3 Songs From the 1960s That Predicted the Future of Rock Music

These rock songs from the 1960s, in their own ways, predicted the path that rock music would take in the years that followed. And they all happen to be killer songs, too. Let’s take a look! A few revolutionary favorites of your own might be on this list.

“Tomorrow Never Knows” by The Beatles from ‘Revolver’ (1966)

Psychedelic music was already around, though early in its iterations, when The Beatles dropped Revolver. It’s not the psychedelic sound of this incredible song that makes it a “pioneering” track of sorts. Rather, the production tricks used on this song in the studio would go on to be used by many who walked in The Beatles’ footsteps.

While mixing and recording are easier affairs nowadays through the use of digital DAWs, The Beatles were working with analog. So, to set this song apart, they used a medley of tape looping techniques and lots of studio manipulation. “Tomorrow Never Knows” also features heavy Indian inspiration, namely through the sitar drone in the background. That style of music in the West would become hugely popular throughout the rest of the 1960s.

“You Really Got Me” by The Kinks from ‘Kinks’ (1964)

Amateur music historians could argue for days about who used heavy guitar distortion first, years ahead of heavy metal and punk rock. But one can’t deny that The Kinks were at least one of the first to use guitar distortion in a rock song, particularly on the hit “You Really Got Me” from 1964. This beloved garage rock song features distortion a la Dave Davies, who opted to slice up the speaker cone for his guitar amp to get that fuzzy, distorted sound. The details of this possible creative choice or act of frustration are fuzzy, but that distortion made it to the song anyway, and The Kinks stood out from the cleaner, more traditional rock acts of their era.

“Born To Be Wild” by Steppenwolf (1968)

While big names in metal like Black Sabbath would popularize heavy metal in the years that followed, rock band Steppenwolf dropped an undeniable proto-metal classic in 1968. “Born To Be Wild” is not only one of the most memorable rock songs of the 1960s, but it was also one of the first to use the words “heavy metal” in a song. Some are firm on this song being the first-ever major heavy metal song, but it’s hard to say. Others believe “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles was the first. Either way, this jam definitely influenced plenty of heavy metal bands that followed.

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