1967 vs. 1968: The Year Rock Music Radically Shifted

A lot can change in a year. The massive shift in rock from 1967 to 1968 is proof of that. The genre took a tailspin, seemingly, in just 12 months, moving from psychedelic art pieces to grounded protest anthems with a blues spin. While 1967 was the summer of love, the following year brought everyone right back down to earth. Check out three key songs that represent this stark contrast between pivotal years in rock music below.

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“Sunshine Of Your Love” — Cream (1967)

Starting off with a psychedelic staple, Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love” is a building block of that rock subgenre. From the hypnotizing guitar riff to the heady lyrics, this track was indicative of one of rock’s most creative periods. “It’s getting near dawn / When lights close their tired eyes,” the band sings in the opening line to this era-defining track.

This song takes the listener on a trip. It feels kaleidoscopic, perfectly encapsulating the direction rock music was heading in during the summer of love. Few rock songs released in 1967 had a more lasting impact than this one.

“A Day In The Life” — The Beatles (1967)

The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life” represents a middle ground between psychedelia and the direction rock would fall into in 1968. While it has the confusing, out-of-the-box musicality of the psychedelic era, there is a noticeable darkness that feels like a precursor to the weightier topics of the next year.

“He blew his mind out in a car / He didn’t notice that the lights had changed,” John Lennon sings in his section of this mind-boggling track. This experimental song had all the makings of a psychedelic classic, but it was also an omen for the end of the summer of love.

“Sympathy For The Devil” — The Rolling Stones (1968)

The Rolling Stones played a big part in rock’s transition away from bright, drug-fueled optimism. Their infamous concert at Altamont was the final nail, but their (and many other bands’) musical response to the growing tensions of war and governmental distrust laid the groundwork.

The Stones bottled up their frustration at the darker sides of humanity with “Sympathy For The Devil.” This dark, twisted track was a far cry from the music many rockers were putting out just a year prior. Seldom has a genre had as stark a shift as this one did in 1968, due in part to The Stones.

(Photo by John Minihan/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)