These 60s mixes really make themselves, don't they? Start a mix with "Paint it Black" and end it with "Good Vibrations" and you can pretty much put the whole debut by She Wants Revenge in between it and still come out with an amazing mix. Not to compare "I Hear a Symphony," "These Boots Are Made for Walking," "River Deep Mountain High," and "Sunny Afternoon" to modern dreck. This is mostly soul and garage rock, with some great tracks from a couple lesser knowns like the 13th Floor Elevators, The Outsiders, Sam and Dave, and The Beatles. Some people like "Paperback Writer," I like "Rain," one of the first commercial records to feature music being played backwards.

The most difficult choice here was to exclude all of Pet Sounds. "Good Vibrations" was released the same year, and although it was included on Smiley Smile, the song was already huge in '66, so it wouldn't make much sense to include it in later years. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best Beach Boys single, beating both "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice," which is saying a lot.

These picks are all pretty straightforward, and as you may have noticed there are 26 of them. As we go farther back in the decade, fewer and fewer songs were intended to fit on anything that could hold a song longer than about three and a half minutes, so very few songs (unless they were jazz) top that maximum. Where some mixes in the 90s were sixteen songs long, a couple mixes are 28 or 29 songs, which is great because I get to include more songs, but also more difficult because once you get back into the early 60s, there isn't as much that has lasted. I did my best to represent those years, but we'll get to that later. For now, here's 66 in all its glory. Enjoy.

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1. Paint it Black - The Rolling Stones - 3:45
2. You're Gonna Miss Me - 13th Floor Elevators - 2:28
3. This Old Heart of Mine - Isley Brothers - 2:46
4. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) - Marvin Gaye - 3:02
5. I Hear A Symphony - Diana Ross & The Supremes - 2:41
6. Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd - 3:03
7. Psychotic Reaction - Count Five - 3:07
8. Time Won't Let Me - The Outsiders - 3:02
9. 96 Tears - ? And the Mysterians - 2:57
10. Walk Away Renee - Left Banke - 2:42
11. I'm a Believer - The Monkees - 2:46
12. These Boots Are Made for Walking - Nancy Sinatra - 2:46
13. Aint Too Proud To Beg - Temptations - 2:34
14. Hold On, I'm Coming - Sam And Dave - 2:38
15. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield - 2:50
16. Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) - Loretta Lynn - 2:08
17. When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge - 2:55
18. Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan - 4:54
19. River Deep, Mountain High - Tina Turner - 3:37
20. I'll Be There - Four Tops - 2:59
21. Summer in the City - Lovin Spoonful - 2:40
22. I Fought the Law - Bobby Fuller Four - 2:17
23. Eight Miles High - The Byrds - 3:37
24. Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks - 3:31
25. Rain - The Beatles - 2:59
26. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys - 3:39

"Waterloo Sunset" is one of the great pop songs, Ray Davies's masterpiece, and representative of just about everything great about the Kinks (though there's little sarcasm in the track). It's the best song on this mix, and that's saying a whole lot, considering that we are talking about 1967, the year of Purple Haze, and White Rabbit, and Sunshine of Your Love, and Ruby Tuesday, and A Whiter Shade of Pale, and do you get the idea yet?

Rock, pop, and soul all had a towering year, and each track here deserves its due. Not the best Van Morrison song, but "Brown Eyed Girl" is pretty damn good, and while I'm not Doors fan, "Light My Fire" does a pretty good job of just that. I picked "White Rabbit" rather than "Somebody to Love" because I simply like it better, but "Purple Haze" is here instead of "Hey Joe" for time reasons. "Foxy Lady" isn't as good as either of them.

