- 6 months ago
Time to dust off those vinyl records! Join us as we count down the most underrated musical pioneers of the 1960s who deserve way more recognition. From psychedelic masterminds to baroque pop innovators, these are the bands that shaped rock history from the sidelines. Which of these forgotten legends still rocks your world?
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00:00Tell me my name and I'm going to be the same.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 1960s bands whose records you need to dust off ASAP.
00:13But it's too late to say you're sorry, a word I know, why should I care?
00:20Number 10. The Moody Blues.
00:32While their name might suggest melancholy, the Moody Blues were anything but one note.
00:37Breaking out in the late 60s, they fused rock with sweeping orchestral arrangements, becoming trailblazers of the genre that would later be dubbed progressive rock.
00:50Their landmark 1967 album, Days of Future Past, didn't just give us the immortal Nights in White Satin.
00:57It showed how rock could be cinematic, layered, and ambitious without losing its soul.
01:10Unlike many of their peers, the Moody Blues were not chasing trends.
01:13They were setting them, blending classical instrumentation with psychedelic textures before prog became a movement.
01:19Too often overshadowed by flashier acts of the era, they quietly reshaped what rock music could aspire to be.
01:34Number 9. The Box Tops.
01:35If you know them at all, it's probably for the two-minute blast of blue-eyed soul that is The Letter.
01:47Fronted by a teenage Alex Chilton, whose gritty, world-weary voice sounded decades older,
01:51the Memphis group churned out a string of soulful rock hits in the late 60s, blending pop hooks with stack-style grit.
01:57When she wrote me a letter said she couldn't live without me no more.
02:03Tracks like Cry Like a Baby and Soul D proved they had staying power,
02:07even if they never garnered the long-term recognition of their peers.
02:10When I take a bottle of good love you gave me, I cry like a baby.
02:15And Chilton himself would go on to achieve cult status with Power Pop legend's Big Star.
02:20The Box Tops may have been short-lived, but for a moment, they bottled lightning
02:24and left behind songs that still punch way above their weight.
02:28And my love is real for running, so deep.
02:32Number 8. The Left Bank.
02:34You might not recognize their name, but you have almost certainly heard their influence, or their hits.
02:47The Left Bank were originators of what critics eventually dubbed Baroque Pop,
02:51a lush blend of rock, classic instrumentation, and intricate vocal harmonies.
02:55Their 1966 hit Walk Away Renee is The Crown Jewel.
03:07Strings and harpsichord wrapped around a heartbreak ballad sung with aching sincerity.
03:11They followed it up with Pretty Ballerina and She May Call You Up Tonight,
03:14cementing their role as early visionaries of orchestral pop.
03:18I had a date with a pretty ballerina, her hair so brilliant that it hurt my eyes.
03:26Their approach to rock set the foundation for later acts like the Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear.
03:31The Left Bank might not be a household name, but their fingerprints cover the sound of sophisticated pop to come.
03:37But she may call you up tonight, then what could I say that would sound right?
03:46Number 7. The Rascals.
03:54They broke through as the young rascals. By 68, the young was gone, but the muscle stayed.
04:00From the garage-soul jolt of good lovin' to the breezy chart-topper groovin' and the idealism of people got to be free,
04:06they folded Memphis and Motown grit into East Coast rock with an uncanny feel.
04:11Provin' on the Sunday afternoon.
04:17Organ-driven hooks, blue-eyed soul vocals, and a tight rhythm section made them radio-proof,
04:22and they walked the talk on stage, refusing segregated bills at their peak.
04:26They're too often dismissed as oldies wallpaper, but the catalogue undeniably runs deep.
04:31A Beautiful Morning, How Can I Be Sure, and the psych-pop ambition of Once Upon a Dream still shine.
04:37It's a beautiful morning!
04:41Number 6. Prokel Harum.
04:43One song made them immortal, but Prokel Harum were never one-trick ponies.
04:52A Whiter Shade of Pale became a worldwide sensation in 1967,
04:56marrying surreal lyrics with a Bach-inspired organ line that still chills.
05:00Turn the Whiter Shade of Pale.
05:05But the group didn't stop there.
05:07They expanded the very idea of rock with ambitious, classically-influenced albums,
05:11such as 1968's Shine On Brightly and the following year's A Salty Dog.
05:16All hands on deck.
05:19We'll run afloat.
05:22Prokel Harum sketched the blueprints of progressive rock, blending symphonic grandeur with bluesy heft.
