1920-1929 | 1930-1939 | 1940-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2020-present
Genres that debuted or were popular in this decade:
- Afrobeat
- Alternative Rock
- Arena Rock
- Baroque Pop
- Bossa Nova
- Boy Band
- Blues Rock
- Country Music
- Doo-wop
- Folk Music
- Funk
- Girl Group
- Garage Rock
- Jazz
- Progressive Rock
- Proto Punk
- Psychedelic Rock
- R&B
- Reggae
- Rock
- Soul
- Ska
- Space Rock
- Surf Rock
- World Music
Musicians
- The 13th Floor Elevators. Formed in 1966.
- The 5th Dimension
- The Allman Brothers Band. Formed in 1969.
- Herb Alpert. Formed The Tijuana Brass in 1962 and released thirteen albums with them for the next seven years.
- Amon Düül II
- Bill Anderson
- The Animals. Formed in 1962, disbanded in 1966.
- Paul Anka
- Aphrodite's Child
- Burt Bacharach
- Louis Armstrong
- Dorothy Ashby
- Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. Founded in 1968, reached charts in 1971.
- Roy Ayers
- Albert Ayler. Released his first album in 1963.
- Charles Aznavour
- P.D.Q. Bach. His work was first "discovered" in 1965.
- Burt Bacharach and Hal David
- Badfinger
- Joan Baez. Debut album (solo) in 1960. She had already recorded a number of songs for a 1959 compilation album.
- Long John Baldry. Released first professional recordings in 1964. He'd already recorded a demo single in 1958.
- The Band. Had originally formed as a backup band for a singer. Became an independent band c. 1964.
- 1969 - The Band (Album)
- Barbie
- 1961 - Barbie Sings!
- Syd Barrett. Started solo work at the end of the decade.
- Shirley Bassey
- The Beach Boys. Formed in 1961, created most acclaimed work from 1966 to 1973.
- 1962 - Surfin' Safari
- 1963 - Surfin' USA
- 1963 - Surfer Girl
- 1963 - Little Deuce Coupe
- 1964 - Shut Down Volume 2
- 1964 - All Summer Long
- 1964 - The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
- 1965 - The Beach Boys Today!
- 1965 - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
- 1965 - Beach Boys' Party!
- 1966 - Pet Sounds
- 1967 - Smile
- 1967 - Smiley Smile
- 1967 - Wild Honey
- 1968 - Friends
- 1969 - 20/20
- The Beatles: Perhaps the biggest and most influential act of the 20th century (if not all time), being credited
for having a significant impact on not just popular music, but also western society and culture as a whole. Formed in 1960, they released the majority of their work during this decade, including many albums and songs considered by analysts to be among the most influential works of music of all time, and their popularity still continues across generations to this day.
- 1963 - Please Please Me
- 1963 - With the Beatles
- 1964 - A Hard Day's Night
- 1964 - Beatles for Sale
- 1965 - Help!
- 1965 - Rubber Soul
- 1966 - Revolver
- 1967 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- 1967 - Magical Mystery Tour
- 1968 - The White Album
- 1969 - Yellow Submarine
- 1969 - Abbey Road
- Jeff Beck
- The Bee Gees. Debut single in 1963.
- Jorge Ben Jor. Formally debuted in 1963 with Samba Esquema Novo.
- Big Brother And The Holding Company. Formed in 1965.
- 1968 - Cheap Thrills
- Irving Berlin
- Leonard Bernstein
- Chuck Berry
- The Big Three. Formed in 1961.
- Black Sabbath. Formed in 1968-1969, debut album in 1970.
- Blue Cheer. Formed in 1966. Debut album in 1968.
- Blue Öyster Cult. Formed in 1967, debut album in 1972.
- Marc Bolan. Started the hippie Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1967.
- The Bonzo Dog Band.
- David Bowie. Released his debut single in 1964, and stayed active as a label-hopping teen rocker before signing with Deram Records in 1966. Was initially credited under his real name of Davy Jones before adopting the stage name "David Bowie" to avoid confusion with the Monkees member of the same name.
