There’s No Doubt That These 3 Rock Songs From 1966 Sound Even Better Today

There are so many great rock songs that came out in 1966 that putting together a very brief list of only three tunes seems almost impossible. However, I’m really fond of the following three legendary hits from that year, and I think they sound even better today. Even if you weren’t around to hear them when they debuted. Let’s dive in!

Videos by American Songwriter

“Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles

No list of amazing rock songs from 1966 would be complete without at least one tune from the Fab Four. I went with one of my all-time favorite Beatles tunes, the 1966 baroque pop effort “Eleanor Rigby”. This song was released as the B-side to “Yellow Submarine”, but I personally think the B-side is a superior song. 

“Eleanor Rigby” is a haunting, gorgeous arrangement that is the subject of quite a bit of music history debate. Apparently, it is one of the few Beatles tunes that Paul McCartney and John Lennon disputed primary authorship over. Regardless, it’s a tune that has aged very well through the years.

“Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones

Is there a Rolling Stones song out there more legendary than “Paint It Black”? This raga rock tune is really the sum of its parts, complete with excellent songwriting from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, plus improvised melodies from Brian Jones on the sitar. It’s a Rolling Stones song that even non-fans know, and even though the group got some flak from critics for “copying” The Beatles, “Paint It Black” is very uniquely The Rolling Stones. It’s still such a bop today.

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys

Few songs from the 1960s put pep in my step quite like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys. This song has a progressive pop edge and is one of the best songs to come out of the year 1966. And it’s one of the best tracks from the legendary album Pet Sounds. This song really is an anthem of the 1960s, but it has managed to age quite well through the years. Few people can keep themselves from swaying to this super-happy power pop gem, decades after it was first released. Brian Wilson was really on a different wavelength.

Photo by Wesley/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images