Stuck in the Psychedelic Era # 2022 (All-Time top 30 songs of the Psychedelic Era countdown) (starts 5/25/20)

    For the past couple of years I have been thinking about how to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Stuck in the Psychedelic Era's transition from live local show to its current status as a weekly syndicated program heard on stations from coast to coast (and in a few cases outside the lower 48). I knew I wanted to do some sort of countdown show, but was undecided between putting the emphasis on the artists or on the songs themselves, or maybe even some kind of hybrid of the two. I ultimately decided to do two shows, which resolved the problem completely. Or so I thought. As the concept for the "artists" show developed, I realized that, rather than do a strict top 20 countdown of artists, ranked by how many times they got played over the past ten years, I would rather put the emphasis on the artists that had the greatest impact on the psychedelic era itself. This meant including a a few (three) artists that were actually outside the top 20. These were the Blues Project (who were ranked 22nd in terms of most times played), Bob Dylan (23rd), and Pink Floyd (33rd). Of course this meant that three of the top 20 artists would not be featured on the show at all, those being Traffic (19), the Who (14) and Simon & Garfunkel (12). Dropping those three wasn't easy, but I reasoned that, despite the fact that they do get played a lot on Stuck in the Psychedelic Era, none of them had the sheer impact of a Bob Dylan or a Pink Floyd. The most difficult choice was between Simon & Garfunkel and the Byrds, both of which were major players on the folk-rock scene. I ultimately went with the Byrds, whose choice to electrify a folk song (Mr. Tambourine Man) was a conscious decision on the part of the band itself, while the electric version of The Sound Of Silence was a studio creation made without the artists knowledge or participation. Besides, the Byrds came in at #9, and I really didn't feel I could justify leaving any of the top 10 out of the show. The structure of the show changed a bit, going from a strict countdown to a narrative, with all but the top five artists played out of order. So, since I had no intention of putting up a playlist for the second show (which is a strict countdown of the 30 most-played SONGS on Stuck in the Psychedelic Era over the past ten years and thus a closely guarded secret), I am now going to give you, in correct order, the 20 most-played ARTISTS. As my grandfather used to say after the cards had been dealt, read 'em and weep.

20>Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company. This is actually a combined ranking that includes Joplin's solo releases as well as those as a member of one of San Francisco's most popular bands.
19>Buffalo Springfield. The band that launched the careers of Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay and (later) Jim Messina. Not bad for a group that only released two albums while they were together (and a third after they were effective split up).
18>Traffic. At first a British psychedelic band fronted by both Steve Winwood and Dave Mason, Traffic emerged as one of the first major acts of the classic rock era.
17>Country Joe and the Fish. Although they never considered themselves San Franciscans, Berkeley's most successful band had a huge impact on that city's Summer of Love.
16>Donovan. At first written off by the critics as a Bob Dylan knockoff, Donovan came into his own in 1966 with his Sunshine Superman album and subsequent releases. To many, Donovan was representative of the hippy ideal without all the negative baggage.
15>The Seeds. Some people in Los Angeles who heard the Seeds when they first hit the scene in 1965 were convinced that Sky Saxon and his band hailed from another planet, or at least another reality. They may have been right.
14>Music Machine. Fronted by unsung genius Sean Bonniwell and including some of L.A.'s most talented musicians (including future superstar producer Keith Olsen), the Music Machine was brutally sabotaged by bad decisions made by both their own management and their record label. One of the missions of Stuck in the Psychedelic Era is to keep the legacy of Bonniwell's songs alive.
13>The Who. The Who were, in their early days, one of the best singles bands in England, although they were virtually unknown in the US until Happy Jack hit the charts in 1967. From that point on, virtually every song they recorded was a classic, culminating with the release of Tommy, the world's first rock-opera, in 1969.
12>Electric Prunes. Although they were victims of the kind of behind-the-scenes shenanigans that were all too common throughout the 1960s, the Prunes ultimately had the last laugh when they reformed in 1999 and began releasing the kinds of albums they were never allowed to make in 1967.
11>Simon & Garfunkel. The most successful duo of the psychedelic era managed to remain true to their folk roots while constantly exploring new ground, thanks to the creativity of Paul Simon.
10>Animals (including Eric Burdon & The Animals). In their original incarnation, the Animals had a love of American blues unsurpassed by any other British Invasion act, yet managed to score hit after hit with songs from professional songwriters like Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. After the original band disbanded Eric Burdon formed a new Animals and turned out some of the most psychedelic tunes ever, including the classic Sky Pilot.
9>Byrds. Not content to be known as the band that created folk-rock, the Byrds embraced psychedelia with their Fifth Dimension and Younger Than Yesterday albums while even then developing a sound that would come to be called country-rock in the 1970s.
8>Love. Although Love was never a huge success in the US (outside of the L.A. strip, where they were gods), they grew constantly in popularity overseas, particularly in the UK, where their Forever Changes album peaked at #24 on the British album charts. Over the years Love has come to be recognized as one of the most influential (among musicians) rock bands of all time.
7>Kinks. Although the Rolling Stones are often cited as the inspiration for the American garage band movement of the mid-1960s, the Kinks deserve equal recognition, with songs like You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night being popular, yet easy to learn.
6>Doors. I think Oliver Stones' film about the Doors pretty much sums up why their music has endured for so long.
5>Cream. Although he had received recognition for his work with the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, it was his role as guitarist for Cream that cemented his role as one of world's premier guitarists. If that wasn't enough, Cream also established Jack Bruce as both a bassist and vocalist and brought Ginger Baker recognition as (arguably) the best drummer in rock music at the time.
4>Rolling Stones. There is a reason they have been called the world's greatest rock band. Their 60s output alone is second only to the Beatles.
3>Jefferson Airplane. Although they were not known for the kind of long improvisational pieces that characterized San Francisco's brand of psychedelia (as exemplified by Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Grateful Dead) they were the first San Francisco band signed to a major label and the fist to score a national top 10 hit, and quite possibly were responsible for drawing the nation's attention to the City By the Bay in the first place, resulting in the Summer Of Love.
2>The Beatles. Yeah, there was someone that got played more than the Beatles on Stuck in the Psychedelic Era over the past 10 years. Hard to believe, I know, but here it is:
1>Jimi Hendrix (including both versions of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Band of Gypsys, and Gypsys Sun And Rainbows). As far as I'm concerned the psychedelic era truly came to an end with the death of Jimi Hendrix in late 1970. Every song (with the possible exception of Noel Redding's two compostions) on every Jimi Hendrix album is outstanding. Nobody (not even the Beatles) can match that record.

Next week maybe I'll reveal the top 30 songs. Then again, maybe not, so you'd best just listen to this week's show to be on the safe side. :)