- 1967 - David Bowie
- 1969 - Space Oddity
- Georges Brassens. Career started in the 1950s. Still released new records during the 1960s.
- Bread: Debuted in 1968.
- Jacques Brel. Career started in the 1950s, still kept releasing new albums during this decade until he temporarily quit his career in 1966.
- Arthur Brown: Scored a #1 Hit with "Fire," revered Cult Classic Progressive Rock musician.
- James Brown. Career started in 1955. Brown released several of his major hits in this decade.
- 1963 - Live at the Apollo
- Bill Bruford. Began career with Yes in 1968.
- Buffalo Springfield. Lasted between 1966-8.
- Tim Buckley. Debuted in 1966.
- The Byrds. Formed in 1964.
- 1965 - Mr. Tambourine Man
- John Cage
- Cab Calloway
- Can. Formed in 1968.
- Captain Beefheart. Debut album in 1967.
- 1967 - Safe as Milk
- 1968 - Strictly Personal
- 1969 - Trout Mask Replica
- Caravan. Debut album in 1969.
- Carpenters. Debut album in 1969.
- Wendy Carlos. First album (Switched-On Bach, as Walter Carlos) in 1968. Sometimes erroneously claimed to be the first synth album.
- 1968 - Switched-On Bach
- Johnny Cash. Career and record releases started in 1955, but Cash enjoyed mainstream popularity in this decade.
- Jose Mari Chan
- Ray Charles. Career and record releases started in 1949, but Charles reached his greatest popularity in this decade.
- Cher. Solo debut album in 1965.
- Chicago. Formed in 1967, debut album in 1969.
- Petula Clark
- Patsy Cline. Already an established country star of the 1950s, Cline's popularity skyrocketed after her death in a plane crash in 1963; for 28 years, the 1967 compilation Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits was the best-selling album of any female country artist.
- Joe Cocker. Debut single in 1964, debut album in 1969.
- Eddie Cochran: Died in 1960.
- Leonard Cohen
- 1967 - Songs of Leonard Cohen
- 1969 - Songs from a Room
- Nat King Cole: Died in 1965.
- Ornette Coleman
- Alice Coltrane. Debuted as a bandleader in 1968.
- John Coltrane. Career went strong until his death in 1967.
- 1960 - Giant Steps
- 1961 - My Favorite Things
- 1965 - A Love Supreme
- Stompin' Tom Connors
- Connie Converse
- Sam Cooke
- Alice Cooper. Debut album for the band and its lead singer in 1969.
- Aaron Copland
- The Cowsills
- Cream. Formed in 1966, disbanded in 1968.
- 1967 - Disraeli Gears
- Creedence Clearwater Revival. Renamed and reformed in 1968. Previously known as The Blue Velvets and The Golliwogs, but had gone inactive in 1966.
- 1968 - Creedence Clearwater Revival
- 1969 - Bayou Country
- 1969 - Green River
- 1969 - Willy and the Poor Boys
- Jim Croce
- Bing Crosby
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Debuted in 1968 without Neil Young, but he came aboard from 1969 on.
- Celia Cruz
- Dick Dale
- 1962 - Surfers Choice
- Bobby Darin
- The Mamas & the Papas
- Miles Davis.
- 1960 - Sketches of Spain
- 1969 - In a Silent Way
- Deep Purple. Debut album in 1968.
- John Denver. Debut solo album released in 1966
- Neil Diamond. Became famous in the 1960s as a songwriter and as a singer. His "I'm A Believer" was used by The Monkees. He had some hit singles of his own in the '60s, including "Cherry Cherry", "Red, Red Wine", "Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show", "Sweet Caroline", and "Holly Holy".
- Bo Diddley
- The Dillards. Released their first album in 1963.
- Eric Dolphy
- 1964 - Out to Lunch!
- Donovan. Debuted in 1965.
- Fats Domino
- The Doors. Formed in 1965, debut album in 1967.
- 1967 - The Doors (Album)
- 1967 - Strange Days
- Nick Drake
- The Dubliners
- Bob Dylan. Debut album in 1962.
