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The Sixties: Six Musical Genres

This guide covers the decade 1960 - 1970

Overview: 6 Musical Genres

This page contains selections from six musical genres that continued to have a strong presence in the 1960s:

  • Country
  • Blues
  • Folk
  • Female Pop Vocalists
  • Instrumentals
  • Male Pop Vocalists

Sixties & Early Seventies Country

  • Crazy, Patsy Cline (1961)
  • You Don't Know Me, Ray Charles (1962)
  • Ring of Fire,  Johnny Cash (1963)
  • I've Got a Tiger By the Tail, Buck Owens (1964)
  • King of the Road, Roger Miler (1964)
  • The Race Is On, George Jones (1964)
  • Don' Come Home A' Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind), Loretta Lynn (1966)
  • Does My Ring Hurt Your finger, Charley Pride (1967)
  • Mama Tried, Merle Haggard (1968)
  • Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette (1968)

Songs found on Spotify.

Female Popular Vocalists

  • Little Girl Blue, Nancy Wilson (1962)
  • People, Barbra Streisand (1963)
  • The Girl From Ipanema, Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto & Astrid Gilberto (1964)
  • Wishin' and Hopin', Dusty Springfield (1964)
  • Malaika, Miriam Makeba (1965)
  • Alfie, Dionne Warwick (1966)
  • Bemba Colora, Celia Cruz (1966)
  • Both Sides Now, Judy Collins (1967)
  • Don't Sleep in the Subway, Petula Clark (1967)
  • Say a Little Prayer, Dionne Warwick (1967)
  • The First Time I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack (1969)
  • You're So Vain, Carly Simon (1972)
  • You're No Good, Linda Ronstadt (1975)

Songs found on Spotify.

Sixties & Early Seventies Blues

  • T-Bone Blues, T-Bone Walker (1959)
  • I'm Tore Down, Freddie King (1961)
  • If Trouble Was Money, Albert Collins (1964)
  • Red House, Jimi Hendrix (1966)
  • All Your Love,  Magic Sam (1967)
  • Born Under a Bad Sign, Albert King (1967)
  • Statesboro Blues , Taj Mahal (1967)
  • Ball and Chain, Big Mama Thornton (1968)
  • The Thrill Is Gone , B.B. King (1969)

Songs found on Spotify.

Popular Instrumentals

  • Apache, The Shadows (1960)
  • Stranger on the Shore, Acker Bilk (1961)
  • Alley Cat, Bent Fabric (1962)
  • Green Onions, Booker T. & the MGs (1962)
  • Telstar, The Tornados (1962)
  • A Taste of Honey, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (1965)
  • Classical Gas, Mason Williams (1968)
  • Love Is Blue, Paul Mauriat (1968)
  • Plynth (Water Down the Drain), Jeff Beck (1969)
  • Room 8, Leo Kotke (1971)
  • The Entertainer, Marvin Hamlisch (1973)
  • Tubular Bells, Mike Oldfield (1973)

Songs found on Spotify.

Folk Music

  • Four Strong Winds, Ian & Sylvia (1963)
  • Puff the Magic Dragon, Peter, Paul & Mary (1963)
  • Last Thing on My Mind, Tom Paxton (1964)
  • Today, New Christy Minstrels (1964)
  • Catch the Wind, Donovan (1965)
  • Early Morning Rain, Gordon Lightfoot (1966)
  • Scarborough Fair,  Simon & Garfunkel (1966)
  • There But For Fortune, Phil Ochs (1966)
  • Thirsty Boots, Eric Andersen (1966)
  • Alice's Restaurant, Arlo Guthrie
  • Who Knows Where the Time Goes, Sandy Denny (1969)
  • City of New Orleans, Steve Goodman (1971)
  • Diamonds and Rust, Joan Baez (1974)

Songs found on Spotify.

Male Popular Vocalists

  1. Spanish Harlem, Ben E. King (1960)
  2. Moon River, Andy Williams (1962)
  3. A House is Not a Home, Brook Benton (1964)
  4. It's Not Unusual, Tom Jones (1964)
  5. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers (1964)
  6. Baby, the Rain Must Fall, Glenn Yarbrough (1965)
  7. My Cup Runneth Over, Ed Ames (1966)
  8. Please Please Release Me, Engelbert Hunperdinck (1966)
  9. What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong (1967)
  10. Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell (1968)
  11. I've Gotta Be Me, Sammy Davis Jr. (1968)
  12. The Last Farewell, Roger Whitaker (1971)

Songs found on Spotify.

Additional References

Crampton, L., & Rees, D. (2003). Rock & roll year by year. Dorling Kindersley.
Duncan, D. & Burns, K. (2019). Country music: an illustrated history. Alfred A. Knopf..