I remember both but as a musician(guitarist)who grew up with these people, my 60s collection of music tends toward the "psychedelic", harder rock/ blues-Motown of the era. I saw Paul Revere and The Raiders live several times and there have been fewer harder rocking groups since, they could give Aerosmith a run for their money seven ways to Sunday, and this was 1965.
The Association was a first class group, their recordings were technically excellent coming from the wasteland of the 60s and stand up today as timeless, but they were just not my type of music. I loved The Byrds, and considered the Beatles rank amateurs compared to Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and Gene Clarke. Many people don't know the core of The Byrds were hardened and experienced bluegrass session musicians, while drummer Mike Clarke was a fast learner and David Crosby was a drug pusher who could sing.
I am, to this day, not found a use or purpose for The Doors, the Grateful Dead, or The Airplane. Keep Grace, and give me Jorma and Marty Balin, the finest vocalist on the planet. I think being a musician does not endow anyone with an instant expertise' on foreign affairs which is why I rejected the West Coast collective farm, except for Blue Cheer, Love, and The Byrds. The British Invasion brought a lot of melody and harmonic pleasantries, then it brought The Animals and The Yardbirds who I loved too. The heart of The Stones was Brian Jones and after his replacement, Mick Taylor, left I lost interest in The Keith Richards Band(If I hear Beast Of Burden one more time...)
The 60s to me were the garage bands. Electric Prunes, Syndicate Of Sound, The Blue Magoos, Arthur Lee and Love, Music Machine, Blue Cheer. Mitch Ryder was a part of it, as was Mark Lindsey and The Raiders, when they could get away from Dick Clark and
rock it out. Bob Seeger was a late comer, as was a young guitarist named Theodore Nugent. No heavy metal band then, or since, has recorded a song with the pure power of Hurdy Gurdy Man by Donovan Leitch. Creedence was our answer to the Beatles but I never heard them until 1969. Zappa didn't take anything seriously, I didn't take Zappa seriously in anything, particularly as a composer.
If you can wade through the rockabilly/dowop garbage of the 50s, I recommend
www.classicbands.com. This guy has been there from the beginning, as I have from the 60s period.
A Las Vegas luthier'(guitarmaker) to some heavy hitters named Ed Roman makes repros of the classic Vox Teardrops and other models that are vastly superior to the originals quality wise.
Sorry to be so pedantic, I am a genetic mutation born without blood, I have nothing in my veins but music. My horror fiction is soaked in music and is merely real life with a supernatural horror background. I don't think Stephen King can ever comprehend the horror of an 80 year old body with an 18 year old mind trapped in it.
"My social life's a dud
My name is really mud..." TALK TALK, The Music Machine
"Saw a deadhead sticker on a Cadillac
A voice in my hed said you can;t go back
You can never go back..." BOYS OF SUMMER, Don Henley
Bones