- 1962 - Bob Dylan
- 1963 - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
- 1964 - The Times They Are A-Changin'
- 1964 - Another Side of Bob Dylan
- 1965 - Bringing It All Back Home
- 1965 - Highway 61 Revisited
- 1966 - Blonde on Blonde
- 1967 - The Basement Tapes (released in 1975)
- 1967 - John Wesley Harding
- 1969 - Nashville Skyline
- Duke Ellington
- Bill Evans
- The Everly Brothers
- Fabian
- Faces. Formed in 1969.
- Fairport Convention: Seminal Folk Rock band, still around but enjoyed their greatest success at the end of the 1960s
- 1969 - What We Did On Our Holidays
- 1969 - Unhalfbricking
- 1969 - Liege & Lief
- Marianne Faithfull. First hit in 1964.
- Agnetha Fältskog released two solo Swedish-language albums in 1968 and 1969, having her first Swedish number-one single in 1967.
- Art Farmer
- José Feliciano
- Eddie Fisher
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Flanders and Swann
- Fleetwood Mac. Formed in 1967.
- Shelby Flint. First recordings in 1958; released debut album in 1961.
- The Flying Burrito Brothers
- Tennessee Ernie Ford
- George Formby
- The Four Freshmen
- Four Tops
- Claude François. Debuted in 1962.
- Aretha Franklin. Her first recordings were in 1956, but her first professional contract came in 1960.
- Free Band. Formed in 1968.
- The Free Design
- Robert Fripp
- The Fugs. Founded in 1964.
- 1965 - The Fugs First Album
- 1966 - The Fugs Second Album
- 1968 - It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest
- Serge Gainsbourg. Released some of his greatest hits during this decade.
- Marvin Gaye. Debut album in 1961.
- Genesis. Formed in 1967 from a group of Surrey, UK schoolboys. Released one album that was vastly different from their Progressive Rock sound.
- 1969 - From Genesis to Revelation
- Gilberto Gil
- João Gilberto
- Dizzy Gillespie
- Golden Earring
- Lesley Gore. The height of her career took place during this decade.
- Grand Funk Railroad. Formed in 1969.
- The Grateful Dead. Formed in 1965.
- 1968 - Anthem of the Sun
- Al Green
- Ferre Grignard
- Vince Guaraldi
- The Guess Who
- Arlo Guthrie
- 1967 - Alice's Restaurant
- Woody Guthrie. Died in 1967.
- Bruce Haack
- Merle Haggard
- Tom T. Hall
- Johnny Hallyday. Debut album in 1961; first topped the French album charts in 1968.
- Herbie Hancock. Debut in 1961.
- Françoise Hardy
- George Harrison. Debut album in 1968.
- 1968 - Wonderwall Music
- Coleman Hawkins
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins
- Isaac Hayes
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Debut album in 1967.
- 1967 - Are You Experienced
- 1967 - Axis: Bold As Love
- 1968 - Electric Ladyland
- Herman's Hermits. Formed in 1963, debut album in 1965.
- Bernard Herrmann
- Jacques Higelin
- Johnny Hodges
- The Hollies. Debut album in 1964.
- John Lee Hooker
- Johnny Horton
- Howlin' Wolf
- 1969 - The Howlin' Wolf Album
- Iron Butterfly. Formed in 1966. Debut album in 1968.
- 1968 - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
- The Isley Brothers
- The Jackson 5
- Etta James
- Jan and Dean
- Jefferson Airplane. Formed in 1965.
- 1966 - Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
- 1967 - Surrealistic Pillow
- 1968 - Crown of Creation
- Waylon Jennings. Began his long and successful tenure with RCA Records in 1965; his 1968 album Only the Greatest was credited with providing the roots for his distinctive style of music.
- Jethro Tull. Formed in 1967.
- Antônio Carlos Jobim
- Elton John. Debut album in 1969.
- Bruce Johnston
- 1963 - Surfin' 'Round The World
- Brian Jones. Recorded an album in 1968, but after his sudden death in 1969 it only came out posthumously in 1971.
