
The time period surrounding the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s was an eventful era. War was raging in Vietnam, civil unjust ran rampant throughout the streets of America, and in California, new ideas were beginning to spread. Despite his efforts to put an end to poverty, President Johnson had to abandon these hopes in order to fund the ongoing war in Vietnam. As a draft was put into place, younger generations began to voice their opinions through protest, both violent and non-violent. Protestors grew in number and in popularity, and before long, they gained a foothold in the American soil. A counterculture formed against these the war raging in Asia, as protestors turned their attention to freedom and equality for people of all ages, genders, and nationalities. Psychoactive drugs such as LSD  and marijuana influenced many of the artists of the time period, making both the drug and the resulting music increase in popularity. Before long, keystone artists like Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, and many others became faces that stood for a counterculture revolution.  Activists of the counterculture movement pushed for “nonconformity, free thought, free love,” and essentially anything that allowed one to be free of social constructs (Poon). In the minds of these so-called hippies, America was plagued by a set of standards and specifications that one had to follow in order to become successful. The counterculture movement, lead by the appeal of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, challenged the powerful and normal, making way for a better and more free America.

Before the rise of the 60s, sex was considered a rather taboo subject. It was not spoken about, it was not in the media, and even some words were banned from the public eye. Children of the 40s and 50s had been raised to be wary of sex, primarily due to the risk of pregnancy. By the time the counterculture movement was coming around, however, sex broke free of its boundaries. With the pill readily available to women, “pregnancy was no longer a reason to say ‘no’ to sex” (Ironside). Men and women alike were encouraged to have sex, and to be with whomever they wanted to whenever they felt like it, resulting in what is known today as the sexual revolution. 

The sexual revolution had many great outcomes in the area of individual freedom. Abortion became a more openly debated topic and was eventually declared legal in 1967, a great step forward for women’s equality, and the freedom of sexuality was brought into the public eye. With activists pushing for equality and freedom among all beings, no matter their gender or sexual preference, the counterculture movement cemented itself as a turning point in american history and “the formative moment of the gay rights movement that would continue to grow into the next decades” (Kohn). 

Drugs played a defining roll of the counterculture movement. Shifting away from America’s traditional drug of choice, alcohol, hippies began to experiment with psychedelics, most famously marijuana and LSD. A general belief of the counterculture movement was that in order to break away from social norms, one must alter their state of consciousness. They did so through the use of these drugs, and through their experiences, many were able to change their views on the world. These hallucinogens “infused the exhalations of musicians, philosophers, advertisers and activists”, leading to the exploration of new types of music and religion, particularly those of western culture (Rothstein). More and more people began practicing buddhism, and instruments such as the sitar became popular in counterculture music. The rampant drug use of the counterculture movement was a new phenomenon for America. It was wild, it was scary, but it was necessary, invoking more and more people to step back and reevaluate whose lives they were living.

Soon, this countercultural, artistic movement gave way to a style of music known today as Acid Rock. Born on the intersection of Haight and Ashbury, this musical movement became known as the origin of the hippie counterculture. Taking a step away from traditional rock and blues, people began experimenting with music as a way to voice their beliefs. Bands such as The Beatles and the Grateful Dead were changing the face of the music industry, creating timeless work for themselves and for others rather than for fame and fortune. Communities began to form around these groups, and as deadheads grew greater in number and Beatlemania swept the nation, it was clear that the counterculture movement had taken seed in the heart of America and was not going anywhere anytime soon. Artists began speaking of freedom and peace, preaching love over hate and pushing for a free and peaceful society. Their music, as different as it was from traditional music, shaped the minds of Americans as well as the face of the music industry as a whole. No longer were artists stuck in a set of rules and expectations; they were free to express themselves wholly and create what they wanted to create, a notion that is arguably the backbone of the counterculture movement. The Beatles captured the embodiment of this culture in there hit Come Together(1969), depicting a long haired, barefoot, hippie proclaiming that if we need one thing, that it is to be free. The music produced by this era was influenced by western oppression and eastern ideals. Some of the most noteworthy artists of this period were The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. The sitar, which can be heard quite a bit in the works of The Grateful Dead and The Beatles, became known as a symbol for the counterculture movement of the 1960s. This adoption of a new, foreign instrument signified the adoption of a new and open way of life.

