Defining a Decade
Through Music
The Early 1960’s
ODE Benchmarks/Standards
A. Verify meanings of words by the author’s use of definition,
restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect.
Recognize and identify how authors clarify meanings of words
through context and use definition, restatement, example,
comparison, contrast and cause and effect to advance word study.
B. Distinguish the relationship of word meanings between pairs of
words encountered in analogical statements.
Analyze the relationships of pairs of words in analogical statements
(e.g., synonyms and antonyms, connotation and denotation) and
evaluate the effectiveness of analogous
C. Explain the influence of the English language on world literature,
communications and popular culture.
Examine and explain the influence of the English language on world
literature, communications and popular culture.
(NETS•S)
1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct
knowledge, and develop innovative products and
processes using technology. Students:
a.
apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
b.
create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
c.
use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.
2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively,
including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of
others. Students:
a.
interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b.
communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c.
contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a.
plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b.
locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c.
evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d.
process data and report results.
(NETS•S) cont.
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using
appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
a.
identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b.
plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c.
collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
5. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
Students:
a.
advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b.
exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c.
demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
d.
exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.
6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.
Students:
a.
understand and use technology systems.
b.
select and use applications effectively and productively.
c.
troubleshoot systems and applications.
d.
transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Objectives
(ten 40/50 min. class periods)
The students will be able to:

Gain an understanding of the controversial and complex nature of the
era.

Identify social and political attitudes and beliefs of the time period.

Analyze both the content of the songs and the stance of the poet.

Identify and interpret literary devices such as metaphors, similes,
symbols, connotative and denotative language, antithesis, irony, point of
view, and theme.

