Super Al Kooper: 50 Years of Sensational Sessions

Imagine the Rolling Stones' classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want," sans the embellishments of the London Bach Choir.  Definitely doable, in my opinion.  Ponder the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road," minus the Phil Spector-imposed orchestral strings and choir of angels. Totally preferable. Contemplate Bob Dylan's landmark "Like a Rolling Stone" without  those haunting, no-direction-home Hammond organ chords. Absolutely inconceivable. Had it not been for the gutsy gamble of a 21-year old named Al Kooper, Dylan's decade-defining anthem would lack much of its signature, soulful sound. The great Mr. Kooper turned 70 on February 5, 2014.

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David Peel: The Dope-Smokin’ Pope of the New York City Hippies

By the time the Age of Aquarius hit my little Pennsyltucky town, it was already the Age of Libra. For years we stared at our cabinet TVs with envy at the scenes of flower-children burning draft cards in Chicago, marching for peace in D.C., and dancing in hallucinogenic stupor in Golden Gate park. Just when we'd nearly given up hope that we'd ever be hip, God answered our prayers and gave us something to break the monotony of our boring, bourgeois lives: a bearded, long-haired, blurry-eyed, sandaled dude whom the town elders affectionately called "The Dirty Hippie." So touched was he by this moniker that he actually painted the nom de freak on the side of his psychedelically embellished pickup truck. What a treat to see him whiz by -- "Sunshine of your Love" and fragrant smoke wafting from his windows -- as we walked home from school. "Hey look! It's the Dirty Hippie!" we'd cry out as we waved. I have no idea whether our token tokin' rebel embraced the make-love-not-war ideology of the times, but he looked like he stepped right out of central casting for "Easy Rider." And that was good enough for us. We didn't want any trouble-making pinko types, anyway. We weren't ready for our small hamlet to become infested with the city-bred rodent variety of hippie -- like those personified by David Peel.

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MC5: Kick Out the Censors, MoFos!

Through the years, The Great and Powerful Walmart has banned countless CDs on the basis of album art and song lyrics they deem distasteful or obscene. These include releases by artists like Nirvana, Sheryl Crow, Prince, Marilyn Manson, The Goo Goo Dolls and Green Day. While profit-obsessed record company execs may take offense at Walmart's music policing, the artists themselves probably couldn't care less whether the world's largest, most dehumanizing, morally righteous retail chain carries their wares. But there was one band from the 1960s - the MC5 - that didn't take kindly to a local department store's refusal to stock their record. And they sought revenge.

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Tiny Tim: Tiptoeing Through the Garden of Otherworldly Delights

The 1960s music scene had it all: folkies, mods, electric bluesmen, surf singers, soul scorchers, R&B belters, psychedelic hipsters…and one falsetto-voiced ukelele player who went by the name of Tiny Tim. No course on the decade's pop culture would be complete without a mention of this eccentric celebrity.

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How Ravi Shankar Helped Shape the Cosmic ’60s Sound

Can you imagine 1960s psychedelic rock music without the mystical aura of the sitar? We have Ravi Shankar to thank for that distinctive sound. The world's most renowned sitar player, born on this date in 1920, inspired many of rock's most famous musicians to incorporate the traditional Indian stringed instrument into their songs. Ironically, Ravi, a classical musician, never sought fame among the titans of rock. They sought him. His sitar vibe was unique to Western ears, and once rock's 1960s alchemists discovered that sound, it would make a major impact on Western culture.

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