Boy, the lists are getting longer with each passing year. Music is becoming really important to me as I get older. I think you may have realised by now that I cross over to many genres. You miss out on a lot of great music if you stick to the one style of music.

Studio & Recording Advancements

• Automatic Double Tracking (ADT): Developed at Abbey Road by Ken Townsend for The Beatles, this allowed vocals to be “doubled” automatically, saving singers from manual re-recording.
• Tape Loops & Varispeed: Artists began using manipulated tape loops and varying tape speeds (varispeed) to create “otherworldly” textures, most notably on “Tomorrow Never Knows”.
• Backmasking: 1966 saw the first significant use of reversed vocals and instruments (backward tapes) in pop music, specifically in The Beatles’ “Rain”.
• Close Miking: Engineers began placing microphones closer to instruments (such as drums and acoustic guitars) to achieve a more “intimate” and punchy sound. 

Genre Evolution & Instrumental Shifts

• Birth of Psychedelic Rock: Landmark tracks like The Yardbirds’ “Shapes of Things” and The Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” pioneered distorted guitar tones and modal improvisation.
• Raga Rock: The integration of Indian classical music became a trend, with The Rolling Stones featuring the sitar on a #1 hit (“Paint It Black”) and The Beatles exploring Hindustani structures on “Love You To”.
• Symphonic Pop & High Production: Brian Wilson’s production on The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds set a new standard for complex arrangements, utilizing orchestral instruments and unusual sound effects in a pop context.
• Concept & Double Albums: The Mothers of Invention released Freak Out!, one of the first double albums and an early example of a rock concept album. 

Technological & Industry Changes

• Portable Radios & Amplification: The rise of solid-state technology made portable transistor radios common. Larger PA systems and higher-wattage amplifiers were introduced to handle growing concert crowds.
• The Synthesizer: While invented earlier, the Buchla modular synthesizer began commercial sales in 1966, providing a new palette for electronic music.
• FM Rock Radio: New York’s WOR-FM became the first station to adopt a rock format, leading a shift away from strictly Top 40 AM radio toward “freeform” broadcasting.
• The Radiorecorder: The precursor to the “boombox” was invented by Philips in 1966. 

Just as drugs was going hand in hand with the music scene Paul Revere and the Raiders released the anti-drug song “Kicks”. Sam and Dave’s hit “Hold On I’m Coming” was banned by some radio sations because of its supposed sex references. The same for Ray Charles’ song “Let’s Get Stoned” for drug reasons. Has there ever been a more pleading love song than Percy Sledge”s “When A Man Loves A Woman”. Sledge was a hospital orderly and part-time singer when the song became the first #1 Southern Soul hit.

Let me know in the comments what the initials in the Joe Tex Song “S.Y.S.L.J.F.M. (The Letter Song) stand for . The Grateful Dead were originally called the Warlocks (Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir).

The Song 96 Tears band name ? & The Mysterians is not a typo! It only took one song, the organ-driven number one smash “96 Tears,” to make ? ((Rudy Martínez) & the Mysterians into garage rock legends. Eccentric frontman Question Mark (actually spelled “?,” once he had his name legally changed) cultivated an aura of mystery by never appearing in public without a pair of wraparound sunglasses; he frequently claimed he had been born on Mars and lived among the dinosaurs in a past life, and that voices from the future had revealed he would be performing “96 Tears” in the year 10,000. On a more earthly level, the Mysterians’ sound helped lay down an important part of the garage rock blueprint, namely the low-budget sci-fi feel of the Farfisa and Vox organs (most assumed that “96 Tears” had featured the former, but ? later remembered using the latter). What was more, they were one of the first Latino rock groups to have a major hit, and ?‘s sneering attitude made him one of the prime suspects in the evolution of garage rock into early punk.** The keyboard player Frankie Rodríguez was only 14 years of age!

The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” was their first stab at the every increasingly popular Psych Rock. “Crosscut Saw” was the first major label Stax hit for the legendary Bluesman Albert King. Stax did not give him any royalties for 8 years so he left them. The song has became a classic and has been recorded by artists such as  Eric Clapton, who popularized it further in rock. Other notable artists covering the track include Stevie Ray Vaughan, R.L. Burnside, Lonnie Brooks, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, and modern blues guitarists like Tab Benoit and Robben Ford.