While the music produced in this time period embodied a new stylistic approach to protest, what really propelled its popularity were the messages lying within the lyrics. Bob Dylan, an iconic artist of the time, released his famous song The Times They Are A-Changin’ in 1964.The title alone illustrates the change that the counterculture was pushing for. Dylan emphasizes the fact that  “as the present now will be later past, the order is rapidly fading,” pushing forward the ideas of change and reformation (Dylan). Most of Dylan’s works focused around civil and social reformation, embodying the central purposes of the counterculture movement.

The Beatles also offered a lot of insight within the sixties. In order to become in touch with the culture behind the sitar and to master the instrument, guitarist George Harrison spent a lot of time studying with Ravi Shankar. The techniques he learned from Shankar would later be implemented into their songs, giving them a more eastern feel. Harrison used an instrument very similar to the sitar, a tambur, in their well-known song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (1967). It is often thought that this song refers to the popular drug LSD, as it coincides with the title of the song.  Both the use of an eastern-born instrument and the promotion of the drug supported the counterculture movement and the hippie lifestyle, signifying The Beatles as “agents and models of change” throughout the sixties and seventies (Corry).

Another song that resembles the impact that psychoactive drugs such as LSD had on this era is a song by Iron Butterfly, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968). This song was originally believed to be titled “In the Garden of Eden,” but due to the lead singers drug use, the title was morphed into the well know title that is used today. This change coincides with the change that the United States was about to see. While the drugs did have a bit of a negative influence on lifestyle choices, they in the end changed a corporate run, blue collar nation into one in which citizens would not be ridiculed for living out their dreams.

The purpose of these songs was to encourage revolution and rebellion against the corporate and industrialized United States. Long hair and large clothes combated the clean cut look that was widely used across the states. “Turn on, tune in, and drop out” became a counterculture phrase popularized by Timothy Leary, an American writer, psychologist, and advocate for psychedelic drugs (Leary). This phrase was popularized even more in 1967 by a band known as Strawberry Alarm Clock through their song Incense and Peppermint in the lyric “turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around.” The idea of seeing things in a new light spread fast amongst the bands of the Acid Rock period, influencing the changes that were about to be made across the United States.

Even today the influence of prominent artists of the 60’s and 70’s can be found in the music industry. The Grateful Dead, by encouraging their fans to tape their shows and share them with the world, established the “21st century music-business guidebook” (Kot). Instead of capitalizing on a chance to make money, the Dead chose to give their fans what they wanted, music. By doing so for free, they inadvertently set the tone for the music industry in the years to come, prompting musicians to cater to the wants of their fans rather than their own desire for money. 

Although the events surrounding the counterculture movement of the time period were very influential, some argue that, looking back now, the events were really nothing too special, and were rather “ predictable and unexceptional” due to their perceived predictability (Førland). While the events do seem to follow a particular pattern of oppression and revolt, the protest of the time period are exceptional due to the nature of their being. Any great movement that sparks change can and should be marked as a great turning point in history, despite the size of the impact. The counterculture movement not only allowed for great feats of freedom, but it also set the pace for reformations of society to come. 

Great music, free love, and exploration of the mind are all great things that spawned from the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, but the revolution didn't stop after the summer of love; the ideas and beliefs of this movement are still relevant in today’s society. People often look at hippies with disdain or amusement, but still sex, drugs, and rock and roll continue to change and challenge the world for the better. Every day people are fighting the for freedom to express who they are, pushing on for total equality. New ideas and cultures are continuing to be explored, and the music scene is full of revolutionaries. Change is not a phenomenon that occurs out of nowhere, it is an ongoing fight against oppression. It is far too easy to see societal norms as a rigid set of rules that cannot be changed, but the events of the 60s and 70s are evidence that this is not true. Beliefs change, cultures expand, and power is in the hands of the many, not the few; its all just a matter of being heard.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

 -Jimi Hendrix 
