Author discusses why 1965 was music’s best year ever

By Steve Marinucci
March 16, 2015

Andrew Grant Jackson thinks 1965 was the best year music ever had. And he has documented that evidence in a just published book, “1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music.” “It’s about 1965, and the rivalry between the Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Motown, Stax, Johnny Cash, everybody,” he told Beatles Examiner.

In the introduction to the book, Jackson sets the tone for the musical atmosphere of 50 years ago, “Nineteen sixty-five is the moment in rock history when the Technicolor butterfly burst out of its black-and-white cocoon.” Jackson says this was thanks to the influence of social changes, the media, drugs, the Pill and long hair.

Musically, 1965 was the year in America when, besides the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five, the Supremes, the Righteous Brothers, Herman’s Hermits, the Hollies, the Rolling Stones and the Byrds, among others, made huge dents in the charts. For rock bands, it was the year when the Beatles played Shea Stadium and forged ahead creatively with the “Rubber Soul” album, the Rolling Stones topped the charts for the first time with the sexually aggressive “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” and the Who were introduced to music fans with “My Generation.”

But folk-rock made a big impression, too, as Bob Dylan released “Like a Rolling Stone” and went electric at the Newport Folk Festival, Barry McGwire released his big hit “Eve of Destruction” and Simon and Garfunkel were introduced to AM radio with “The Sounds of Silence.” On the soul music scene, James Brown scored his first Top 10 hit with “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” and the Temptations’ “My Girl” was a No. 1 Billboard hit.

Jackson, has also authored two Beatles books, “Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of the Beatles’ Solo Careers” and “Where’s Ringo?” which is “Where’s Waldo?” applied to the Beatles. “It’s a history of the Beatles from Ringo’s perspective,” with lots of puzzles and things to find.

 Steve Marinucci’s website, Abbeyrd’s Beatles Page, is widely regarded as the most accurate Beatles news source on the internet. A former journalist for over 30 years at the San Jose Mercury News, he has interviewed celebrities including Yoko Ono, Pattie Boyd, Mark Lewisohn, David Bedford, Bruce Johnston and May Pang. He is married and has one son. Email him at beatlesexaminer@gmail.com