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1967: the finest year in rock and roll history

by Mike Diver
Artists: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd

Posted:
hendrix

Jimi Hendrix slaying all ears at the Monterey Festival, The Beatles unleashing Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to a world not ready for such a radical stylistic departure, the Stones and Pink Floyd becoming megastars: 1967 has been voted the finest year in rock and roll history by Radio 2 listeners.

Presenter Andrew Collins may have pointed out on his Monday night show that the UK charts were dominated by the soundtrack to The Sound Of Music in '67, but the year still belonged to rock: the so-called Summer of Love was but the icing on the cake, the cake full of The Beach Boys and The Doors, and many more.

At the opposite end of the praise spectrum was 1999, considered the worst year on record. Of course, much of this is down to the age of voters - the average was 51. Nostalgia, anyone?


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  • this year

    2006 is the greatest year for music.

    thommo | 4 Jan '06, 14:13 | Reply

  • Looks about right

    I'm sure Q will find a way to make a 60 page special out of these findings next month, including a free CD featuring all sorts of dullards covering songs from said year.
    Bastards.

    poliobunny | 4 Jan '06, 14:14 | Reply

  • Well the Beach Boys

    were in freefall in 1967 critically and erm the most influential producer Joe Meek blew his brains out on the 3rd Feb that year and Hendrix 'wowed' everyone on the Walker Brothers Tour in 1966 not 67.

    Still what could have been worse than 1997

    prole-art-threat @poliobunny | 4 Jan '06, 14:22 | Reply

  • 1966...

    I always think of that year as being the golden year from that era - pet sounds, revolver, and phil spector's last stand before semi-retirement. I suppose you had Smile by the Beach Boys in 67, but only Smiley Smile surfaced in that year.

    1999 was pretty poor from what I remember though. Terris on the front cover of the NME?!

    John_K @prole-art-threat | 4 Jan '06, 14:30 | Reply

  • TERRIS!

    Weren't they great...

    twisted_nerves @John_K | 4 Jan '06, 14:34 | Reply

  • i liked them

    and if we're talking nostalgia i'm voting 2001.

    thommo @twisted_nerves | 4 Jan '06, 14:45 | Reply

  • you've taken ample influence

    since writing about mister peel, eh?

    fishplums @thommo | 4 Jan '06, 15:47 | Reply

  • I completely agree with this!

    Utterly. and have always secretly thought this.

    1967: first VU album.

    1999: only decent record released for 12 months = The Soft Bulletin*.

    *unresearched - may not be true.

    restlessboy | 4 Jan '06, 15:50 | Reply

  • I agree with this aswell

    Though alot of 1967's music was the result of 1966 if you get what i mean.

    If you look back at some of the top ten charts summer 67 its pretty staggering the amount of classics in there.

    evabraun @restlessboy | 4 Jan '06, 16:00 | Reply

  • .

    a lot of music in 1999 could be the result of 1967. influences.

    darkpigeon @evabraun | 4 Jan '06, 16:51 | Reply

  • The years

    1999 through 2002 were pretty awful.

    tom_edwards @darkpigeon | 4 Jan '06, 18:38 | Reply

  • Nostalgia

    Isn't what it used to be

    dove_from_above @tom_edwards | 4 Jan '06, 19:08 | Reply

  • It's A Stupid Question of Course...

    Comes down to age and stuff.

    1967 a predictable answer. Not sure what I'd say. 1997 was the year I really got into music so I quite like that, even if the music wasn't so hot. 2004 was pretty good and there was another year in the early 2000s but I've forgotten which.

    In any year with 'bad' music it may just be you missed the good ones.

    1999 was pretty bad from my perspective. I remember "Supergrass"'s eponymous album as being one of my favourite albums of the year and, whilst it was no means a bad album, I've never really been a Supergrass fan...

    theguywithnousername | 4 Jan '06, 22:41 | Reply

  • i know...

    i just relly liked 2001.

    thommo @Ben_Howarth | 4 Jan '06, 23:10 | Reply

  • well

    after a little research, lets see what really awful albums came out in 1999:

    Sigur Ros - '�gætis Byrjun'
    Mr Bungle - California
    Tom Waits - Mule Variations
    The Flaming Lips - 'The Soft Bulletin'
    Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada EP
    Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
    Bonnie "Prince" Billy - I See a Darkness
    Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret
    Dismemberment Plan - Emergency and I
    Therapy? - 'Suicide Pact: You First'
    Wilco - Summer Teeth
    Low - Secret Name
    Smog - Knock Knock
    Roots - Things Fall Apart
    Sleater-Kinney - The Hot Rock
    Le Tigre - Le Tigre
    The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
    ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Madonna
    Sparklehorse - Good Morning Spider
    Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Spanish Dance Troupe
    Arab Strap - Elephant Shoe
    Burning Airlines - Mission: Control!
    Super Furry Animals - Guerrilla
    Mogwai - Come On Die Young
    Beck - Midnite Vultures
    Deus - The Ideal Crash
    Pavement - Terror Twilight
    Opeth - Still Life
    The White Stripes - The White Stripes
    Nine Inch Nails - 'The Fragile'
    Jimmy Eat World - 'Clarity'
    Chris Cornell - Euphoria Morning

    as that contains 2 or 3 of my favourite albums ever made, the last of the summer wine watching voters for this poll can eat my furry cunt.

    Jamie_Summers | 5 Jan '06, 09:59 | Reply

  • Neutral Milk Hotel

    I was going to suggest Neutral Milk Hotel's "in the aeroplane over the sea" as a good album from 1999, but it turns out it was released in 1998. Silly me.

    That album is the balls :-D

    The_Dave @Jamie_Summers | 5 Jan '06, 11:16 | Reply

  • Well said Jamie Summers.

    The Soft Bulletin?
    Emergency & I?
    Guerrilla?
    Come On Die Young?
    Midnite Vultures?
    Terror Twilight?

    Who said 1999 was a shit year for music? Bring it on.

    berksy @Jamie_Summers | 5 Jan '06, 14:05 | Reply

  • LOVE

    Dont forget Love Forever Changes an absolute classic of those times, beats Pet Sounds by a mile imo.

    sunzoomspark | 5 Jan '06, 21:45 | Reply

  • .

    didn't that come out in '68?

    grockle @sunzoomspark | 8 Feb '06, 13:11 | Reply

  • 2006

    2006 definitely has the potential to be the best. New Chili Peppers, new TBS, debut Angels and Airwaves, a billion new bands. How can 1967 be the best with so few bands? More like easier to analyse.

    http://www.musictimes.com.au

    jimboh2k | 9 May '06, 01:38 | Reply

  • fraid not,

    november 67 it was released.
    pure beast it is.

    neecho @grockle | 1 Aug '06, 02:09 | Reply

  • i hope that you're joking

    chilli peppers have been crap since one hot minute (yeah, i liked it)
    tbs - pffft
    angels and airwaves? don't get me started.

    67 spawned classics.

    neecho @jimboh2k | 1 Aug '06, 02:10 | Reply

  • They're all probably

    REALLY shit records though.

    wrightylew @Jamie_Summers | 4 Sep '07, 16:58 | Reply

  • This is true.

    And anyone who disagrees is most probably a total fucking idiot.

    wrightylew | 4 Sep '07, 16:58 | Reply
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