Psychedelic Music and LSD

Certain sections of the music community readily latched on to the psychedelic culture extolled by the likes of Leary and Kesey. Although many artists experimented with psychedelic themes a few of these groups stand out and can be used as a case example for this musical subgenre. Groups such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors all incorporated the imagery, themes, and a musical atmosphere that explicitly toyed with psychedelic ideas and themes. These groups all rose to fame with the countercultural movement of the early 60s.

Jefferson Airplane was one of the core bands that formed the dedicated psychedelic scene. Their song, White Rabbit, can be viewed as a demonstrative example of psychedelic motifs in both musical composition and lyrical content. The slow burning and mesmerizing instrumentation is combined with haunting lyrics that reference Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland. Jefferson Airplane was committed to its psychedelic sound and was a driving force in the movement.

Jimi Hendrix is perhaps one of the most well known individuals to emerge from psychedelia. Although he arrived to the scene later than the other acts mentioned on this page his contribution was monolithic. Hendrix embraced the psychedelic sound and imagery in his music. He is responsible for bringing the genre to a wider audience and facilitated the crossing of race barriers at a time when genre was defined as much by aesthetic as it was by race. Hendrix laid the groundwork for later variations of psychedelic rock.

Other artists such as the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beach Boys and many others experimented with this genre of music but did not make it the focal point of their career. These artists rode the wave of popularity but abandoned the genre once its initial popularity burned out. The Beatles' album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band represents this passing fascination with psychedelia quite well. The album was directly inspired by the bands experimentation with LSD in the mid 60s. Songs such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds indirectly described the effects of an acid trip. This brief fascination with psychedelia demonstrates that the movement was extremely powerful yet surprisingly brief when compared to other similar musical shifts.