- 1971 - Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Jajouka (recorded in 1968)
- George Jones
- Jack Jones was a staple of the easy listening end of the U.S. musical scene during the 1960s; his hits "Wives and Lovers" and "Lollipops and Roses" won a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male in the years they came out.
- Quincy Jones
- Spike Jones. Died in 1965.
- Tom Jones. Debut album in 1965.
- Janis Joplin.
- B.B. King
- Carole King. Started as a songwriter in 1960 and first hit the charts as a performer in 1962, nearly a decade before she became a household name.
- King Crimson. Formed in 1968.
- The Kinks. Formed in 1964.
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
- Eartha Kitt
- Gladys Knight and the Pips. First album/single released in 1962
- Fela Kuti
- Labelle. Formed in 1962
- Led Zeppelin. Formed in 1968.
- 1969 - Led Zeppelin (1969)
- 1969 - Led Zeppelin II
- Tom Lehrer broke through in this decade.
- 1965 - That Was the Year That Was
- 1966 - Songs by Tom Lehrer (re-recording of original 1953 album.)
- Leiber and Stoller: Still writing, and scoring hits from time to time throughout the decade.
- John Lennon. Released albums in collaboration with Yoko Ono, starting in 1968.
- 1968 - Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins
- 1969 - Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions
- 1969 - Wedding Album
- Jerry Lee Lewis. Recording career started in 1956. His career having declined for most of the decade, Lewis returned to prominence in 1968 with new Country Music hits.
- Liberace
- Gordon Lightfoot. Began his recording career in 1962.
- Little Richard
- Love. Released their debut album in 1966.
- 1967 - Forever Changes
- The Lovin' Spoonful: First album in 1965.
- Alvin Lucier
- 1969 - I Am Sitting In A Room
- Lynyrd Skynyrd. formed in 1964, debut album in 1973.
- Vera Lynn
- Henry Mancini. First hit single in 1960.
- Manfred Mann. Formed in 1962, and first hit single was 1964.
- Bob Marley. Started in 1962.
- Dean Martin
- John Martyn. Released his folk debut, London Conversation in 1967, would later incorporate jazz and dub.
- The Masked Marauders. Hoax "Supergroup" created by Rolling Stone staffers that released an album in 1969.
- Johnny Mathis
- John Mayall. Debut album in 1965.
- Toshiro Mayuzumi
- Curtis Mayfield. Debut with The Impressions.
- MC5. Formed in 1964, debut album in 1969.
- 1969 - Kick Out the Jams
- John McLaughlin.
- Steve Miller Band. Formed in 1966, debut album in 1968.
- Charles Mingus
- Joni Mitchell. Debut album in 1968.
- Thelonious Monk
- The Monkees. Formed in 1966.
- The Moody Blues. Formed in 1964, debut album in 1965.
- 1967 - Days of Future Passed
- Giorgio Moroder
- Van Morrison. Started with the band Them in 1964, then began a long and successful solo career in 1967.
- 1968 - Astral Weeks
- Mort Garson
- Mott the Hoople. Released their debut album in 1969.
- The Move. Formed in 1965, first hit in 1966.
- Jim Nabors. The star of television's Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. scored twelve albums on Billboard's album chart, including four from the 1960s alone. Three of his 1960s albums received Gold certification from the RIAA. His rendering of "The Impossible Dream", which he performed in the Gomer Pyle episode "The Show Must Go On", peaked at No. 30 on Australia's Go-Set chart in 1968.
- Napoleon XIV. Released his debut single and album in 1966.
- Milton Nascimento
- Ricky Nelson
- Willie Nelson
- Michael Nesmith
- Anthony Newley
- Alfred Newman
- Lionel Newman
- Randy Newman
- Nico
- Harry Nilsson. Began as a songwriter and demo singer in 1962. Recorded his formal debut album in 1967.
- The Nutty Squirrels. Formed in 1959, continued releasing albums during this decade.
- Laura Nyro. Singer-songwriter who had a prominent career in the late '60s and early '70s.
- The Oak Ridge Boys
- Phil Ochs
- Babatunde Olatunji. Released his debut album in 1960.
