It is thought and said that the 1960s was the decade when pop exploded in all its shapes and forms - the decade when there was an explosion of creativity, social change, and technological advancements.
At the time, particularly the second part of the decade there was an equal explosion of hits, some of which even the later generations remember and listen to today, but there is an almost equal number of those that were successful in some shape or form but seem to have fallen in the shadows, for whatever reason, but still have musical and other significance and need to be revisited both by those listeners that loved them the first time around, as well by those listeners that might not have heard the at all.
Here are 14 such songs from the 1960s that might have been forgotten but still sound great to this day.
14 songs from the 1960s that still sound terrifically great
The Byrds - “I’ll Feel I Whole Lot Better” (1965)
This is where devoted folkies turn their love of the British invasion sound into a great combination of folk into a great, jangling pop-rock song, presenting Gene Clark as one of the best songwriters of his generation. No wonder this B-side turned into a hit of its own and served as one of the inspirational songs for what was later named jangle pop.
The Who - “Substitute” (1966)
With all the hits The Who had early in their career, this one didn’t reach number one (it only got to number five), but it showed how great a songwriter Pete Townshend was turning out to be, and how tight a sound the band was developing, with Entwistle and Moon rhythm section dominating the song.
The Count Five - “Psychotic Reaction” (1966)
The Count Five now count as a somewhat obscure band and might not have invented garage rock themselves, but they helped it to become a distinct rock sub-genre with this, their debut single, with its distinct use of fuzz pedal and incessant driving rhythm.
The Yardbirds - “Happenings Ten Years Ago” (1966)
The Yardbirds albums might have been a patch affairs, but their singles, written and played by a stellar revolving cast of the likes of Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck were usually brilliant, this one being among the stand-outs. Many say this one was a precursor of the best in prog rock.
The Electric Prunes - “I Had Too Much To Dream” (1966)
If you can pinpoint a great psych-pop song, this Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz gem would definitely make the shortlist. The Electric Prunes released this as their second single that made it to number 11 with its great combination of melodic hooks and psych-style guitars and oscillators.
The Beatles - “Rain” (1966)
Is there such a thing as the Beatles' obscure song? Probably not, yet this true psych gem never originally appeared on an album and was only a B-side of equally classic “Paperback Writer.” Still, The Beatles and John Lennon at their psychedelic best nonetheless.
Stone Poneys - “Different Drum” (1967)
At the time Mike Nesmith wrote this song he was still not a member of the Monkees, but when Linda Ronstadt and her Stone Poneys took it in their hands (and particularly Linda’s voice) they turned it into something quite special, even though it was only a modest hit in the US (and nowhere else) at the time.
Procol Harum - “Homburg” (1967)
This follow-up to their “A Whiter Shade of Pale” mega-hit reached number one in a number of countries but only number six in the U.K. and number 34 in the US. Sure it played on the same premises as their big hit, but it was a brilliant song nonetheless, possibly playing a big part in cementing baroque pop as a specific sub-genre.
The Rolling Stones - “We Love You” (1967)
Both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards who wrote this one, don’t like much to look back at the Rolling Stone's psychedelic period, but this song is one of the best they came up with at that time, even though, by their standards it didn’t do so well (number eight in Britain, number 50 in The US). The revolving piano riff can simply get stuck in your head.
Jefferson Airplane - “Coming Back To Me” (1967)
Marty Balin didn’t take as many lead vocals with Jefferson Airplane, and this, the song he wrote, actually never made it as a single as such. Yet, it was a key one on Surrealistic Pillow and actually turned up as a feature song in a number of film soundtracks from 1990 up to 2015. One of the best ballads of the time
Captain Beefheart - “Abba Zaba” (1967)
How do you write a song about your favorite confectionery item and turn it into a great song, performed by one of the most distinctive vocalists in rock? Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, never had much to do with popularity charts, but this one had a modest success at the time nonetheless.
The Monkees - “The Porpoise Song” (1968)
The Monkees might not have been taken seriously at the time, as the band was formed specifically for a teenage TV show. Yet, as the band evolved in seriousness, so did its music, and this Gerry Goffin and Carole King title song for their feature film Head proves it, showing that The Monkees could come up with a great psych-rock song with ease.
James Taylor - “Carolina In My Mind” (1968)
When he was starting out, James Taylor was in the UK recording for the Beatle’s Apple Records, this song becoming his second single. It didn’t do much at the time, but became a Taylor staple, only making indents with the audiences later on.
Mothers of Invention - “Take Your Clothes When You Dance” (1968)
At the time when Frank Zappa was ‘only’ the leader of Mothers of Invention, he wasn’t much of a singles man, nor was he a big fan of the hippie movement, as the song and the album it came from (We’re In It Only For The Money) show. Zappa at his poppiest and ascorbic as ever.