Four underrated songs from the 1960s that deserve more attention

The 1960s were a fantastic decade for music. Rock was becoming a teenager. Recording studios were becoming more sophisticated.

The decade that gave us the Beatles and the Rolling Stones also gave us songs that can get lost in all the other excellence. In the cases below, even some of the other tracks the musical artists performed overshadowed the tunes. In many cases, all the songs were worthy of many listens.

All of the songs below are as vibrant now as they were nearly sixty years ago. They might now sound as "clean" as the latest Taylor Swift track, but that gives them a bit more charm. All will make your day better.

Four underrated songs from the 1960s that are worthy of being heard today

"Carolina In My Mind" - James Taylor

Taylor was the first artist for Apple Records and there was a reason: The guy knew how to write a great song. Over the years, he has not changed much from his folk roots, but he never needed to. There was enough gray in the genre that he could mix in some jazz and rock and keep making what he knew would work.

"Carolina In My Mind" is a song about being homesick. Taylor grew up in North Carolina and his transition to little-known songwriter to expectant star was difficult. But what makes the tune work is that anyone can empathize with what Taylor is feeling. Heck, we all have a "Carolina" we want to get back to.

"Crimson and Clover" - Tommy James and The Shondells

James loved the words crimson and clover so much that he named this song before any other part had been written. There is still no real meaning to the words other than they bring an imagery to mind that cannot exactly be placed. That is part of the charm of the track.

The music might make one feel as if they are sinking into some kind of heavenly oblivion. There is a hint of heaviness that would be brought out further in a cover by Joan Jett. The original tune is strong enough on its own to impress upon further songwriters how to take a simple idea, add some tremolo, and you have a song for the ages.

"Bring It On Home to Me" - Sam Cooke

This song has been respected by other artists, of course, because there are an amazing number of covers of the track. The best is still the original. Cooke wrote the song to help people have a good time and just enjoy life. The secret, though, was adding Lou Rawls as the background vocals.

Cooke had one of the best voices in music - still does - but the back and forth with Rawls keeps the excellence of the music at a higher level than would have otherwise been the case. This is why the covers fail. Cooke and Rawls sound amazing together and there is no way to replicate that.

"Kick Out the James" - MC5

This proto-punk song is not what some might expect from a track with this title. If one is going to jam, they might expect some R&B or some kind of Grateful Dead thing. Instead, MC5 gives us Stooges-type rock that is bombastic, raw, and aggressive. Most of the versions of this song now are the ones that were recorded live and that is perfect for what the song is.

MC5, like the Stooges, are from Detroit, and Hudson's - a retail chain that was popular at the time this song was released in 1969 - refused to sell the album that the song was on because there were bad words. Eventually, the band's label dropped MC5 after the group refused to issue a clean record. Instead, the group signed with another label. That is the epitome of punk.

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