Bob Dylan: Lay Lady Lay (1969)

Bob Dylan turned to Nashville for influence. The classic has been covered by groups ranging from Ministry to The Byrds and Duran Duran.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrZnnvEyTUs

Led Zeppelin: Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (1969)

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant loved Joan Baez. So they covered her  "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO6bRjcyQN8

The Rolling Stones: Monkey Man (1969)

The prevailing theory is "Monkey Man" is about a bad acid trip. However, some believe it is a self portrait by Mick Jagger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNY8eYmzdH4

The Rolling Stones: Midnight Rambler (1969)

The Stones created the first blues opera with "Midnight Rambler." The song caused a stir as the song plays out a Boston Strangler rape/murder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNaAEJv_sDQ

The Who: We're Not Gonna Take It (1969)

Pete Townshend did not write "We're Not Gonna Take It" for Tommy. It was initially a reaction to politics of the period. However, as Tommy developed, and his followers became disenchanted, it became a natural fit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqmC1T9rukk

Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young: Woodstock (1970)

Joni Mitchell wrote "Woodstock" based on Graham Nash's descriptions of the event. Mitchell's version came out in 1969 while Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young released a version in 1970. Later, Led Zeppelin incorporated part of the song into their live version of "Dazed and Confused."

CSNY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKdsRWhyH30



Joni Mitchell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRjQCvfcXn0




　


　

Simon and Garfunkel: The Boxer (1969)

"The Boxer" took Simon and Garfunkel over 100 hours to record. They brought in Fred Carter Jr. to play guitar on the track. Paul Simon struggled with the chorus and used "lie-la-lie" as a space filler until he could develop one. He couldn't and the refrain remained. Some thought the song was a veiled shot at Bob Dylan, but in reality, it was autobiographical. At the time, Simon felt people were beating him mercilessly. He even included the Biblical phrases "workman's wages" and "seeking out the poorer quarters" to accentuate his isolation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFML_pxlY


Live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy1hXDOenOY


　


　

Frank Sinatra: My Way (1969)

There are few songs that match their artist more than "My Way" and Frank Sinatra. The tune is about an aging man reflecting back on his life and realizing he might not have made all the right choices, but the choices were his. Paul Anka adapted a 1967 French pop song and gave it to Sinatra. It hit #27 on the charts in 1969. In the U.K., it set a record by appearing in the Top 40 for 75 weeks. It did not leave the British charts until September 1971. The 75 weeks is a record that still stands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egY8rUpxqcE

The Beatles: Come Together (1969)

John Lennon originally wrote "Come Together" in support of Timothy Leary's campaign for California governor. The campaign ended when Leary went to prison for drug possession. Many have speculated as to the meaning of some of the lyrics, but it might very well have been Lennon being Lennon and having fun spinning words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8LZGQ4MkvQ

The Beatles: Across the Universe (1969)

"Across the Universe" first appeared on the charity album No One's Gonna Change Our World, which featured songs from The Hollies, Lulu, the Bee Gees, and others. The song later appeared on Let It Be.  The opening line "words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup" came to John Lennon after listening to his ex-wife Cynthia prattle on about something. He turned that moment into a song. The song later helped inspire a film of the same name that featured Beatles songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj-4t9drUlM

The Band: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (1969)

Canadian Robbie Robertson wrote a sad Civil War tale from the Confederate perspective. The war is nearing its end and the South decimated. The Union army is tearing up railroad tracks and has destroyed the crops. People are starving and many young men will never return. The song evokes extreme sadness and extreme hopelessness in the South that still exists to some extent to this day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMHyovwX7JM

The Stooges: I Wanna Be Your Dog (1969)

Want to know where the Sex Pistols came from? Listen to "I Wanna Be Your Dog" with its 3 chords, memorable riff, distorted guitar, and pounding piano. Brilliant in its simplicity and audaciously aggressive! This is not the Beatles singing "I Wanna Be Your Man"!

Studio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJIqnXTqg8I

Live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM9b3uUQ2zI

The song has been covered hundreds of times.

Sonic Youth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BII01gneTU

R.E.M w/Patti Smith:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb31X1pmrag

Joan Jett:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toDgW_LHXZU&feature=related

Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond (1969)

2011 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Inductee...with a song hijacked by the Boston Red Sox...

Caroline Kennedy was the inspiration for the song.

Live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4udYq7-0Gg

Lyrics (Studio Version):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLPiYZrwAzU

833. Black Magic Woman by Santana (1970)

Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac wrote "Black Magic Woman", but the song did not achieve classic status until covered by Carlos Santana. As a result, people forget the Mac version while the song is closely associated with Santana. In fact, the cover helped Santana's Abraxas go quadruple platinum. The Santana version now appears on Guitar Hero.

Fleetwood Mac:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0uS0IhXYLA

Santana:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsshNKN_Kag&feature=related

847. I Want To Take You Higher by Sly and the Family Stone (1969)

"I Want to Take You Higher" is about the feeling music brings to people. At the time, music was life to people. It was not like today where music is essentially background noise. The Woodstock version of the song is particularly notable with the interplay between Sly and the crowd.

Studio version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfydfBXlByk

Woodstock:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ig-6f0g55c

Tina Turner cover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lHtYsMGuVU&feature=related

Jeff Beck:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtKGBmyyHzE

884. The Golden Slumbers Medley by The Beatles (1969)

Although Let It Be was technically The Beatles final album, it was recorded before Abbey Road.  The Golden Slumbers Medley caps the Beatles career and is their real sendoff.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qP4Ye15J0Y

978. Midnight Special by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

Midnight Special was written in the twenties and popularized by Lead Belly in the thirties. It's been covered by artists ranging from Buckwheat Zydeco to ABBA. The most famous modern version comes from Creedence. I remember singing this at a Buckwheat Zydeco show in Mt. Pleasant one fine winter.

Best Line: You better not gamble, there, you better not fight, at all
Or the sheriff will grab ya and the boys will bring you down.
The next thing you know, boy, Oh! You're prison bound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrj5Kxdzouc