Hippie Music: Groovy Songs from the 1960s and 1970s

Hippie music from the 1960s and 1970s mixed folk, rock, protest songs, psychedelic sounds, peace anthems, spiritual searching, and a whole lot of “can we maybe not destroy everything?” energy. These songs came from coffeehouses, festivals, campuses, communes, AM radio, FM album stations, and the counterculture’s long, colorful conversation with the mainstream.

This list includes folk-rock, psychedelic rock, sunshine pop, protest music, Woodstock-era anthems, and mellow 1970s songs that carried the hippie spirit forward. Some songs are political. Some are dreamy. Some are about peace, freedom, love, nature, war, community, and trying to keep your head together while the world gets weird.

Not every song here was made by a hippie artist, and not every hippie song sounds like a sitar floating through incense smoke. Some are hard rock, soul, pop, blues-rock, or country-flavored folk. The common thread is the mood: idealism, questioning authority, expanded consciousness, social change, and a preference for flowers over artillery.

So put on the headphones, roll the windows down, or imagine a very patient Volkswagen bus. These are groovy songs from the 1960s and 1970s that still carry the sound of the hippie era.

Hippie Music: Groovy Songs from the 1960s and 1970s

Best Hippie Songs from the 1960s and 1970s

The most recognizable hippie songs usually combine message, mood, melody, and cultural memory. Imagine, Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, Blowin’ in the Wind, For What It’s Worth, Woodstock, and All You Need Is Love all feel larger than ordinary pop songs because they became tied to an era’s hopes, doubts, and protests.

• Imagine – John Lennon
• Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In – The 5th Dimension
• Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
• For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
• All You Need Is Love – The Beatles
• Woodstock – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Get Together – The Youngbloods
• White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
• San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) – Scott McKenzie
• Piece of My Heart – Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin

Top 100 Hippie Songs from the 1960s and 1970s

1. Imagine – John Lennon
2. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In – The 5th Dimension
3. Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
4. For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
5. Across the Universe – The Beatles
6. Scarborough Fair/Canticle – Simon & Garfunkel
7. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan
8. Time of the Season – The Zombies
9. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) – Simon & Garfunkel
10. Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles
11. Woodstock – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
12. Somebody to Love – Jefferson Airplane
13. Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
14. Groovin’ – The Young Rascals
15. All You Need Is Love – The Beatles
16. Strange Brew – Cream
17. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
18. Truckin’ – Grateful Dead
19. Do You Believe in Magic? – The Lovin’ Spoonful
20. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
21. Hair – The Cowsills
22. California Dreamin’ – The Mamas & the Papas
23. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
24. Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
25. Incense and Peppermints – Strawberry Alarm Clock
26. The Weight – The Band
27. See Emily Play – Pink Floyd
28. Black Magic Woman – Santana
29. Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
30. Piece of My Heart – Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin
31. Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
32. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – The Hollies
33. I’d Love to Change the World – Ten Years After
34. A Beautiful Morning – The Young Rascals
35. Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues
36. We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet – Blues Magoos
37. Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today) – The Temptations
38. Ruby Tuesday – The Rolling Stones
39. Crimson and Clover – Tommy James and the Shondells
40. Light My Fire – The Doors
41. San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) – Scott McKenzie
42. Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
43. Summertime Blues – Blue Cheer
44. Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
45. Revolution – The Beatles
46. Signs – Five Man Electrical Band
47. Green Tambourine – The Lemon Pipers
48. Daydream Believer – The Monkees
49. Mellow Yellow – Donovan
50. I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher
51. Spirit in the Sky – Norman Greenbaum
52. Shambala – Three Dog Night
53. Lucky Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
54. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
55. Let’s Live for Today – The Grass Roots
56. Get Together – The Youngbloods
57. Spill the Wine – Eric Burdon & War
58. Can’t Find My Way Home – Blind Faith
59. Moonshadow – Cat Stevens
60. The Wind Cries Mary – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
61. A Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum
62. We Shall Overcome – Joan Baez
63. Everyday People – Sly and the Family Stone
64. Brand New Key – Melanie
65. Turn! Turn! Turn! – The Byrds
66. Alice’s Restaurant Massacree – Arlo Guthrie
67. Oye Como Va – Santana
68. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? – Peter, Paul and Mary
69. Both Sides, Now – Judy Collins
70. Peace Train – Cat Stevens
71. Windy – The Association
72. Lady Jane – The Rolling Stones
73. Monterey – Eric Burdon & The Animals
74. Itchycoo Park – Small Faces
75. The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys – Traffic
76. White Bird – It’s a Beautiful Day
77. Crystal Blue Persuasion – Tommy James and the Shondells
78. Moondance – Van Morrison
79. Baba O’Riley – The Who
80. I Want to Take You Higher – Sly and the Family Stone
81. Pushin’ Too Hard – The Seeds
82. A Horse with No Name – America
83. Going Up the Country – Canned Heat
84. Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
85. What the World Needs Now Is Love – Jackie DeShannon
86. Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
87. Marrakesh Express – Crosby, Stills & Nash
88. Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
89. Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
90. Sky Pilot – Eric Burdon & The Animals
91. Puff, the Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul and Mary
92. Almost Cut My Hair – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
93. Share the Land – The Guess Who
94. Instant Karma! – John Lennon
95. Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
96. Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane
97. War – Edwin Starr
98. The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
99. Stoned Love – The Supremes
100. Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell

