The sixties were turbulent times in American culture. With war, racism, and a changing society, the nation needed a way to channel their thoughts and emotions. Music became this channel. Some of the best music in the history of the America came from this time of social insecurity. Creative minds seemed to unite to provide a voice for the people and comfort them in unsure times. With this creativity and social unrest came the use of drugs and the freedom of sex. Music in the sixties helped, hindered, and left us with perhaps one of the most memorable styles of music known to America. Music from the sixties helped the generation cope with many of the puzzling issues that plagued society in this decade. Music gave America motivation for social change, a form of expression, and boosted hopes and morale for our soldiers in Vietnam.
             The music of any specific era is like a mirror reflecting the concerns of a culture at that specific time. Sometimes it reflects these images in an indirect way, sometimes very directly. The decade of the sixties was a revolutionary and turbulent time for social and political change. The music and musical styles of the sixties reflected American culture and had an effect on the political activism for which the sixties are best remembered.
             Sixties music can be distinguished from other periods by three main characteristics. First, it reflected the new sexual permissiveness by including obviously sexy lyrics. Second, until the mid-1950's, popular music was aimed at both teenager and their parents. During the sixties, a "youth culture" formed that was distinct from the rest of society. "Third, until the mid-fifties, both popular music musicians and their audiences were overwhelmingly middle-class and white. During the sixties this changed when a number of divergent forces came together to create a new kind of music and a particular audience for that music. One major force was the mass migratio...