A Very Good Year

Music of 1968 Home

Janis, Laura, Satchmo, and Terry

By: AARP Radio | Source: AARP.org | April 7, 2009

Cultural history is different from the history of politics or the kind of history that focuses on events.

Thinking about the music of 1968 may lead us to a song that was recorded in 1967—"What a Wonderful World"—or to a band that broke up in 1968 but is together again in 2008, Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Arguably, 1967, the Summer of Love, or 1969, Woodstock, were more important to the history of music—especially pop music.

And yet...

It has given us great pleasure to explore 1968 musically, and to talk with some of the men and women who either were directly involved or are the keepers of the flame.

At each page in this mini-Web site, you'll be able to hear music and interviews. There are exclusive photos and a free download of "Hold Me," a song performed by the 2008 edition of the '60s superstars, Big Brother and the Holding Company. You can also play the song on this page, as you can play all the audio features on each page of the site.

You won't be interested in everything on these 1968 pages, unless your tastes are truly universal. But join us if you will, feel free to comment here, and tell us about your own musical experiences.

• Janis Joplin, Sam Andrew, and Big Brother and the Holding Company
• Sam Andrew: Then and Now
• Louis Armstrong, 'What a Wonderful World'
• Laura Nyro—'Stoned Soul Picnic'—and Judy Kuhn
• Terry Riley 'In C': Bang on a Can