The two biggest songs on this mix are undoubtedly Aretha Franklin's cover of "Respect" and The Beatles' "All You Need is Love." The former is the singer's most famous single, and while I've probably heard it 3.4 million times, it hasn't quite passed the point where I've contemplated suicide when it comes on the radio, unlike similarly overexposed songs. It's undoubtedly lost some of its power, though, and I do wonder: who calls radio stations to hear this song? Haven't they heard it enough? The latter was the track John wrote for the first satellite broadcast, sent around the world in 1967. It's a simple song that he probably tossed off in an afternoon, and its universal appeal and timeless nature illustrates John's genius perfectly. He was never a craftsman in the same way Paul was (though there are plenty of examples of songs John slaved over). Music came to him, and the inspiration he got wasn't from hard work, but from creativity; if John had talent, Paul had skill. The song Paul brought in for the broadcast was "Your Mother Should Know," which was eventually put on the Magical Mystery Tour EP, and I can only imagine what Paul felt like when he heard "All You Need is Love." Probably similar to the way John felt as he watched Paul, alone on stage with his guitar, playing the staggeringly overrated "Yesterday" to screaming crowds. "All You Need is to Have Similar Attitudes and Working Styles."

Anyway, enjoy one of the great years in history, 1967.

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1. Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks - 3:16
2. Itchycoo Park - Small Faces - 2:49
3. The Letter - Box Tops - 2:02
4. The Rain, The Park and Other Things (Flower Girl) - Cowsills - 2:59
5. Respect - Aretha Franklin - 2:27
6. Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley - 2:21
7. So Happy Together - The Turtles - 2:52
8. You Keep Me Hangin' On - Diana Ross and the Supremes - 2:43
9. I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - 2:48
10. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye - 2:27
11. Higher And Higher - Jackie Wilson - 2:53
12. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison - 3:03
13. See Emily Play - Pink Floyd - 2:47
14. Purple Haze - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 2:55
15. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane - 2:32
16. Light My Fire - The Doors - 7:06
17. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream - 4:13
18. Kind Of A Drag - Buckinghams - 2:13
19. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield - 2:37
20. A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procul Harum - 4:01
21. Ruby Tuesday - The Rolling Stones - 3:19
22. Seven & Seven Is - Love - 2:25
23. Heroin - The Velvet Underground - 7:12
24. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles - 4:00

My favorite singer of all time (and the creator of my favorite record Live at the Whiskey a Go Go) is Otis Redding. I guess everyone has their reasons for loving an artist, and I have lots of rational ones, like the fact that I think he has a spectacular voice, picks great bands to work with, and writes perfect songs, many of which have gone down in history as the greatest of all time. But a lot of people have a great voice and surround themselves with great talent. So it's not anything in particular that I can identify about Otis Redding that sends shivers down my spine every time I hear him sing. Maybe it's the aching in his voice, the fact that he can be gritty or smooth and come across world-weary and hopeful. "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay)" was his last single, a posthumous release (the first ever to go to Number One), and, with the possible exception of "Respect," the greatest song he ever wrote. His plane crash remains one of the great tragedies in music history - we often wonder if artists that die early are lionized simply because of their deaths, but Otis, like his idol Sam Cooke, is never part of that conversation. It's possible that "Dock of the Bay" wouldn't have quite the same emotion in it without that back story, but something tells me it doesn't need any more emotion than Otis put into his rendition that can be found right in the song.

Speaking of artists that died too early, 1968 begins with Bob Dylan's favorite version of "All Along the Watchtower," with the most underrated overrated guitar solo in history. Hendrix was maybe the greatest, and though we've all heard this song a million times, its power cannot be diminished by soundtracks, frat boys, or snobs trying to turn their backs on it. "Piece of My Heart" has been equally attacked, but it will withstand any pressure just as well: along with her cover of "Summertime," it's Janis Joplin's crowning acheivement.

Looking over this mix, it's difficult to find a song that hasn't been co-opted in one way or another. "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," "I Say a Little Prayer for You," "With a Little Help From My Friends." This music is so powerful and important that it's not surprising that it has been used time and time again to prop up art or products that don't measure up. Fortunately, I have yet to see an "I'm Black and I'm Proud" commercial for licorice or something, though I'm sure The Kinks' brilliant "Days" (which was a non-album single almost included on The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society) is ready to be included in a Day's Inn ad or something.

