Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 90s, 00s
Success is a matter of luck as well as talent. Given different circumstances, Henske could have certainly been a much bigger star than she was. Instead she's a hazily remembered figure, known if at all for some recordings that faintly prefigured folk-rock, and tangential associations with more famous performers. Her strong, bold, and versatile... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
Spanky & Our Gang is one of those odd groups that, despite having had a string of Top 40 chart hits in a two-year period from 1967 through 1969, somehow falls between the cracks of 1960s pop music history. Their hits, particularly "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," "Lazy Day," "Like to Get to Know You," and "Give a Damn," were as much a part of... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
The Association was one of the more underrated groups to come out of the mid- to late '60s. Creators of an enviable string of hits from 1966 through 1969, they got caught in a shift in popular culture and the unwritten criteria for significance in that field and never recovered. The group's smooth harmonies and pop-oriented sound (which... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
Although they only attained the huge success of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys for a short time in the mid-'60s, time has judged the Byrds to be nearly as influential as those groups in the long run. They were not solely responsible for devising folk-rock, but they were certainly more responsible than any other single act (Dylan... [+] Read More
Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
In the history of popular music, there are a relative handful of performers who have redefined the content of the music at critical points in history: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin -- people whose music left the landscape, and definition of popular music, altered completely. The... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s
The leading California-based vocal group of the '60s, the Mamas & the Papas epitomized the ethos of the mid- to late-'60s pop culture: live free, play free, and love free. Their music, built around radiant harmonies and a solid electric folk foundation, was gorgeous on its own terms, but a major part of its appeal lay in the easygoing southern... [+] Read More
Genre: Folk
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
When the definitive popular history of post-World War II folk music is written, the chances are excellent that the Kingston Trio will be mentioned prominently along with Peter, Paul & Mary and that the the Brothers Four and the Highwaymen will also rate mentions. Less clear will be the fate of the New Christy Minstrels. The group received... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 90s
Although it's difficult for those who weren't there to believe, for a short time during late 1965 and early 1966, the popularity of this singing quartet from Australia was sufficient to rival the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Seekers were at the head of the British Invasion's acoustic folk-rock division, right there with Peter & Gordon and... [+] Read More