The 60s Guitar
1960–1969
The 1960s changed guitar forever. The British Invasion put electric guitar at the center of popular music. Blues, rock, psychedelia and folk all collided, and the instrument went from accompaniment to the main event.
The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Cream redefined what was possible. Hendrix turned feedback, distortion and the wah pedal into musical elements. Clapton earned the nickname "God." The Beatles proved that great songwriting and guitar innovation could coexist.
These songs are the foundation. If you want to understand why the guitar sounds the way it does today, start here.
Louis Armstrong 1
The Allman Brothers Band 1
The Beatles 45
- 1 A Day in the Life LESSON 1967
- 2 All My Loving LESSON 1963
- 3 All You Need Is Love LESSON 1967
- 4 And I Love Her LESSON 1964
- 5 Because LESSON 1969
- 6 Blackbird LESSON 1968
- 7 Can't Buy Me Love LESSON 1964
- 8 Come Together LESSON 1969
- 9 Day Tripper LESSON 1965
- 10 Dear Prudence LESSON 1968
- 11 Don't Let Me Down LESSON 1969
- 12 Drive My Car LESSON 1965
- 13 Eight Days a Week LESSON 1964
- 14 Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight LESSON 1969
- 15 Helter Skelter LESSON 1968
- 16 Here Comes the Sun TAB 1969
- 17 Here, There and Everywhere LESSON 1966
- 18 Hey Jude LESSON 1968
- 19 I Am The Walrus LESSON 1967
- 20 I Feel Fine LESSON 1964
- 21 I Want To Hold Your Hand TAB 1963
- 22 I Want You LESSON 1969
- 23 I Will LESSON 1968
- 24 In My Life LESSON 1965
- 25 Julia Acoustic - Turnaround, Bridge & Outro LESSON 1968
- 26 Julia Acoustic - Verse & Chorus LESSON 1968
- 27 Julia Acoustic Pt.1 - Verse & Chorus LESSON 1968
- 28 Julia Acoustic Pt.2 - Turnaround, Bridge & Outro LESSON 1968
- 29 Love Me Do LESSON 1963
- 30 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds LESSON 1967
- 31 Mother Nature's Son LESSON 1969
- 32 Norwegian Wood - Acoustic LESSON 1965
- 33 Nowhere Man LESSON 1965
- 34 Octopus's Garden LESSON 1969
- 35 Penny Lane LESSON 1967
- 36 Something TAB 1969
- 37 Strawberry Fields Forever LESSON 1967
- 38 This Boy Guitar Chords Lesson LESSON 1963
- 39 Twist and Shout LESSON 1963
- 40 We Can Work It Out LESSON 1965
- 41 While My Guitar Gently Weeps TAB 1968
- 42 With a Little Help from My Friends LESSON 1967
- 43 Yellow Submarine LESSON 1966
- 44 Yesterday LESSON 1965
- 45 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away LESSON 1965
The Moody Blues 1
James Bond 1
David Bowie 1
The Beach Boys 5
The Righteous Brothers 1
Iron Butterfly 1
Ray Charles 1
Eric Clapton 1
Leonard Cohen 1
Cream 8
- 1 Badge TAB 1969
- 2 Crossroads LESSON 1968
- 3 Crossroads Pt.1 - Intro, 12 Bar Progressions & Outro Section LESSON 1968
- 4 Crossroads Pt.2 - First Guitar Solo LESSON 1968
- 5 Crossroads Pt.3 - Second Guitar Solo LESSON 1968
- 6 I Feel Free LESSON 1966
- 7 Sunshine Of Your Love LESSON 1968
- 8 White Room TAB 1968
Dick Dale 1
Neil Diamond 1
The Doors 3
The Addams Family 1
Serge Gainsbourg 1
Simon & Garfunkel 2
Neal Hefti 1
Jimi Hendrix 18
- 1 All Along the Watchtower TAB 1968
- 2 Angel TAB 1968
- 3 Castles Made of Sand TAB 1967
- 4 Fire LESSON 1967
- 5 Foxy Lady TAB 1967
- 6 Hey Joe TAB 1967
- 7 Little Wing TAB 1967
- 8 Manic Depression LESSON 1967
- 9 May This Be Love LESSON 1967
- 10 Purple Haze TAB 1967
- 11 Purple Haze Instrumental LESSON 1967
- 12 Red House TAB 1967
- 13 Spanish Castle Magic LESSON 1967
- 14 Star Spangled Banner TAB 1969
- 15 The Wind Cries Mary TAB 1967
- 16 Voodoo Child TAB 1968
- 17 Voodoo Child Pt.1 LESSON 1968
- 18 Voodoo Child Pt.2 (1st Solo) LESSON 1968
Mission Impossible 1
The Kingsmen 1
The Kinks 2
Mancini, Henry 1
Wes Montgomery 1
Morricone, Ennio 4
Van Morrison 1
Roy Orbison 1
The Mamas and the Papas 1
Otis Redding 1
Creedence Clearwater Revival 2
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai 1
The Shadows 6
Buffalo Springfield 1
Steppenwolf 2
The Rolling Stones 7
The Temptations 1
The Troggs 1
The Ventures 1
Mason Williams 5
Led Zeppelin 20
- 1 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You LESSON 1969
- 2 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You Pt.2 LESSON 1969
- 3 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You Pt.3 LESSON 1969
- 4 Bring It On Home LESSON 1969
- 5 Communication Breakdown LESSON 1969
- 6 Dazed and Confused LESSON 1969
- 7 Good Times Bad Times TAB 1969
- 8 Heartbreaker LESSON 1969
- 9 Hey, Hey, What Can I Do LESSON 1969
- 10 Living Loving Maid LESSON 1969
- 11 Moby Dick LESSON 1969
- 12 Ramble On LESSON 1969
- 13 Rock N Roll - All Rhythm Guitar Parts LESSON 1969
- 14 Rock N Roll - Guitar Solo LESSON 1969
- 15 Since I've Been Loving You TAB 1969
- 16 Thank You LESSON 1969
- 17 The Lemon Song LESSON 1969
- 18 What Is and What Should Never Be LESSON 1969
- 19 Whole Lotta Love TAB 1969
- 20 Whole Lotta Love (Guitar Solo) LESSON 1969
Guitar in the 1960s
The 60s began with clean-toned surf guitar and ended with fuzz-drenched psychedelia. In between, the blues exploded in Britain. Cream's Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck took American blues and amplified it into something heavier and more expressive. The pentatonic scale became the universal language of rock guitar.
The Beatles pushed songwriting boundaries with every album, incorporating everything from Indian music to tape loops. By the end of the decade, Led Zeppelin had laid the blueprint for hard rock and heavy metal with their debut albums.
Gear That Defined the Decade
The Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul became the two dominant electric guitar designs, a status they still hold today. Marshall amplifiers arrived in 1962 and changed everything. The first fuzz pedals (Maestro Fuzz-Tone, Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face) gave guitarists a new sonic palette. The Vox wah pedal appeared in 1966 and became inseparable from Hendrix's sound.
Key Genres of the 60s
Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock, Rock, Folk Rock. These four genres tell the story of the decade. Explore each one to see how they connect.