INTRODUCTION

"Girl groups" became important in the early 1960s, many featuring three women singing in harmony. The Shirelles launched the girl group era with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" which manages to get sex back into songs under the veil of innocence.

Chubby Checker revolutionized dancing in the early 1960s with a dance called "The Twist." In California, the Beach Boys made surfing a fad with their songs about teenage surfers. The surf music craze, begun by instrumentalists in the previous few years, adds vocals when the Beach Boys score their first hit "Surfin' Safari".

A record company called Motown, located in Detroit, Michigan, began producing hit records by African American groups and solo artists. Merging gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll, Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and his team of songwriters created the bands that had some of the biggest hits of the decade: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.

Other great rock groups were formed in the 1960s, too, including the Who, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead.

There was a variety of music styles: soul, blues, folk, psychedelic rock, surf rock, progressive rock. Some of those genres represented an important part of the Civil Rights Movement, as artists used music to convey messages.

The music was an attempt to reflect upon the events of the time --- civil rights, the growing unrest over the war in Vietnam, and the rise of feminism. The most prominent artists to emerge from the folk tradition include Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and the trio known as Peter, Paul, and Mary.

The Summer Of Love kicks off with the first rock festival at Monterey, California. Two rock concerts mark the end of the decade: the music festival Woodstock and a concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.

In this courseware, we decided to dive in the variety of music styles, present several significant artists and tell the story of the biggest festivals of the time. Enjoy the photos and the sounds of the Sixties!