3 Classic Rock Songs From the 1960s That Drove Moms and Dads Crazy

Classic rock songs in the 1960s were radically different from the rock and roll tunes of the previous decade. There’s a reason why so many 60s kids say that the 1960s were the decade that changed everything. Along with changes in music taste and culture came a divergence from tame, non-vulgar lyricism. And that change likely made a lot of parents in the 1960s very, very uncomfortable when their children started listening to songs that alluded to sex and/or drugs. Let’s look at just a few songs that likely made your parents mad if you were a 60s kid, shall we?

“Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen (1963)

This song didn’t just drive parents crazy in theory, considering it was a garage rock song. We have proof that “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen made parents so angry that they wrote to the Attorney General of the United States to complain about the lyrics’ obscenity. After an investigation, nobody could actually find the obscene lyrics. The whole debacle lasted several years and only bolstered the song’s popularity in the end.

“Let’s Spend The Night Together” by The Rolling Stones (1967)

A virtually endless list of Rolling Stones songs could make it to this list. I can only imagine 1960s rock-loving youths bringing home albums like Their Satanic Majesties Request or Let It Bleed, popping them on the record player, and subsequently giving their parents heart attacks. “Let’s Spend The Night Together” from 1967 could easily be a major offender with lyrics like “I’m high, but I try, try, try, oh my” and “Let’s spend the night together / Now I need you more than ever.” It’s still a killer song, though, even if more conservative listeners clutched their pearls over it.

“For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield (1966)

This psychedelic folk rock song is considered by many to be an anti-war song as well as an ode to rebellious youths who were part of 1960s counterculture. This entry on our list of classic rock songs from the 1960s that drove parents crazy boasts some pretty damning lyrics. “Young people speaking their minds / Are gettin’ so much resistance from behind” and “It starts when you’re always afraid / Step out of line, the man come and take you away” are just two lines that had traditional parents in a tizzy.

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