Peace, Love and Idealism Songs

Hippie music is often remembered for peace signs, flowers, and love slogans, but the best songs in that lane had real emotional pull. They were hopeful without always being naive, which is a tricky balance when the world is on fire, and someone still brought a tambourine.

• Imagine – John Lennon
• All You Need Is Love – The Beatles
• Get Together – The Youngbloods
• What the World Needs Now Is Love – Jackie DeShannon
• Peace Train – Cat Stevens
• We Shall Overcome – Joan Baez
• Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Everyday People – Sly and the Family Stone
• Shambala – Three Dog Night
• Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles

Protest Songs and Counterculture Anthems

Not all hippie-era music was gentle. Protest songs gave the counterculture a sharper voice, especially around civil rights, war, generational conflict, government power, and social change. Some songs asked questions. Some made demands. Some sounded like they had run out of patience by the second verse.

• Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
• The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan
• For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
• Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Eve of Destruction – Barry McGuire
• War – Edwin Starr
• Revolution – The Beatles
• Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today) – The Temptations
• I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag – Country Joe & the Fish

Psychedelic Rock and Trippy Hippie Songs

Psychedelic music gave the hippie era some of its strangest colors. These songs used surreal lyrics, extended jams, studio effects, unusual instruments, dream imagery, and enough atmosphere to make a lava lamp feel underdressed.

• White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
• Somebody to Love – Jefferson Airplane
• Incense and Peppermints – Strawberry Alarm Clock
• See Emily Play – Pink Floyd
• In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
• Hurdy Gurdy Man – Donovan
• Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
• Crimson and Clover – Tommy James and the Shondells
• Itchycoo Park – Small Faces
• The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys – Traffic

Woodstock, Festival and Jam-Band Favorites

Woodstock did not create hippie music, but it became one of the era’s biggest symbols. Festival culture helped turn songs into shared experiences, especially when the audience was large, muddy, underfed, and still somehow committed to peace and harmony.

• Woodstock – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Going Up the Country – Canned Heat
• Truckin’ – Grateful Dead
• Piece of My Heart – Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin
• Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
• Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane
• Wooden Ships – Crosby, Stills & Nash
• Soul Sacrifice – Santana
• With a Little Help from My Friends – Joe Cocker
• I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag – Country Joe & the Fish

Folk-Rock and Acoustic Hippie Songs

Folk music gave the hippie movement a thoughtful voice before rock bands turned the amplifiers up. These songs leaned on melody, words, harmony, and the idea that a guitar could be both an instrument and a protest sign with strings.

