1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music Kindle Edition

At first I chuckled at the author's name, Andrew Jackson c'mon, and I laughed out loud at his youthful appearance. After the initial start, I plowed into the text. The narrative and the layout is not rocket science. It is a straight forward and chronological approach to the phenomenological and developmental approach of popular music in the year 1965. The thesis is hammered home intentionally and expertly. "The year was the most pivotal and decidedly important single year for our culture and our future musical taste ever witnessed before or since."Jackson does this very deftly. His attributions and citations are documentations from other narrative sources, but there are sources, and they are disputable at times, but the narrative examples are quantified and qualified. I loved how the book flowed from season to season. There are the important cultural and political elements of the year, to be sure. The year was a hallmark on its own, but Jackson's additional point of Rock Music's most important time is made well.One is quick to look at the present scene and wonder if and how there will ever be as strong of a presence with music as the music was in 1965. I kept thinking that throughout the book. If you can recall song titles and lyrics, as well as the artists, of this year you will truly enjoy it. There are so many little facts the Jackson's presents. How did "The Sound (s) of Silence" come into its more popular form? How instrumental was Tom Wilson? How many songs did The Wrecking Crew actually work on? Tons of trivial bits for the music aficionado .

It's a fine book overall, and the coverage of the songs, lyrics and the recording sessions is the strength of the book. I did not personally need to read all the social commentary. It may be OK for some. I was actually there close to that era (arrived in the US 1966), and even for me, the lists of songs and TV shows in the first chapter got a little boring. But the book gets better.We experienced a huge change of music between 1960 (songs about Rubber Balls etc.) and 1963 and 1964 when the UK bands took over. Before that, songs barely even mentioned holding hands, they were of the Beach Boys tame cheap thrills kind. This book chronicles the continued changes after that. Perhaps we all took them a little seriously at one point, but it was still better than the meaningless songs of 1960. We had some ideas, all explained in the book, but we also became a big market, the teens of 1965 and later.For the Beatles fan, there is nothing much new here. Help, Rubber Soul and the singles of 65 are the highlights. The book does, however, highlight the bands they borrowed from and interacted with, such as Dylan and The Byrds,

a real page-turner; couldn't put it down and shed some new light on a very interesting time in music history

The three & two-star reviews make a lot of good points. There is not much new here, and the author tends to digress somewhat at times. Also, there is something of a lack of attention to detail/depth in places, such as:(1) The failure to note that Hedgehoppers Anonymous is effectively Jonathan King [pg.131], or(2) that Groovy Kind of Love is a Bayer/Wine composition (read up on the Brill Bldg. etc. to see the significance of those two) [pg 136], and(3) that there is no mention of the HIT versions of Younger Girl (which were NOT done by the Lovin' Spoonful, but by the Hondells & the Critters) [pg. 136], plus(4) the author talks about Stevie Wonder's having gotten his start at Motown (Tamla, actually), which implies that Wonder did not stay with Motown/Tamla [Pg 141]Nonetheless, this book is a pretty interesting, light read, and the author pulls together previous books in a nice overview. Hopefully, it will lead people to more in depth histories, such as books & videos about the Wrecking Crew or Funk Brothers.

I enjoyed reading this book, it covers two of my favorite subjects- music and history.The book is formatted by chronology. The author covers what songs were at the top of the charts, who recorded, and who wrote them along with a lot of trivia-type information. It's very interesting.He also details how genres of music were changing and music in general was evolving.Equally informative was how America was changing that year. From civil unrest- to fashion trends- politics and the civil rights legislation and social safety net programs for the poor. This correlates with the music of the year.The book was polished (no typos) and it was both entertaining and informative.

This book was recommended to me by a former record company executive and it didn't disappoint. The basic thesis is that 1965 was the most revolutionary year in music - ever. The author makes a good case and I can agree with a lot of it. However, still being stuck in the 1960's myself, I would argue that the THREE year span of 1965 - 1967 was the greatest span of music in history. 1965 certainly was incredible, but there was more to come including the Beatles' Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band along with debut LPs from Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Mobey Grape, Janis Joplin, more great Dylan such as Blond on Blond and so forth. The Three year span of 1965-67 would have been more appropriate IMHO.JH

This was a fun read! I was 14 in '65 and kept my ear glued to the radio for new music. We learned slowly because there was no internet. Only fanzines, TV and radio. It was an incredible year for music, back when artists of every genre could be heard on WITH and WCAO in Baltimore. Sadly now, every sub-group of music has its own station and all the songs are pre-programmed by people who want to sell product instead of looking for new and interesting sounds. Kids should read this as well as their grandparents. Lot of memories are associated with music and this book brought back faces of friends and parties and dances that were buried deep in the file under 9th & 10th grade "cool days".Hint: This would make a great surprise Xmas present!

This is a good overview of music, with a backdrop of cultural and political history, based mostly in the United States. Of course, in 1965, America was still reeling from the impact of the British Invasion and, by 1965, a host of other groups had followed the Beatles across the Atlantic. Some, it has to be said, were more successful than others – the Kinks suffering a disastrous US tour – while others would have huge hits but soon fade from the charts; think Freddie and the Dreamers or Gerry and the Pacemakers. What is clear is that the success of the Beatles changed popular music in the States, with many suffering from the British domination of the charts deciding to fight back and others being inspired to change things a little.The author uses the seasons to take the reader through a changing year – from the Brill Building to Folk Rock, from Civil Rights to LSD, Vietnam to the Pill and long hair, Andy Warhol, Motown, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Who Timothy Leary and more. At times, the detours into social and cultural events can seem to detract from the music, but gradually you learn that part of what was important about 1965 – what allowed the music to flourish - was the impact of so much social change without too much of a backlash. Yes, there were complaints about the length of boys hair and Bob Dylan was vilified for going electric, but drugs were still not widely on the radar and parents seemed largely unaware that music was changing and the lyrics no longer about young love and holding hands, but moving into more social themes with songs such as “Eve of Destruction,” topping the charts.Of course, the main reason that 1965 is seem as such a memorable year musically, is because of the music made that year. These are records, and songs, that sound fresh enough to have been recorded this year, rather than fifty years ago – “Satisfaction,” “Yesterday,” “Get Off my Cloud,” “Sounds of Silence,” “My Generation,” and “Mr Tambourine Man,” are just a few of the classics recorded in 1965. Amongst the wonderful musicians recording in that year, there was a lot of influencing each other – and revelling in meeting up and exchanging ideas. It is also interesting to see what the protocol was – while Dylan went to the Beatles, the Beatles went to Elvis… Overall, this is an interesting look at music in 1965 and the various influences involved – from Folk-Rock to LSD – during the year. Although a lot of English groups feature, though,, this is very much music seen from the perspective of the US. An enjoyable overview of a momentous musical year.

That year was a somewhat respite from the Cuban Crisis and JFK murder and the tragedies to come ..so it was a time for basking in the steady flow of new music that seemed to pop up daily...poolside, blankets, ice cream, cokes, the portable radio ...so wonderful ...and this book is so reflective of that date and a darn juicy read to boot ! A great companion BTW to Robbie Roberstson's bio...

The author of this book has done his research andprovides unique insights and weaves together a compelling mix of music, politics , and societal changes .I would recommend it to any student of the 60's music scene.

Too many words not enough pictures , I like my 1967 book better...

excellent history of the era that I grew up in. Plenty of interesting bits of information about the music and the performers. A great read, one which I recommend to everyone interested in the history of rock and roll.