Five important songs that defined life in 1966

The article presents 1966 as a year of cultural change, when psychedelic rock was emerging amid political tension and growing unease about the Vietnam War. It argues that five songs captured the era’s experimentation, optimism and darker undercurrents as society stood on the brink of the counterculture movement.

The songs discussed include The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”, The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”, The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” and The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black”. The article links their sounds and themes to the coming Summer of Love, while noting that the period’s music also reflected loss, grief and the effects of conflict. The supplied text ends before naming the fifth song.