But I'm not bitter. This is still a stellar set of songs, if not quite as good as '69. Good Stevie Wonder, good Band and Simon and Garfunkel, a track from the best Van Morrison record (Astral Weeks is also one of my personal favorites if anyone is keeping score), and though I would have preferred to include "Revolution," "Hey Jude" is too big to ignore if it can fit. And makes for a nice coda to any mix (with a brief epilogue from Otis).

Okay, I've rambled enough. Enjoy the mix.

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1. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix - 4:00
2. White Room - Cream - 4:57
3. Piece Of My Heart - Big Brother & The Holding Co - 4:14
4. I Say A Little Prayer For You - Aretha Franklin - 3:36
5. The Way Young Lovers Do - Van Morrison - 3:18
6. I Heard it Thru Grapevine - Marvin Gaye - 3:10
7. I Wish It Would Rain - Temptations - 2:53
8. The Weight - The Band - 4:33
9. Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel - 3:50
10. Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette - 2:41
11. Israelites - Desmond Dekker - 2:36
12. Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm Proud - James Brown - 3:02
13. Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone - 2:22
14. Days - The Kinks - 2:52
15. For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder - 2:50
16. La La Means I Love You - Delfonics - 3:23
17. Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells - 5:28
18. With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker - 4:55
19. Jumping Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones - 3:44
20. Hey Jude - The Beatles - 7:02
21. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding - 2:45

1969

There has been a recent movement in Popular Music Criticism away from the focus on the 1950s and 60s as the birth of pop. It's a pretty legitimate argument, yet it (I think/hope unintentionally) risks forcing people to the polar opposite of what has been thought forever: before the Beatles and Motown, there was nothing. This is, of course, not true, but the idea that the Beatles and Motown changed nothing is equally misinformed (of course, just as misinformed as the notion that the Beatles and Motown were all that mattered in the 60s).

So as I post these, quite honestly, fucking awesome mixes from the 1960s, keep in mind that music was excellent before this, and it has been excellent since. Then ignore that and be totally floored by the wide-ranging brilliance of the pinnacle of popular music that is the late 60s.

There is not one single afterthought on this exactly 80-minute mix. Every song here is spectacular, and every song is important for its own reasons. Beatles and late (but still great) Supremes are there, but so are the Stooges, The Kinks, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Stevie Wonder, Simon and Garfunkel, and even Frank Sinatra.

I included the single version of Isaac Hayes 12 minute epic cover of "Walk On By" that has been sampled by Portishead and Wu Tang for two equally amazing classics. I also placed "Time of the Season" on 1969's mix: even though the record was released in 68, the song didn't hit big until 69. Gospel makes its only appearance here, with the Edwin Hawkins Singers singing "Oh Happy Day," really the only big Gospel song during the modern era.

Damn, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Sly and the Family Stone, and one of the best Stones songs ever to top it off. How can you not love the 60s?

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1. I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges - 3:12
2. Walk On By - Isaac Hayes - 4:34
3. Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone - 3:03
4. Someday We'll Be Together - The Supremes - 3:28
5. The Ballad of John and Yoko - The Beatles - 2:59
6. Victoria - The Kinks - 3:39
7. Space Oddity - David Bowie - 5:08
8. Whipping Post - The Allman Brothers Band - 5:19
9. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 2:19
10. Build Me Up - The Foundations - 2:59
11. Suite Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby Stills Nash and Young - 7:28
12. My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder - 2:51
13. Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield - 2:29
14. Time Of The Season - Zombies - 3:34
15. The Boxer - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel - 5:10
16. Je T'aime Moi Non Plus - Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg - 4:17
17. My Way - Frank Sinatra - 4:37
18. Oh Happy Day - Edwin Hawkins Singers - 5:27
19. You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones - 7:27