With apologies to New York, Chicago, Nashville, Seattle, and every other major metropolis that has fostered a vibrant music scene, no other city in America matches the incredible, and eclectic, music history of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Like actors and actresses who dream of making it big in Hollywood, L.A. has historically welcomed musicians from across the country who\u2019ve headed west in their pursuit of rock stardom. The result has been an influx of top tier talent, spanning generations.<\/p>\n
By the 1960s, most of the major record labels had established a presence in L.A. This, coupled with a vibrant live music scene — most notably on the Sunset Strip and in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood — helped Los Angeles become the hotbed of popular music.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:\u00a0Top 15 Sunset Strip Bands Ranked<\/a><\/p>\n The \u201860s counterculture movement aligned with evolutions in popular music, as folk, psychedelic and country rock sub-genres emerged with mainstream success. On any given night in L.A. you could catch rock\u2019s next big band, playing at such legendary venues as the Troubadour and the Whisky a Go Go. But which four acts best define the era?<\/p>\n Below, we\u2019ve picked our \u2018Big 4\u2019 of \u201860s Los Angeles bands. It wasn\u2019t an easy decision, with honorable mentions going to the Byrds<\/a>, Love<\/a>, the Mamas & the Papas and Frank Zappa<\/a>‘s Mothers of Invention<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doors<\/p>\n Central Press \/ Hulton Archive, Getty ImagesThe Doors<\/p>\n Any conversation about \u201860s L.A. bands has to start with the Doors<\/a>. The group was made up of two L.A. natives, Robby Krieger<\/a> and John Densmore<\/a>, and two transplants, Jim Morrison<\/a> and Ray Manzarek<\/a>. Their sound was forged in Southern California clubs, most notably serving as the house band at the Sunset Strip\u2019s famous Whisky a Go Go. The Doors broke out into worldwide fame with their 1967 self-titled debut album, featuring such iconic tracks as \u201cBreak On Through (To the Other Side)” and \u201cLight My Fire.\u201d Further generation-defining hits followed, including \u201cPeople Are Strange,\u201d \u201cTouch Me\u201d and \u201cRiders on the Storm.\u201d Morrison earned a reputation as rock\u2019s wild man \u2014 a dynamic presence onstage, but haunted by addiction off of it. Over time these worlds collided, and the singer became unpredictable, often inebriated during his performances. Morrison\u2019s erratic nature contributed to the Doors\u2019 short time on top, and the singer\u2019s death in 1971 effectively ended the band (though they did released three albums after his passing).<\/p>\n The Beach Boys<\/p>\n Hulton Archive, Getty ImagesThe Beach Boys<\/p>\n The only American band that could rival the Beatles<\/a> for musical dominance in the \u201860s was the Beach Boys<\/a>. Initially, the band — formed by brothers Brian Wilson<\/a>, Carl Wilson, and Dennis Wilson<\/a>, their cousin Mike Love<\/a>, and friend Al Jardine<\/a> — made waves with their sun soaked, beach rock tunes. Hits like \u201cSurfin\u2019 U.S.A.,\u201d \u201cFun, Fun, Fun,\u201d \u201cSurfin\u2019 Safari,\u201d \u201cI Get Around\u201d and \u201cCalifornia Girls\u201d captured the vibrant, carefree sound of youth. But as pop-culture changed throughout the decade, so too did the Beach Boys’ sound. Spearheaded largely by Brian Wilson, the band began to experiment and evolve. Their 1966 LP Pet Sounds<\/a> remains one of the most revered albums in rock history, a groundbreaking release that boasted lush vocal harmonies and innovative recording techniques. Songs like \u201cWouldn\u2019t It Be Nice\u201d and \u201cGod Only Knows\u201d showcased the Beach Boys\u2019 artistic depth, as did their 1967 single \u201cGood Vibrations.\u201d Though their commercial popularity waned towards the end of the decade, the Beach Boys were a remarkable creative force throughout much of the \u201860s.<\/p>\n Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images<\/p>\n Michael Ochs Archives, Getty ImagesBuffalo Springfield<\/p>\n The notorious Los Angeles traffic helped bring together one of the \u201860s biggest bands. As the story goes, Neil Young<\/a> and Stephen Stills<\/a> met in Canada in 1965. Not long afterward, Stills moved to L.A. to chase his rock dreams. Young, meanwhile, was trying to make things work with his early band the Mynah Birds. When that group fell apart, he and bassist Bruce Palmer drove to California in hopes of linking up with Stills. They found him while driving in bumper to bumper traffic on Sunset Boulevard, and soon the rockers united to form Buffalo Springfield<\/a>. Young, Stills and Palmer were joined by Richie Furay and Dewey Martin in the group. Their blend of folk and psychedelic rock became the sound of \u201860s counterculture. The band\u2019s 1966 self-titled debut album featured one of the era\u2019s most recognizable protest songs, \u201cFor What It\u2019s Worth.\u201d They\u2019d only release two more LPs before breaking up in 1968, still the band\u2019s brief run was both hugely influential, and imperative to its members\u2019 future careers. Buffalo Springfield effectively spawned the groups Crosby, Stills & Nash<\/a> (later Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young<\/a>), Poco<\/a> and Neil Young<\/a>\u2019s solo career.<\/p>\n NBC Television, Getty Images<\/p>\n NBC Television, Getty ImagesThe Monkees<\/p>\n Is there anything more \u201cL.A.\u201d than a band that was originally put together for a TV series? Yes, the origins of the Monkees<\/a> seem silly — a band cast for a television sitcom that was created to mimic the hype surrounding Beatlemania. But the Monkees weren\u2019t just a product of tinseltown magic, they were actually good. Early hits like \u201cLast Train to Clarksville,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m a Believer\u201d and \u201c”A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” proved the band had serious musical chops. Success kept coming with tunes like \u201cDaydream Believer\u201d and \u201cPleasant Valley Sunday.\u201d In 1967 alone, the Monkees sold more that 35 million albums, making them one of the most popular and commercially successful acts of the era. While many of their most famous songs were written by outside writers, the Monkees eventually fought for creative control, further showcasing their impressive talents. Together, bandmates Micky Dolenz<\/a>, Davy Jones<\/a>, Michael Nesmith<\/a> and Peter Tork left an indelible mark on the \u201860s.<\/p>\n Top ’60s Bands<\/p>\n Rock may not have been invented in the \u201860s, but it\u2019s certainly when the genre came into its own.<\/p>\n Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With apologies to New York, Chicago, Nashville, Seattle, and every other major metropolis that has fostered a vibrant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216,10340],"class_list":["post-482550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-original-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=482550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/482550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=482550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=482550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=482550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}