by Philip Joseph
Being the best selling band in the US with 177 million units sold and topping the Billboard magazine's list of all-time most successful artists, you seldom find people around you who haven't listened to the UK based phenomenon, The Beatles. Despite it being decades since their prime, after the release of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and the self titled record The Beatles (1968), people still listen to songs like "Yesterday", " Let It Be" and "A Hard Day's Night" with the same gusto that hovered over love struck teens in the '60s.
With their immense popularity and commercialisation, they often shadowed other artists around then that were equally active in expressing their journey through music. Some of them crafted their lyrics to a higher level and were divine in instrumental display. Below, I'm going to look at some of the artists who I believe should be better know for the music they've created during the initial rock pop era of the '60s and after.
With their immense popularity and commercialisation, they often shadowed other artists around then that were equally active in expressing their journey through music. Some of them crafted their lyrics to a higher level and were divine in instrumental display. Below, I'm going to look at some of the artists who I believe should be better know for the music they've created during the initial rock pop era of the '60s and after.
The Carpenters
The Carpenters was formed in the late '60s by the brother-sister duo Karen and Richard Carpenter and drew a lot of their sound from pre-rock pop. They were known for having a light and clean musical arrangement with impressively crafted melodies which were dissimilar to the rock and heavy pop presence during that period. Karen Carpenter had a voice that inched towards perfection when synced with the layers provided by her brother Richard in each setting. Karen often played drums for songs until demand for her vocals during live performances went overboard. The music they made got them three No.1 singles and five No. 2 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 and some of these singles you should check out are “We’ve Only Just Begun” (1970), “Top Of The World” (1973), “(They Long To Be) Close to You” (1970) and “Sing” (1973).
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye was an American singer-songwriter and musician who was mostly popular among us for singing the OST to the movie 'Stepmom(1998)', "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", with Tammi Terrell. During his younger years he used to be sold on the idea of becoming an R&B performer but switched to Jazz after failing to bring up good work with his troop in the former. Marvins first shot at the chart came with the dance song ,"Hitch Hike" which hit 30 on the Hot 100 and "Pride and Joy" was his first entry into the top ten in 1963. He was a man known mostly for his raspy voice and sweet tenor heard on his single "What's Going On" written about violence and anarchy over the Vietnam War. Marvin Gaye is known as the "Prince Of Soul" and has earned that title.
Simon And Garfunkel
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel formed an American folk-rock duo with Simon being singer-songwriter and Garfunkel taking on singer duties. They're best known for their songs encompassing vocal harmonies and electric guitars with bright acoustics. Their trip to fame came largely with the release of their single "Sounds Of Silence" in 1966 with it reaching No.1 in US charts. Despite being predominantly folk-rock based, they did shift to other outlooks like pop and gospel influenced musical arrangements. Throughout their musical career Simon and Garfunkel have had a series of artistic disagreements which led to their break up in 1970 after their sell out album 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'. You should definitely check out their most popular tracks "Blessed", "Keep The Customer Satisfied" and my personal favourite "I Am A Rock".
The Monkees
The Monkees are a rock band that formed out of an American television series called The Monkees where four kids act like an imaginary band where they want to be The Beatles. The actor-musicians soon became a real band apart from the TV series and started making their own music. Initial period of the band never saw them writing much because of their commitment to the series but saw a rise in popularity with new songs once the show got cancelled in 1968. They made music in a variety of genres from bubblegum to psychedelic pop and their most popular tracks include "Last Train to Clarksville", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", and my favourite "Daydream Believer".
Bread
Bread was a soft-rock outfit from California that came to popularity around the '70s with a number genius tracks with good musical arrangement and vocal output. They had five members who played a gazillion instruments that gave them an upper hand during composition. Though their first single did not reach the charts, their first album self-titled 'Bread' hit 127 on Billboard 200 in 1969. From then on, the group produced albums of top notch loved by the teen and adult community and included songs like "Baby I'm A Want You", "Everything I Own" and the classic "Guitar Man". They are one band that you should definitely be listening to if you like The Beatles because of how much their arrangements resemble each other.