Counterculture In The 1960's

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The Effect of Counterculture in the 1960’s on Music Now
In the 1950’s most Americans were as conforming and almost mass-produced as the Levittown homes that they lived in. Because of their parents’ inability to think on their own, their “perfect” homes formed teens who needed an outlet to rebel whether it be through music, drugs, sex, or partying. This rise of rebellion and rejection of parents’ values gave birth to a culture of hippies, beatniks, and flower children. The counterculture from the 1960’s permeated into today’s society through many ways, especially through one of the most influential, long lasting, and widespread forms of art; music. The early 1900’s was defined by war; both WW1 and 2. Then, the soldiers came home and the most …show more content…
The Grateful Dead were formed in Haight-Ashbury in the 1960’s, and they were mainly used for entertainment at events such as Ken Kesey’s Electric Kool Aid Acid Tests. These tests were very influential in the culture of hippies in California especially Haight-Ashbury. Later on came the “Summer of Love”, which was an idea created from the area of Haight-Asbury in by “…inviting the youth of America to the Haight for the summer. They envisioned a kind of hippie training: the youth would come, get turned on, and return from whence they came with the blueprint for a new culture” (Michael). At this point, The Grateful Dead and bands like them were gaining more and more popularity from events such as these. This proves that the effect of the hippie counterculture greatly affected music in the 1960’s and leading into the 70s.
In the 70’s the many bands who gained popularity continued to grow and grow. They were very influential in the way that they performed, which inspired many other bands to then be created. The 70’s created a further split in music. The soft rock kept appealing to more and more pop audiences, metal was created, and the psychedelic groups were on the rise. The Grateful Dead in particular was very influential in showing bands that they could be having concerts for free to gain more fans. This happened from the
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