3 1960s Rock Songs That Made the 1950s Sound Naive Overnight

The 1950s saw rock enter the mainstream. Though many, predominantly black, artists had been laying the groundwork for years prior, many people mark Elvis Presley’s debut as the birth of the genre as an entity. The rest of the decade saw many others follow in The King’s footsteps, putting their own spin on this bluesy new genre. The ’60s, however, saw rock lose its comparative innocence. Though ’50s rock was certainly provocative for its time, it held little comparison to the social commentary-fueled, seductive songs of the following decade. Below, revisit three ’60s rock songs that made the ’50s material sound completely naive, nearly overnight.

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[RELATED: On This Day in 1955, Johnny Cash Released This Iconic Song With Inaccuracies He Would Later Explain With Four Simple Words]

“Like a Rolling Stone” (Bob Dylan)

Coinciding with Bob Dylan’s “gone-electric” hubbub, “Like a Rolling Stone” saw The Bard take on a new flavor. He swapped his acoustic yearnings of love and life for full-blown rock anthems. This song led the way in this new Dylan venture.

Dylan was revolutionary in many ways as a songwriter, and he certainly had a profound effect on rock. His prosaic songwriting held little resemblance to the simple, ear-candy rock of the ’50s. Dylan proved that rock could be a vessel for stronger sentiments than the greaser crowd gave it credit for.

“You Really Got Me” (The Kinks)

While ’50s rock was swingable and smooth, the ’60s saw a grittier sound in the genre. Take The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” for example. Though the lyrics are just as simple as a ’50s rock hit, the musicality of this song is caustic. The band is closing in on the listener, delivering punchy, near-threatening verses about romantic devotion. This song is seductive, and it makes no apologies for it.

This track is a good illustration of how rock developed from its ’50s origins to its ’60s evolutions. Because it maintains some aspects of the decade prior, this ’60s rock hit makes plain how the genre got darker and less proper.

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones)

American artists dominated the ’50s rock scene. Their appeal eventually reached England, leading many musicians across the pond to try their hand at the burgeoning genre. The result was a mixture of American blues pastiche and a unique English mark on rock.

Many bands contributed to the so-called “British Invasion,” including The Rolling Stones. Their 1965 hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” was a clear departure from American rock in the ’50s. It had the titular “Invasion” sound that set these artists apart from their predecessors.

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