‘Gimme Some Lovin” Spencer Davis Group was written by the 17 year-old Steve Winwood. Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” was their third single and was written by Steve Stills.

nineteen and sixty-six

• (We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet – The Blues Magoos
  19th Nervous Breakdown – The Rolling Stones*
  96 Tears – ? & The Mysterians
  All Or Nothing – Small Faces
  All Your Love – John Mayall*
  Allergic To Work – Crosscut Saw
  Barefootin’ – Robert Parker*
  Batman Theme – Link Wray & The RayMen
  Bend It – Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
  Black is Black – Los Bravos
  But It’s Alright – JJ. Jackson
  California Dreaming – The Mamas & The Papas
  Can’t Satisfy -The Impressions
  Cool Jerk – The Capitols
  Crosscut Saw – Albert King
  Day Tripper – The Beatles
  Daydream – The Lovin’ Spoonful
  Devil with a Blue Dress On -Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
  Diddy Wah Diddy – Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
  Don’t Ease Me In – Grateful Dead Double
• Crossing Time – John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers & Eric Clapton
  Dry Your Eyes – Brenda & The Tabulations
  East-West – Paul Butterfield Blues Band
  Eight Miles High – The Byrds
  Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
  Five O’Clock World – The Vogues
  Friday on My Mind – The Easybeats
  Funky Broadway Part – Dyke and the Blazers
  Get Ready – The Temptations
  Getaway – Georgie Fame
  Gimme Some Lovin’ – The Spencer Davis Group
  God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
  Good Lovin’ – The Young Rascals
  Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
  Green Green Grass of Home – Tom Jones*
  He’ll Be Back – The Players
  Hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You – Jimmy Castor
  High Flyin’ Bird – Richie Havens
  Hitch Hiker – Bobby & Laurie*
  Hold on I’m Comin’ – Sam & Dave
  Holy Cow – Lee Dorsey
  How Can We Hang on To a Dream – Tim Hardin
  I Can’t Quit You Baby – Otis Rush
  I Feel Free – Cream
  I Fooled You This Time – Gene Chandler
  I Had Too Much to Dream – The Electric Prunes 
  I’ll Be Lovin’ You Forever – The 5th Dimension
  I’II Make You Happy – The Easybeats
  I’m A Believer – The Monkees
  I’m A Boy – The Who*
  In The Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett
  It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World – James Brown
  I’ve Got the Blues – Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs*
  Just A Little Misunderstanding – The Contours
  Just Like a Woman – Bob Dylan*
  Keep On Running – The Spencer Davis Group
  Kicks – Paul Revere & The Raiders
  Knock on Wood – Eddie Floyd
  Land Of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
  Let’s Go Get Stoned – Ray Charles*
  Li’l Red Riding Hood – Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs
  Little Girl – Syndicate of Sound
  Pretty Flamingo – Manfred Mann
  Mercy, Mercy, Mercy – Cannonball Adderley
  Mercy, Mercy – Don Covay & The Goodtimers
  Monday, Monday – The Mamas & The Papas
  Morningtown Ride – The Seekers
  Ninety-Nine and One-Half – Wilson Pickett
   No Milk Today – Herman’s Hermits
  No- No- No- No- No -Billy Boy Arnold
  Omar Khayyam – The Rubaiyats
  Out of Time – Chris Farlowe
  Paint It, Black – The Rolling Stones
  Papa’s Got a Brand-New Bag – James Brown
  Paperback Writer – The Beatles
  Pass The Hatchet – Roger & the Gypsies
  Pay Day – Mississippi John Hurt
  Pretty Flamingo – Manfred Mann
  Psychotic Reaction – The Count Five
  Pushin’ Too Hard – The Seeds
  Reach Out I’ll Be There – The Four Tops
  Right Track – Billy Butler
  River Deep Mountain High – Ike & Tina Turner
  S.Y.S.LJ.F.M.(The Letter Song) – Joe Tex
  Sally Free and Easy – Bert Jansch
  Season Of the Witch – Donovan*
  Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James – Manfred Mann
  Shapes Of Things – The Yardbirds
  She Comes in Colors – Love
  Sitting In the Rain – John Mayall &The Bluesbreakers
  Sloop John B – The Beach Boys
  Somebody Help Me – The Spencer Davis Group
  Someone To Love – The Great! Society
  Spann’s Boogie – Otis Spann
  Stop Stop Stop – The Hollies
  Stop! In The Name of Love – The Supremes
  Talk Talk – The Music Machine
  Tell It Like It Is – Aaron Neville*
  The Jerk – The ID Featuring Jeff St. John*
  The La La Man – Oliver Morgan
  The Mojo Boogie – J. B. Lenoir
  The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
  The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore – The Walker Brothers
  Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye – The Casinos
  They’re Coming to Take Me Away – Napoleon XIV
  This Old Heart of Mine – The Isley Brothers
  Time Has Come Today – The Chambers Brothers
   Try A Little Tenderness – Otis Redding
  Visions Of Johanna – Bob Dylan
  Wedding Ring – The Easybeats
  What Becomes of The Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
  When a Man Loves a Woman – Percy Sledge
  Wild Thing – The Troggs
  With A Girl Like You – The Troggs
  Working in the Coal Mine – Lee Dorsey
  Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys
  You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
  You’re Gonna Miss Me – The 13th Floor Elevators
• *Seen perform live
• ** Alll Music Guide https://www.allmusic.com
   
   

? & The Mysterians