- 1960 - Drums of Passion
- Oliver!. Released his debut single and album in 1969.
- Omega. Formed in 1962.
- Yoko Ono. Released albums in collaboration with John Lennon, starting in 1968.
- Roy Orbison. Career started in 1956. First full album in 1961. Enjoyed his greatest commercial success between 1961 and 1964.
- Riz Ortolani
- Buck Owens
- Pappo
- Van Dyke Parks
- Dolly Parton. Debut album in 1967.
- Ann Peebles
- Jean-Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley. The In Sound From Way Out!, 1966, thus almost certainly the first synth album.
- Peter, Paul and Mary
- 1963 - "Puff the Magic Dragon"
- Édith Piaf. Career still went strong until her death in 1963.
- Pink Floyd. Formed in 1965.
- 1967 - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
- 1968 - A Saucerful of Secrets
- 1969 - More
- 1969 - Ummagumma
- Poco. Formed in 1968, debut album in 1969.
- Cole Porter. Died in 1964.
- Elvis Presley. Career and record releases started in 1953/1954. Presley still managed a number of hits in this decade.
- 1968 - Elvis (NBC TV Special)
- 1969 - From Elvis in Memphis
- The Pretty Things. Formed in 1963, first album in 1965.
- 1968 - SFSorrow
- Charley Pride. Began his recording career in 1966, and, in Nashville, made history by becoming the first commercially successful African-American country singer. In 1967, his album The Country Way topped the American country charts; from then until 1981, all but one of his studio albums would register in the top-10 on the country album chart. Similarly, his 1967 recording of "Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger" became the first in a long string of top-5 country hits he would score, with only two exceptions, until 1983.
- Procol Harum. Debut album in 1967.
- Tito Puente
- Gerry Rafferty. First single as a member of the Fifth Column released in the mid-1960s.
- Les Rallizes Dénudés
- Otis Redding. Debut album in 1964.
- 1965 - Otis Blue
- Renaissance. Formed and debuted in 1969.
- Jimmy Reed
- Jim Reeves' career began in 1948. Widely credited with his influence on the Nashville Sound, Reeves continued to chart regularly on both the album and single sectors of the American country charts after his 1964 death in a plane crash. In 1966, his recording of "Distant Drums" was a #1 hit on the UK Singles Chart, and stayed on that chart for 45 weeks; The BBC named it the "Song of the Year."
- Paul Revere and the Raiders. Formed in 1958, continued into the '70s, but most of their hits came in this decade.
- Cliff Richard. Recording career started in 1958. Continued topping the British charts to 1964.
- Marty Robbins
- The Rolling Stones. Formed in 1962.
- 1964 - The Rolling Stones
- 1965 - The Rolling Stones No. 2
- 1965 - Out of Our Heads
- 1966 - Aftermath (Album)
- 1967 - Between the Buttons
- 1967 - Their Satanic Majesties Request
- 1968 - Beggars Banquet
- 1969 - Let It Bleed
- Max Romeo
- Miklos Rozsa. Composing career started c. 1929, but Rosza created several of his orchestral works in this decade.
- Rush. Formed in 1968, debut album in 1974.
- Buffy Sainte-Marie
- 1969 - Illuminations
- Pharoah Sanders. Released debut record as a bandleader in 1965.
- Carlos Santana
- Peter Sarstedt
- Scorpions (Band). Formed in 1965, debut album in 1972.
- The Searchers. Formed in the late 50s, debut single in 1963.
- Neil Sedaka. Started out in the Fifties, but continued into the 1960s.
- Bob Seger. Started in this decade. His debut album was released in 1969.
- Sha Na Na
- The Shaggs
- Ravi Shankar.
- Sonny Sharrock. Made his debut as a bandleader in 1969.
- William Shatner
- 1968 - The Transformed Man
- The Sherman Brothers
- Bobby Sherman. Released his first single in 1962.
- Dinah Shore
- Dmitri Shostakovich. Composing career started in 1919, but Shostakovich created several of his orchestral works in this decade.