Listen critically for the mood, tempo, and tone of the music.
Continuous Unit Assignment
“American Pie” by Don McLean contains 30
allusions to some of the events and figures from
the late 1950’s to 1972.
You are expected to identify those allusions
by the end of the unit.
Allusion: An indirect reference to some piece of
knowledge not actually mentioned
Genres of Early 1960’s Pop Music
DooWop and Girl Groups
 Most did not write their own songs.
 Relied on handlers to manage their careers.
R&B and Soul
 Many talented artists did not receive the popularity of lesser talented white
groups due to racial prejudice.
 Original artists rediscovered later in the decade as their recognition from British
groups and civil rights progressed.
California
 Instrumental surf music helped define modern guitar solos.
 The sound inspired later artists like Prince, Lindsey Buckingham, and Jimmy Jam
and Terry Lewis
Motown
 Record label founded by Berry Gordy Jr. and he controlled everything from the
music performed by to the appearance of his contracted groups.
 Slogan: “The Sound of Young America”
 Nickname: “Hitsville USA”
1960
•
Politics/Events/Trends
The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is
founded.
•
The Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is
founded.
•
The sit-ins spread to 15 cities in 5 states.
•
May 6 – President Eisenhower signs the Civil
Rights Act of 1960.
•
At Harvard University, Timothy Leary and Richard
Alpert begin experimenting with psychedelic drugs.
•
John F. Kennedy elected President of the United
States
•
FDA approves birth control pills for sale in United
States.
•
Music
The attempted mainstream watering down of
rock continues with the birth of dance records,
specifically the twist which has adults taking
part as well as kids and becomes the most
widespread dance craze since the Charleston
ruled the 20's.
•
Motown Records makes its first splash with
"Shop Around" a #1 R&B hit by The Miracles.
•
The Ventures hit instrumental "Walk - Don't
Run" leads to the creation of surf-rock which
brings the electric guitar back into prominence.
•
Roy Orbison has his first major hit with “Only
The Lonely” and helps to alter rock songwriting
of the 60’s to focus on more introspective
issues.
•
The Shirelles launch the girl group era with "Will
You Still Love Me Tomorrow" which manages
to get sex back into songs under the veil of
1961
Politics/Events/Trends
Music
•
Rock's second era begins in earnest with the debut
of Del Shannon's "Runaway" which is the first pure
unadorned and up-tempo rocker to hit #1 on the
Pop Charts in almost a year. The song also
introduces the "musitron", an early form of the
synthesizer.
•
President Kennedy initiates 17 billion dollar
nuclear missile program, increases military
aid to Indochina and announces the creation
of the Peace Corps.
•
The Unites States invades Cuba at the Bay
of Pigs and the mission is a failure.
•
The Marvelettes "Please Mr. Postman" becomes
the first #1 Pop hit released on a black owned and
operated label - Motown.
•
Yuri Gagarin of the USSR becomes the first
man in space.
•
•
East German border guards begin
construction of Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall
physically separated Communist East
Germany and Democratic West Germany.
A widespread revival of the mid-50’s vocal group
sound results in the re-appearance on the charts
and airwaves of dozens of songs from 1954-1957
and the brief resurgence of similarly styled newer
groups.
•
"Frat Rock" begins to show up with Gary "US"
Bonds hit "Quarter To Three" with its emphasis on a
frenzied atmosphere rather than on intricate
production.
•
Soul music starts gaining a foothold with hits by
Sam Cooke, James Brown, Solomon Burke and
former Drifters lead singer Ben E. King, who's
"Stand By Me" is a #1 R&B record.
•
Elvis Presley gives his last live performance for
eight years.
•
•
the United States starts underground
nuclear testing
President Kennedy advises Americans to
build fallout shelters.
1962
Politics/Events/Trends
•
•
•
•
•
Music
Southern soul has its first major hit with the
instrumental "Green Onions" by Booker T. & The
MG's.
Boston SANE & fledgling SDS hold first antinuclear march on Washington with 40008000 protesters
•
Ray Charles successfully melds country music with
soul and crosses into the pop realm with the album
"Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music".
The Supreme Court, in the case of Engel v.
Viatle, rules against prayer in public schools.
•
The surf music craze, begun by instrumentalists in
the previous few years, adds vocals when the
Beach Boys score their first hit "Surfin' Safari".
•
The pacific-northwest becomes a hotbed for
"garage bands" such as The Sonics, The Kingsmen
and The Wailers which signals a more rebellious
youthful aesthetic coming back to rock.
•
British pop group the Beatles attain their first
number one of the British charts with “Love Me Do”.
hits in the waning months of the year.
•
50's legends Fats Domino, Clyde McPhatter, The
Everly Brothers, LaVern Baker and Bo Diddley
score their final major hits after a decade in the
spotlight.
•
Marking drastic change from only a few years back
female artists account for nearly half of all Number
One R&B hits in the calendar year.
•
Folk singer Bob Dylan releases his first album
John Glenn becomes the first American to
orbit the earth. Sept - Timothy Leary founds
International Foundation for Internal
Freedom (IFIF) to promote LSD research as
well as publish The Psychedelic Review.
Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviets establish
missile bases in Cuba, Kennedy orders a
naval blockade to divert any missiles from
arriving in Cuba.
1963
Politics/Events/Trends
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alabama Governor Wallace's "Segregation Forever"
speech is given at his inauguration.
The U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign a treaty banning any
atmospheric nuclear tests.
The Battle of Ap Bac in South Vietnam
SCLC and volunteers stage sit-ins and mass
protests in Birmingham, Alabama.
Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy are
arrested and go to jail in Birmingham during the
protests, King then writes his Letter from a
Birmingham Jail.
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique is
published.
President Kennedy proposes the Civil Rights Bill.
The March for Jobs and Freedom or more
commonly known as the March on Washington
attracts over 200,000 people to Washington, D.C.
With the people concentrated around the Lincoln
Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. gives his I Have a
Dream speech.
Four Black girls are murdered attending Sunday
school in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas
President Johnson escalates American's military
involvement in the Vietnam War.
•
Music
Newport Folk Festival, includes popular folk singers
Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs and Pete Seeger.
•
The Beatles release "I Want to Hold Your Hand,"
which becomes a huge hit and a success in
America.
•
Surf-rock lands dozens of guitar led instrumentals
on the charts while the Beach Boys dominate the
airwaves with a string of hit singles and three Top
Ten albums in this year alone.
•
The Girl Group sound explodes as Phil Spector
becomes the dominant producer in rock churning
out hits by the Ronettes, Crystals and Darlene
Love, while others such as Lesley Gore and The
Chiffons top the charts as well.
•
Motown leads a revitalization of R&B with huge
successes by Martha & The Vandellas, The
Miracles, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye and the first hit
by the 12 year genius "Little" Stevie Wonder.
•
Wolfman Jack begins broadcasting via a half million
watt radio station, XERF out of Mexico. The
powerful "border radio" stations are famous for their
wild on-air activities and powerful broadcast signals
that allow them to be heard across the entire North
American continent, making Wolfman Jack, the
most famous rock 'n' roll DJ in the world.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Listen to/Read the lyrics to the following songs.
Evaluate the nature of the pop lyrics and the lack of serious, social
content.
Examine how the songs relate to the prevailing attitudes in America in
the early 1960s.
Were the early 1960s a continuation of the 1950’s? Did “The 1960s”
really begin about 1965?
Listen
“I Want To Hold Your Hand”
“Fun, Fun, Fun”
DONE
Lyrics
“I Want To Hold Your Hand”
“Fun, Fun, Fun”
Examination of the Topic
Q. What is the nature of the pop lyrics and the lack of serious,
social content.
A.
The songs focus on stereotypical teenage angst – holding a
girlfriend’s hand for the first time or sneaking out with the car.
Music during this part of the decade did not focus on introspective
or political topics in the way songs from the latter part of the decade
did.
Q. Were the early 1960s a continuation of the 1950’s? Did “The 1960s”
really begin about 1965?
A.
Prevailing events like the Civil Rights Movement and feminism/gay rights
are associated with the 1960’s. Those movements were either introduced
in the 1950’s or very late in the 1960’s. In addition, even though the songs
of the early 60’s seem innocent, they are a generation’s form of rebellion
against the views of their parents’ 50’s ideals. They are indicators of the
revolutionary years to follow.
Assessment

Write an original song appropriate for early 1960’s airplay.

Consider the attitudes of the times, political influence,
musical influence, and teenage slang when writing your
song.

Identify the early 1960’s genre you’ve chosen for your
song.

Defend the relevancy of your song to early 1960’s America
in a written response. Refer to the influences which
inspired your writing choices. Be specific.
References
Baker, John (1997-2005). “1960’s Slang”. Retrieved from http://cougartown.com/slang.html.
Knap, Joe (2009). “STI Lesson 20 – Slices of American Pie: The 1960s Through Music”. Retrieved from
http://www.rockhall.com/teacher/sti-lesson-20.
Lennon, John and Paul McCartney (1963). “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. Retrieved from http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-want-tohold-your-hand-lyrics-beatles.html.
Goodman, Bonnie K. (2004). “The Sixties: A Journey Through Politics and Culture”. Retrieved from
http://www.ronaldreaganweb.com/thesixties/timeline6063.htm.
Madani, Jack (1998). “Pop and Rock Music in the 60s A Brief History.” Retrieved from
http://www.spectropop.com/hmadanibrief.html.
McClean, Don (1971). “American Pie”. Retrieved from
http://www.lyrics007.com/Don%20McLean%20Lyrics/American%20Pie%20Lyrics.html.
“Rock and Roll Timeline” (2005). Retrieved from http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_timeline-r2.html
Wilson, Brian and Mike Love (1964). “Fun, Fun, Fun”. Retrieved from
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beach+boys/fun,+fun,+fun_20013635.html.