The year 1966 boasted some really beautiful music in psychedelia, soul, folk, rock, pop, and beyond. While the following year (namely the Summer of Love) is considered more important in music history, the year 1966 also deserves some love, too. And so do the many underrated songs that were released that year. You might just be unfamiliar with a few of these hits. Let’s take a look!
1. “Cloudy” by Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are known for a few big folk hits, but “Cloudy” rarely gets mentioned when discussing their catalog. This 1966 song is quite beautiful and could easily rank among one of their finest releases. It’s a smooth, poetic piece of work that boasts some of Paul Simon’s very best songwriting.
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2. “Reverberation (Doubt)” by 13th Floor Elevators
Few bands pioneered the psychedelic rock movement of the 1960s quite like 13th Floor Elevators. While I’d argue that most of their discography is underrated, few songs are as underrated as “Reverberation (Doubt)”.
It’s a slightly messy and more or less unpolished track, but that’s part of its appeal. It isn’t overproduced and has that authentic, trippy psychedelic sound that plenty have tried and failed to imitate through the years.
3. “Dolphins” by Fred Neil
Another Greenwich Village folk hit, it’s not exactly surprising that Fred Neil’s “Dolphins” made this list of underrated songs from 1966. Neil was an icon and one that could stand to be remembered more often by folk fans today. “Dolphins” boasts songwriting that you’d expect from someone much older than Neil, and its simplicity makes it all the more memorable.
4. “I Won’t Hurt You” by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
This tune is one of the most severely underrated songs to come out of the year 1966. Oddly enough, the album that “I Won’t Hurt You” is featured on contains mainly covers of other musicians’ songs. This psychedelic rock outfit decided to toss an original into the mix, and we’re glad they did. Few psychedelic acts had as much whimsy as The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and “I Won’t Hurt You” is one of their finest releases.
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