The rock songs of the 1960s are almost like their own genre. With a distinct sound that is still appreciated decades later, these are three of the best songs that came out in the middle of the decade, in 1965. They are so good that almost every 60s kid can sing them by heart today.
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones
Few songs by The Rolling Stones are as memorable as “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. A No. 1 single, the band’s Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the writers of the iconic tune.
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“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is on The Rolling Stones’ Out Of Our Heads record. The infectious chorus says, “I can’t get no satisfaction / I can’t get no satisfaction / ‘Cause I tried and I tried, and I tried, and I tried / I can’t get no, I can’t get no.”
“Tired Of Waiting For You” by The Kinks
The Kinks’ second No. 1 single, “Tired Of Waiting For You” appears on their sophomore Kinda Kinks record. Lead singer Ray Davies is the sole writer of the song.
“Tired Of Waiting For You” says, “It’s your life / And you can do what you want / Do what you like / But please don’t keep-a me waiting / Please don’t keep me waiting / ‘Cause I’m so tired, tired of waiting / Tired of waiting for you / So tired, tired of waiting / Tired of waiting for you.“
After “Tired Of Waiting For You”, everything changed for The Kinks, for the better.
“It was a change of style for us,” Davies says. “We got a bit posher! Our material started to get a bit more melodic after that.”
“Help!” by The Beatles
The Beatles were a mainstay on the charts in the 1960s, including with “Help!”, the title track of their fifth studio album. Paul McCartney and John Lennon are the writers of the song. “Help!” also became the title of a 1965 movie, starring The Beatles.
“Help!” says, “Help me if you can, I’m feeling down / And I do appreciate you being ’round / Help me get my feet back on the ground / Won’t you please, please help me?”
Although it may seem like a feel-good song, the meaning behind it was very true to life for Lennon.
“I was actually crying out for help,’ he says. “Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n roll song. I didn’t realize it at the time. I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. … The Beatles thing had just gone beyond comprehension. We were smoking marijuana for breakfast. We were well into marijuana, and nobody could communicate with us because we were just all glazed eyes, giggling all the time. In our own world. That was the song, ‘Help.’”
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