and living a free and creative lifestyle. Hippies fought for what was wrong with American society. Hippies stood for many things like women’s rights, civil rights, and gay rights. Hippies were most prevalant during the 1960’s and 1970’s during major social changes in
America. Hippies were a subculture in America that started out as a youth movement. Hippies originated in California in the mid 1960’s and had a carefree, peace and love attitude. Many hippies enjoyed music and drugs which started the influence of a rock festival and hippies made up the majority of people in the audience. The influence they help start “the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967 inaugurated a new era in which rock festival spanned several days” (Brackett, 264).
Rock festivals like this, which had over 100,000 hippies in attendance, was a platform for hippies and the younger generation to spread their message of peace and love for all, through song and through festivals. Scott Mckenzie sang and performed his song San Fransico at the Monterey Festival “If You’re going to San Fransico be sure to wear flowers in your hair”. This song was an anthem for hippies and the youth movement. This song speaks to Hippies the younger generation with a new view for a changing America. Most musicians at rock festivals were hippies themselves and that is why their messages in their songs translated well to hippies in the audience and the hippies supported the musicians and their music. In the United States civil rights issues lead much racism down south and hippies who originated in California and spread to the rest of the states were against racism. The Vietnam was highly protested by a lot of Americans and hippies were the majority of Americans who protested with their message of peace not war. In the summer of 1967 blacks and hippies took to the street to protest in cities like Chicago, New York, and Sanfransico (Brackett, 264). Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and other progressive rock musicians had messages in their songs about the issues faced about the Vietnam war. Buffalo Springfield 1966 song, For What It’s Worth talked about the protests in America for whatever reason that it could be from, the Vietnam War or protest from corporate America. With the draft in the United States the government was calling for young men to serve in the military and a lot of young people were against the Vietnam war whether they were hippies or not. The influence of hippies lead to many Americans to try to get out of serving, these people were called draft dodgers. Even though we cannot know for sure exactly how many hippies there were during the 60’s and 70’s we know that the hippie ideal spread from California to the rest of the United States in the following years as well as the United Kingdom. And all of these hippies represented what the younger generation who was fed up with the views of the older generation and their traditions and beliefs. The racism and fighting were what hippies were against. Hippies rebelled against the norms of society and what was considered the views of most of the older generation. The norms that hippies were against was the idea of the American dream that everybody should have the white picket fence and settle down with a family. Hippies rejected the conventional value. Hippies were against the norms of that men and women should be the only ones that should be allowed to marry. Hippies believed in peace and love around the world and respecting the environment. Hippies influenced art with the creative designed and color schemes. They influenced the view of freedom for all and they influenced freedom of self-expression. Hippies influenced the popularity of rock festivals because they are the one’s who promoted them and went to them. Hippies did not have a particular political party, but they could be seen as an environmentalist and libertarians. The Vietnam War lead to many people becoming a hippie because they did not want to go to war and were against the cause. Most hippies wore their hair long and wore colorful coloring and most hippies took drugs like LSD and acid. The psychedelic drugs influenced they way hippies thought and felt these drugs affected their mind and rational. That is why drug use was highly consumed during the progressive rock festivals. The hippie movement in the 60’s and 70’s is like no other movement in America because the idea of peaceful attitude and society was something that was unheard prior to this time. Hippies influenced a lot of people and ideas. They changed the way we look at art with their various styles and color scheme. They advance the role of the music scene with multiple day rock festivals by promoting them and attending them. Hippies played a big role in influencing others to stand up to the United States government and get the idea of equal rights and civil rights out there as well as protecting the environment and changing the way we treat the earth. Hippies carefree attitude changed the music scene and created the conversation of change in American society for the better.