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The Sixties: The Dark Side

This guide covers the decade 1960 - 1970

Overview

For every Luke Skywalker, there is a Darth Vader. For every Woodstock, there was an Altamonte. Every decade has its own basket of bad apples. The Sixties was no different.

Musicians' Early Deaths 1959 - 1975

  • Duane Allman (of The Allman Brothers), 24, 1971
  • The Big Bopper, 28, 1959
  • Patsy Cline, 30, 1963
  • Eddie Cochran, 21, 1960
  • Sam Cooke, 33, 1964
  • Babby Darin, 37, 1973
  • Nick Drake, 26, 1974
  • Mama Cass Elliot (of The Mamas & Papas), 32, 1974
  • Jimi Hendrix, 27, 1970
  • Buddy Holly, 22, 1959
  • Brian Jones (of The Rolling Stones), 27, 1969
  • Janis Joplin, 27, 1970
  • Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (of The Grateful Dead), 27, 1973
  • Jim Morrison (of The Doors), 27, 1971
  • Gram Parsons, 26, 1973
  • Otis Redding, 26, 1967
  • Jim Reeves, 40, 1964
  • Richie Valens, 17, 1959

Teenage Tragedy Songs

In the late fifties and early sixties, a number of songs concerning death charted. For four or five years, this tragedy theme seemed to guarantee a chart success. After 1965, the theme with rare exceptions seemed to be over.

  • Teen Angel, Mark Dinning (1959)
  • Tell Laura I Love Her, Ray Peterson (1960)
  • Ebony Eyes, The Everly Brothers (1961)
  • Leah, Roy Orbison (1962)
  • Patches, Dickey Lee (1962)
  • Deadman's Curve, Jan & Dean (1963)
  • Last Kiss, J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers (1964)
  • Leader of the Pack, The Shangri-Las (1964
  • Ode to Billie Joe, Bobbie Gentry (1967)
  • Honey, Bobby Goldsboro (1968)

Songs found on Spotify.

Some Bad Guys

  • David Berg, cult leader
  • Arthur Bremer, assassin
  • Albert DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler), serial killer
  • Jimmy Hoffa, labor leader
  • Charles Manson, cult leader
  • "Murf the Surf" Murphy, jewel thief and murderer
  • Lee Harvey Oswald, assassin
  • James Earl Ray, assassin
  • Jack Ruby, assassin
  • Sirhan Sirhan, assassin
  • Richard Speck, serial killer
  • Charles Whitman, serial killer

Assassinations and attempted assassinations

Dark Side Movies

Some 1960s Tragedies

Dark Side Reading

Additional References

  • Farber, D. R., & Bailey, B. L. (2005). The Columbia guide to America in the 1960s. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Rockwell, J. (2014). The times of the sixties the culture, politics and personalities that shaped the decade. New York, NY: Black Dog.
  • Strain, C. B. (2016). Long Sixties: America, 1954-1974. Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
  • Strodder, C., & Phillips, M. (2007). The encyclopedia of sixties cool: A celebration of the grooviest people, events, and artifacts of the 1960s. Santa Monica, CA: Santa Monica Press.