• Blowin’ in the Wind – Bob Dylan
• Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
• Turn! Turn! Turn! – The Byrds
• Scarborough Fair/Canticle – Simon & Garfunkel
• The Sound of Silence – Simon & Garfunkel
• Both Sides, Now – Judy Collins
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone? – Peter, Paul and Mary
• Puff, the Magic Dragon – Peter, Paul and Mary
• Alice’s Restaurant Massacree – Arlo Guthrie
• Moonshadow – Cat Stevens

Sunshine Pop and Groovy Feel-Good Songs

Not every hippie-era song was heavy. Some captured the lighter side of the period: sunshine, friendship, gentle optimism, breezy harmonies, and the feeling that maybe today could be better if everyone calmed down and found a patch of grass.

• Groovin’ – The Young Rascals
• A Beautiful Morning – The Young Rascals
• The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) – Simon & Garfunkel
• Daydream Believer – The Monkees
• Windy – The Association
• Good Vibrations – The Beach Boys
• Green Tambourine – The Lemon Pipers
• Crystal Blue Persuasion – Tommy James and the Shondells
• Brand New Key – Melanie
• I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher

Hippie Music Trivia

• Woodstock was not actually held in Woodstock. The 1969 festival was held in Bethel, New York, but “Bethel” apparently did not have the same poster power.
• Joni Mitchell wrote Woodstock, but she did not attend the festival. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young turned the song into one of the best-known musical memories of the event.
• Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In came from the musical Hair. The 5th Dimension’s version helped turn Broadway counterculture imagery into a huge pop hit.
• White Rabbit used imagery from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Grace Slick’s song became one of psychedelic rock’s most famous trips through literary weirdness.
• For What It’s Worth is often used as a general protest song. Its mood became bigger than the specific event that inspired it, which is why it still shows up in documentaries, films, and history pieces.
• Get Together became one of the era’s clearest unity songs. The Youngbloods turned a simple invitation into one of the counterculture’s most durable singalongs.
• The hippie era was not one sound. Folk, soul, psychedelic rock, blues-rock, sunshine pop, hard rock, and protest music all lived under the larger counterculture umbrella.

Why Hippie Music Still Feels Groovy

Hippie music still works because the themes have not expired. Peace, war, love, freedom, nature, injustice, spiritual searching, and suspicion of authority are not exactly locked in 1969. The clothes changed. The arguments stayed busy.

The best hippie songs also have strong musical identities. A jangly folk-rock guitar, a psychedelic organ, a gospel-style chorus, a blues-rock riff, a protest lyric, or a harmony stack can instantly bring the era back into focus.

This music can sound idealistic, messy, naive, brilliant, angry, sweet, strange, or all of those at once. That mix is why the songs still matter. They were not just background music for tie-dye. They were part of the conversation.

Sources and Further Reading

• Britannica, Woodstock Music and Art Fair: https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Woodstock-Music-and-Art-Fair-1688509
• Britannica, 1960s counterculture: https://www.britannica.com/topic/1960s-counterculture
• Library of Congress, complete National Recording Registry listing: https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/complete-national-recording-registry-listing/
• Library of Congress, Déjà Vu National Recording Registry essay: https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Deja-vu_Zimmer.pdf
• History, Woodstock 1969 overview: https://www.history.com/articles/woodstock

Groovy Songs, Big Questions and a Lot of Tambourines

Hippie music from the 1960s and 1970s was not just one playlist. It was a musical map of a generation trying to figure out war, peace, love, freedom, identity, community, and what exactly was going on with that very long guitar solo.

From Imagine to White Rabbit, from For What It’s Worth to Woodstock, and from Get Together to What’s Going On, these songs still carry the sound of an era that wanted the world to be better, stranger, freer, and possibly barefoot.