"Let the sound take you away..."
Steppenwolf
In 1960, Elvis returned to the music scene from the US Army, joining the other white male vocalists at the top of the charts; Bobby Darin, Neil Sedaka, Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Anka, DelShannon and Frankie Avalon. America, however, was ready for a change. The Tamla Motown Record Company came on the scene, specializing in black rhythm and blues, aided in the emergence of female groups such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, Martha and the Vandellas, the Supremes, and Aretha Franklin, as well as some black men, including Smoky Robinson, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and the Temptations. Bob Dylan helped bring about a folk music revival, along with Joan Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary. The Beach Boys began recording music that appealed to high schoolers. The Beatles, from England, burst into popularity with innovative rock music that appealed to all ages. But we lost a few legends!
Sam Cooke
Sam Cook: (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was a popular and influential American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Musicians and critics today recognize him as one of the founders of soul music, and as one of the most important singers in soul music history. He had 29 Top 40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1965. Major hits like "You Send Me", "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World" and "Bring It on Home to Me" are some of his most popular songs. The details of the case involving Sam Cooke's death are still in dispute. The official police record states that Cooke was shot dead by Bertha Franklin, the manager of the Hacienda Motel, where Cooke had checked in earlier that evening.
More Sam Cooke info here.
Eddie Cochran
Original name: Ray Edward Cochran. (October 2, 1938–April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician and an important influence on popular music during the late 1950s and early 1960s. On Saturday, April 16, 1960, at about 11:50 p.m., while on tour in the United Kingdom, 21-year-old Cochran died in a traffic accident in a taxi. His most famous hit, "Summertime Blues" (co-written with Jerry Capehart), was an important influence on music in the late 1950s, both lyrically and musically. Cochran's brief career included only a few more hits, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", "My Way", "Weekend", "Nervous Breakdown", and his posthumous UK number one hit "Three Steps to Heaven. Eddie Cochran - Singer - Facebook
Alan Freed
Alan Freed: (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965), also known (briefly) as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey who became internationally known for promoting African-American Rhythm and Blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of Rock and Roll. Many of the top African-American performers of the first generation of rock and roll (such as Bo Diddley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry) salute Alan Freed for his pioneering attitude in breaking down racial barriers among the youth of 1950s America. He died in a Palm Springs, California hospital in 1965 from uremia and liver cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism.The Official Alan Freed Website
Otis Redding
Original name: Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an influential American deep soul singer. Redding, his manager, the pilot, and four members of his backup band, The Bar-Kays, were killed when his chartered plane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 10, 1967.Otis Redding | The Legacy Continues