Psychedelic Laundromat II – Part 1

I’ve been listening to lots of oldies this summer and for me summertime and psychedelic music- with its messages of peace, love, freedom, nature, sunshine, and rainbows- always seem to go well together. While the Beatles are credited with bringing psychedelic music into the mainstream, there were plenty of other ‘60s artists back then taking the psychedelic plunge, exploring, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of popular music on both sides of the pond (the Byrds created the first psychedelic song with “Eight Miles High” which was released a full year before the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever”).

Donovan

Because of its association with drug use, psychedelic music can scare off some listeners but for me psychedelic is less about drugs and more about celebrating a brief period of time when popular musicians were limited only by their imaginations and the music was fun, adventurous, and anything could happen whether in L.A., London, San Francisco, or the Amalfi Coast. Here are some of my favorites including songs by both British and American artists. Enjoy the trip- and beware of witches!

01. Love – “No Matter What You Do” (1966)

02. The Rolling Stones – “Back Street Girl” (1967)

03. The Who – “I Can See for Miles” (1967)

04. Donovan – “Sunshine Superman” (1966)

05. The Association – “Rose Petals, Incense, and a Kitten” (1968)

06. Love – “Bummer in the Summer” (1967)

07. The Beach Boys – “Busy Doin’ Nothin’” (1968)

08. The Rolling Stones – “All Sold Out” (1967)

09. The Rolling Stones – “Dandelion” (1967)

10. The Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations” (1966)

11. The Turtles – “Love in the City” (1969)

12. Love – “The Red Telephone” (1967)

13. Love – “Alone Again Or” (1967)

14. The Turtles “How You Loved Me” (1969)

15. The Turtles – “Is It Any Wonder” (1967)

16. The Byrds – “Wild Mountain Thyme” (1966)

17. The Rolling Stones – “She’s a Rainbow” (1967)

18. Love – “7 and 7 Is” (1967)

19. Donovan – “Season of the Witch” (1966)

20. Jefferson Airplane – “Volunteers” (1969)

21. The Turtles – “House on the Hill” (1969)

22. The Rolling Stones – “My Obsession” (1967)

23. The Turtles – “Me About You” (1967)

24. The Beach Boys –  “Fallin’ in Love (aka Lady)” (1970)

25. The Byrds – “Mr. Spaceman” (1966)

26. The Rolling Stones – “Something Happened to Me Yesterday” (1967)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

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