In the mood for a few nostalgic rock songs that will scratch that itch if you were a 60s kid? Young audiophiles and music nerds loved the following four deep cuts and underrated classics but have likely forgotten about them in the decades since their release. From psychedelic rock to experimental electronic rock tunes, here are a few rock songs from the 60s you likely heard in your youth but have since forgotten.
“The Witch” by The Sonics from ‘Here Are The Sonics’ (1964)
This garage rock gem was released by The Sonics in 1964, and it served as the band’s debut single. It’s a particularly heavy track, quite outside what fellow garage rock and psychedelic rock bands were producing at the time. Few songs deserve the “proto-punk” label quite as much as “The Witch” does. It’s a frantic, intense tune. And, sadly, it never reached much in the way of national success in the States. But diehard young rock fans in the 60s treated it preciously.
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“Hangman Hang My Shell On A Tree” by Spooky Tooth from ‘Spooky Two’ (1969)
Spooky Tooth remains an underrated blues rock outfit from the 1960s and 1970s. Spooky Two from 1969 was their most commercially successful album in the US (No. 44), but even then, I don’t think even this album gets the love it deserves. “Hangman Hang My Shell On A Tree” closes the record out, and it might just be the best song on the whole album.
“Lovefingers” by Silver Apples from ‘Silver Apples’ (1968)
In the late 1960s, Silver Apples did something that no other rock outfit had done before. Using DIY primitive synths and traditional rock band instruments, they melted together electronica and rock before electronica had really become a thing globally. Their debut self-titled album is a blast from the past and the first of its kind. Before Silver Apples started making music like this, synthesizers were more or less reserved for academia and would not become standard in popular music for several years. “Lovefingers” wasn’t the album’s single, but it has stood the test of time quite gloriously.
Fun fact: John Lennon of The Beatles was a fan of this song and album.
“China Cat Sunflower” by The Grateful Dead from ‘Aoxomoxoa’ (1969)
One of many Grateful Dead deep cuts, I’m sure more than a few 60s kids adored this particular psychedelic rock tune on our list of songs. A standout track from Aoxomoxoa, few songs sound like the end of the 1960s quite like this one.
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