The Glorious, Notorious Musicians of the 1960s
“We sought truth, demanded justice, and found freedom in self-expression. We rejected the restrictions of a puritanical lifestyle. We sought out and embraced new philosophies. It was a moment in history when a mushroom explosion of consciousness began altering the life force. Through that explosion, we broke down the prison walls of “intellect as the ultimate”. We focused on the heart, and by doing so, reopened our cookie jar of possibilities… politically, socially, sexually and spiritually. The effects of that explosion have permeated every nook and cranny of our culture today.” -www.museumofthesixties.org
The period of the 1960s was made up of change-The Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, a presidential assassination and a restructuring of society fuelled by youth culture. The messengers of this change in culture were musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jerry Garcia. These musicians heralded the exploration of many things-communicating and making mistakes– and because they were in the public eye, their mistakes were magnified. What is important is what they believed, which was that society could change for the better. They changed history and formed part of the same community. What did they believe? What were they trying to communicate? What killed them? And what can we learn from their lives?