60s Music Trivia

The 1960s reshaped popular music in under ten years, sliding from doo-wop harmonies into the British Invasion, Motown's hit-making machine, and the psychedelic experiments that closed out the decade. This quiz revisits the artists and moments that made it happen.

The British Invasion and Motown's Rise

American teenagers spent much of the decade torn between British guitar bands and Detroit's polished soul sound. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones led one charge across the Atlantic, while Motown groups like the Temptations and the Supremes turned out tightly choreographed, chart-topping singles almost on a schedule.

• Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' became an anthem well beyond its original songwriter's version.
• Bob Dylan's songwriting helped push folk music toward direct social commentary.
• The Beach Boys pursued increasingly ambitious studio production as the decade went on.

Woodstock, Soul, and the Summer of Love

By 1967 and 1969, music had become tangled up with counterculture itself. San Francisco's Summer of Love and the muddy fields of Woodstock turned concerts into cultural touchstones, while soul singers like Otis Redding captured a quieter, more reflective side of the same era before his career was cut tragically short.