The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool, in 1960. They became the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in the history of music. Their best-known lineup consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later utilized several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as "Beatlemania", but as their songwriting grew in sophistication, they came to be perceived by many fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American musician, singer-songwriter, music producer, artist, and writer. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of Dylan's early songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. Leaving his initial base in the culture of folk music behind, Dylan's six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone" radically altered the parameters of popular music in 1965. His recordings employing electric instruments attracted denunciation and criticism from others in the folk movement.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix was an American musician, singer and songwriter. Despite a limited mainstream exposure of four years, he is widely considered one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. After law enforcement authorities had twice caught Hendrix riding in stolen cars, he was given a choice between spending time in prison or serving in the US military: he chose the latter and enlisted in the Army in May 1961. Inspired musically by American rock and roll and electric blues, during his service Hendrix formed a band called the Casuals. In June 1962 he was granted an honorable discharge on the basis of unsuitability, and in 1963, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee and formed the King Kasuals, playing numerous gigs on the Chitlin' circuit. By early 1964 he had moved to Harlem, where he earned a spot in the Isley Brothers' backing band. Later that year he found work with Little Richard, whom he played with through mid-1965. He then joined Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after having been discovered by bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals. Following his initial success in Europe with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, he achieved fame in the US after his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. He headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, before dying from barbiturate related asphyxia at the age of 27.