05:28While history tends to reduce them to a whiter shade,
05:31Prokel Harum quietly asserted that rock could be as expansive and experimental as any art form,
05:36and still move considerable units.
05:45Number 5. The Animals.
05:47There is a house in New Orleans.
05:52The Animals were far more than a one-hit folk rock curiosity.
05:55Bursting out of Newcastle with Eric Burden's gravelly voice front and center,
05:59they injected raw grit into the British invasion,
06:01leaning heavier on R&B and blues than many of their poppier peers.
06:09Hits like It's My Life, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place,
06:12and Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood gave working-class frustration a soundtrack,
06:16striking a chord on both sides of the Atlantic.
06:23While the Beatles and the Rolling Stones dominated the era's mythology,
06:26the Animals brought an intensity and edge that helped set the stage for harder rock to come.
06:31They may not be name-checked as often,
06:33but their influence still snarls through the decades.
06:36We gotta get out of this place.
06:39If it's the last, we'll be able to.
06:42Number 4. The Yardbirds.
06:44These rockers blazed through the mid-1960s with a fierce mix of R&B, blues, and psychedelia,
06:55pushing the electric guitar to new heights and seemingly its limits.
06:59However, their legacy rests on the musicians who cut their teeth in the Yardbirds ranks.
07:08Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.
07:11Three of the most influential guitarists of all time,
07:14all passing through the same group within a few short years.
07:17While the band itself never quite reached the mythic status of their best-known alumni,
07:29their experimentation with distortion, feedback, and improvisation laid the groundwork for hard rock and heavy metal.
07:34The Yardbirds might just be the best resume builder in rock history.
07:47Number 3. The Hollies.
07:49Number 3. The Hollies.
07:56Known for their airtight vocal harmonies and chiming guitars,
07:59the Hollies quietly cranked out some of the catchiest pop songs of their time.
08:02Bus Stop, Carrie Ann, and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother boast a polish that still shines decades later.
08:08Every morning I will see her waiting at the stop.
08:14Their knack for hooks and harmonies rivaled their more celebrated peers,
08:17and for a while, they were one of the few British invasion acts that could reliably keep pace on the charts.
08:30Oh, and let's not forget, they also launched Graham Nash,
08:33who would go on to even bigger fame with Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
08:36Unlike most of their British invasion peers, the Hollies continued to perform music years,
08:41and we mean years after their contemporaries disbanded.
08:44He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
08:52Number 2. Love.
08:53When I was a boy, I thought I'm five times I'd be a gay man.
08:57Love were every bit as visionary as their LA contemporaries' The Doors,
09:01even if they never cracked the mainstream.
09:04Led by the brilliant but mercurial Arthur Lee,
09:06the band fused folk, garage rock, and psychedelia into something hauntingly unique.
09:17Their 1967 masterpiece Forever Changes is often hailed as one of the greatest albums of the decade,
09:22an orchestral paranoid fever dream that captured both the beauty and the unease of the summer of love.
09:27Internal conflicts and Lee's unpredictable nature kept them from wider fame,
09:37but for those in the know, love wasn't merely another 60s curiosity.
09:41They were the cult heroes who proved that the counterculture had a darker, stranger, and more brilliant edge.
09:47Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
09:56Paul Revere and the Raiders.
10:06Spirit.
10:07The Incredible String Band.
10:12You don't have to worry about any other risk.
10:16Everything is fine right now.
10:19The Trogs.
10:21You make my heart sing.
10:26Vanilla Fudge.
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10:48Number 1.
10:51The Zombies.
10:57They arrived in the British invasion with hits like She's Not There and Tell Her No,
11:01but it was their swan song that sealed their legend.
11:04In 1968, the Zombies released Odyssey and Oracle,
11:07a psychedelic pop masterwork packed with lush harmonies, baroque arrangements, and time of the season.
11:13One of the era's grooviest and most enduring singles.
11:16By then, the band had already split, meaning their masterpiece wasn't properly celebrated until years later,
11:30when critics and crate-diggers hailed it as one of the defining albums of the decade.
11:34It's the time of the season for the free.
11:42While they never grabbed the cultural dominance of their peers,
11:45the Zombies left behind a body of work that rewards rediscovery.
11:49Whoever said there's anything wrong with resurrecting the past?
11:52Her eyes were clear and bright, but she's not there.
11:56Which 1960s band on our list is your favorite?
11:59Are there any hidden gems we missed?
12:01Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
12:03Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
12:16over to our next video.
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