- Nina Simone
- Simon & Garfunkel. The music duo formed in 1957, but had their first major hit in 1965.
- Paul Simon. First solo album released in 1965.
- Frank Sinatra
- 1969 - My Way
- Nancy Sinatra
- Sly and the Family Stone. Formed in 1967.
- 1969 - Stand!
- The Small Faces. Formed in 1965. Debut album in 1966.
- 1968 - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
- Soft Machine
- Sonny & Cher
- Phil Spector. Had his biggest success as a producer in this decade.
- Ronnie Spector
- Dusty Springfield
- The Statler Brothers
- Status Quo. Formed in 1962 under the name The Spectres.
- Steeleye Span. Formed in 1969.
- Steppenwolf. Formed in 1967.
- Cat Stevens
- Ray Stevens
- Al Stewart. Debut in 1967.
- John Stewart
- Rod Stewart. Debut solo album in 1969.
- The Stooges. Formed in 1967. Debut album in 1969.
- 1969 - The Stooges
- Igor Stravinsky
- Barbra Streisand. Debut album in 1963, first major hit in 1964.
- Sun Ra
- The Supremes. Formed in 1959 as The Primettes, renamed The Supremes in 1961.
- The Temptations
- Irma Thomas
- The Tigers
- Tiny Tim
- Peter Tosh. Debuted in 1962, with The Wailers.
- Traffic. Debuted in 1967.
- Ike & Tina Turner
- The Turtles. Debuted in 1965.
- Conway Twitty
- Uriah Heep. Formed in 1969. Debut album in 1970.
- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Formed in 1960.
- Van der Graaf Generator
- Townes Van Zandt
- Edgard Varèse. Died in 1965.
- Sarah Vaughan
- 1961 - After Hours
- The Velvet Underground. Formed in 1965. Debut album in 1967.
- 1967 - The Velvet Underground & Nico
- 1968 - White Light/White Heat
- 1969 - The Velvet Underground
- The Walker Brothers. Formed in 1964, first major hits in 1965, first broke up in 1968.
- Scott Walker. Became a star with The Walker Brothers in 1965; first four solo albums 1967-1969.
- Dionne Warwick, first album released in 1963.
- Muddy Waters
- 1968 - Electric Mud
- Johnny "Guitar" Watson
- Lawrence Welk and his Musical Family were a prominent force on the American album charts during the decade; the band leader's television program was in the top-30 between 1964 and 1969.
- Kitty Wells
- The Who. Formed in 1964.
- 1965 - My Generation
- 1966 - A Quick One
- 1967 - The Who Sell Out
- 1969 - Tommy
- Jack Wild. Became a Teen Idol in 1968 before releasing his debut single in 1969.
- Wild Man Fischer
- Tony Williams, a drummer for Miles Davis, worked as a bandleader as well.
- Emergency!. Released in 1969.
- Andy Williams. Released the bulk of his albums in the 1960s.
- Hank Williams Jr.
- Brian Wilson. Released first solo singles in this decade.
- Stevie Wonder. Debut album in 1962, first hit single in 1963.
- The Wrecking Crew Music. First formed as Phil Spector's house band in the early 1960s.
- OV Wright
- The Wurzels
- The Yardbirds. Formed in 1963.
- 1964 - Five Live Yardbirds
- 1965 - For Your Love
- 1965 - Having a Rave Up
- 1966 - Roger the Engineer
- 1967 - Little Games
- Yes. Started as Mabel Greer's Toyshop in 1966. Formed in 1968. Debut album in 1969.
- 1969 - Yes
- Neil Young. First solo record in 1968.
- Frank Zappa. First recording in 1966, along with his support band "The Mothers of Invention".
- 1966 - Freak Out!
- 1967 - Absolutely Free
- 1968 - Lumpy Gravy
- 1968 - We're Only in It for the Money
- 1968 - Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
- 1969 - Uncle Meat
- 1969 - Hot Rats
- The Zombies: Formed in 1961, first album in 1965.
- 1965 - Begin Here
- 1968 - Odessey and Oracle
