3 Classic Rock Songs From the 60s That Define the Genre

There was nothing quite like the 1960s. The decade helped to shape the next several generations of culture, policy, art, politics, and more. The era had style and substance. That’s why when we look back on it today, there are certain things that just sum it up. And perhaps nothing sums up the 60s more than the music it produced.

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And that’s just what we wanted to explore below. We wanted to dive into three classic rock songs from the 1960s that just sum up the era so perfectly. A trio of tracks that simply scream the 60s. Indeed, these are three classic rock songs from the 60s that define the genre.

“All Along The Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix from ‘Electric Ladyland’ (1968)

Perhaps no song sums up the 1960s more than “All Along The Watchtower”. Written by Bob Dylan, it was Jimi Hendrix who made the tune eternal. Just listening to it, you feel hot, almost suffocating. The social upheaval and global conflicts of the age helped to fuel the feeling of this iconic rock offering. Everything swirled in Dylan’s pen and then shortly after in Hendrix’s guitar. Sounds loomed with heft. Just like the decade itself.

“Help!” by The Beatles from ‘Help!’ (1965)

While no song summed up the decade like “All Along the Watchtower”, no band summed up the 60s quite like The Beatles. The Fab Four from Liverpool helped to define what a rock band was. With their quartet of talents and personas, the Beatles became the cream of the crop and have remained so thanks to early hits like “Help!” and later ones like “Hey Jude”. On the former, they fuse early rock sounds with a depth of harmony—it’s a formula that would propel them to eternal greatness.

“Like A Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan from ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (1965)

No singular performer summed up the decade like Bob Dylan. The most influential songwriter of the decade, Dylan showed people that poetry could make for rock music, too. And when he made a dramatic sonic shift, moving from acoustic to electric songs with his tune “Like A Rolling Stone”, Dylan also stood at the center of the most remarkable controversy in 60s music. If it happened in the decade, Dylan was likely part of it.

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