Which songs give you the strongest sense of the turbulent 60s/early 70s?

I bought this 45 by Neil Young, "War Song" around May of 1972, my dad was a fighter pilot stationed in Vietnam at the time.

 

Funkadelic - March to the Witch's Castle:

1973 is still early 70s, isn't it?

 

Lots of great mentions here. I get the mentions for Eve of Destruction, but the choice there was to essentially list situations that were negatives. The problem with the song is it limits the capture of how it felt in response to that listing to the second verse's talk about fear. But the turbulence of the sixties wasn't limited to some subjective feeling of fear. Still, Eve's a great choice.

The better one imho is Gimme Shelter. There the turbulence is described as experienced on a more psychologically existential basis than a "mere" fear of death. Plus the music itself grinds away at the listener, and feels more ominous. The added brilliance of Merry Clayton's near screaming vocals and eventually harmonizing with Jagger widens the community of those involved beyond Barry McGuire's solo lament. So I say

Gimme Shelter.

 

Monster plus
Draft Resister
Don't Step on the Grass Sam
Move Over
From Here to There Eventually
Power Play

 

That's always been an odd bird in the Zappa oeuvre, as straight up protest folk wasn't normally his bag. Honestly, Mom and Dad is more disturbing, IMO.

 

I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE and I bring you

 

The Chambers Brothers - "Time Has Come Today"
Simon & Garfunkel - "7 O'Clock News / Silent Night"

 

Thanks for pointing that out, I meant Prologue/Someday. The LP is with a friend right now, so I couldn't look it up

 

20th Century Man - the Kinks
To me it is as meaningful today as it was in 1971.

 

Deep Purple ~ Child in time
....works with any turbulent time.

 

Alice's Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie:

 

“Chicago” - Crosby, Stills & Nash
“Out of Time” - Rolling Stones

 

I bought the 20th Century Man single in 1971...I couldn't understand why it wasn't a much bigger hit.

 

Video collage to match up with The Chambers Brothers - "Time Has Come Today"...

 

“Gabriel” - Joe South

 

Has anyone mentioned Nina Simone yet? If not they should have

 

I came across this song by Delia Gartrell back in the 90s, it's a very powerful statement from a mother's point of view of her son going to Vietnam..."See What You Done Done":

 

Hot Rocks is such an amazing best of set. I agree it may be the best ever compilation too.
It's a best of set that flows so well.

 

Gimme Shelter

 

While The Stones' "Gimme Shelter" (1969) caught the apocalyptic doom vibe of the 60s, picking up where Dylan's "All Along the Watch Tower" (1967) left off, The Stooges' "Search and Destroy" (1973) captured a dismal, muddy, speed-freak mess with overt Vietnam references.

 

There were TONS of protest songs scattered all through the period.
The entire period was NOT candy coated and "happy" and THEN turned ugly.
It was ALWAYS featuring one protest song after another.
But the one that captured my complete DISGUST with the 70s "scene" ---for me---was "Shattered" by the Rolling Stones.
I was a musician all through this period and put up with the perpetual negativity while I myself concentrated on good solid DANCE music that made you happy.
But when all my "friends" began snorting coke, shooting heroin and falling out while zonked on Quaaludes---that was when I gave the scene the big heave-Ho and quit the business.
The "good times" were OVER and I decided I would rather drive a truck than play that crap.
It was as though the mafia had come back to the record business and all the music product became phony and commercial overnight.
And "Shattered" summed up how disgusted I felt.
My two cents.

 

Street Fighting Man

 

Not to digress on Time, but they really shortchanged this shorter version (for radio) by failing as they did in the long version to go through the progression I, flatted VII, IV, slowly and with feedback at the end. It always sounds strange how the short version ended.