# What's about the mythology themed music of the 60s/70s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616 "2014-02-18T13:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shawaeh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Shawaeh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawaeh)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/1 "2014-02-18T13:29:16Z")
I’m talking about all the “fairy folk” and “sun kings” and other themes that dominated rock music in late 60s and even early 70s. Namely The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, etc. I get the general gist - society always slides to mystical spheres when times are tough or in the middle of an unsure switch. (It’s not too different from the end of the 19th century, when symbolistic painters went crazy for all kinds of mythologies, from Ancient Greece to Medieval Europe.) But what exactly fueled it? How did it reach these musicians? Did they actually study it carefully in order to preserve the tradition, or was it just some gibberish put together and coated with nostalgia for the dawn of our kind? Who started it? Does this trend actually have a name? In my searching I hoped to bump into a comperhensive website that sums it all up, but no luck. Thanks for any help. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/2 "2014-02-18T13:35:39Z")
Tolkein. And drugs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/3 "2014-02-18T13:50:19Z")
Beaten to the punch. Tolkien was immensely popular on college campuses in the 1960s, after Ballantine put out paperback editions of the Trilogy (Ace had done it earlier, but it was nowhere near as big – people had copies of the poster using the covers of the Ballantine paperbacks on their dorm or lab walls. Nobody did that with the Ace covers). It showed up in the next decade in pop culture – the music you refer to, as well as the rise in Fantasy gaming, a variation on non-fantastic strategy and tactics wargaming that had been popular (but nowhere near as popular) before. > [@](#): > > Rock music > > Hansi Kürsch, the Blind Guardian vocalist and lyrics writer > Progressive rock acts like Rush, Mostly Autumn, Bo Hansson and indie rock band Gatsbys American Dream have composed several songs based on Tolkien’s characters and stories. Camel’s “Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider” is obviously about Gandalf. Rock band Led Zeppelin has numerous songs inspired by Tolkien’s works (certainly “The Battle of Evermore”, “Misty Mountain Hop”, and “Ramble On,” with debate about some parts of “Stairway to Heaven”).[7] Tom Rapp set most of The Verse of the One Ring (“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky…”) to music as “Ring Thing” in Pearls Before Swine’s second album, Balaklava (1968).[citation needed] Bob Catley, lead singer of the British prog rock band Magnum, released a solo album titled Middle Earth, themed around The Lord of the Rings. The East Texas-based rock band Hobbit has produced multiple albums inspired by Tolkien’s work.[8] > > Many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. Blind Guardian has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album Nightfall in Middle Earth that follows The Silmarillion.[7][9] Almost all of Summoning’s songs[10] and the entire discography of Battlelore are Tolkien-themed. Power metal bands like Epidemia, Nightwish[11] (their song Elvenpath features audio clips from the prologue of Bakshi’s animated The Lord of the Rings and also their song Wishmaster which includes references to Elbereth, Lorien and the Grey Havens), and others, feature Tolkien-themed songs. “This Day We Fight!”, a song by thrash metal band Megadeth from the album Endgame, was based on the mythos of Tolkien.[12][13] Also, the Italian progressive band Ainur have composed several album inspired by Silmarillion stories in early 2000s.[14] > > Some bands and certain musicians used Tolkien legendarium for their stage names. Progressive rock band Marillion derive their name from The Silmarillion,[15] Gorgoroth take their name from an area of Mordor, Burzum take their name from the Black Speech of Mordor,[16] Cirith Ungol take their name from the pass on the western path of Mordor, the dwelling of the spider Shelob[17] and Amon Amarth take their name after an alternative name for Mount Doom.[18] Lead singer of Dimmu Borgir, Shagrath, also takes his stage name from The Lord of the Rings, after an orc captain.[19] > > Folk music[edit] > > Sally Oldfield’s first solo album, Water Bearer (1978) was inspired by Tolkien’s works, particularly “Songs of the Quendi”. > > The Hobbitons was the name of a Dutch folk group who released a CD in 1996, containing 16 tracks of poems by J. R. R. Tolkien, from The Hobbit, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and The Lord of the Rings. Production was with permission of the Tolkien Estate, with the provision that it would not be sold commercially. The CD is sold out.[20] > > Irish singer Enya contributed song “May it Be” for The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) movie soundtrack. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. She also released a song entitled “Lothlórien”, on her 1991 album “Shepherd Moons”. > > In 2001, bluegrass and anti-folk artist Chris Thile released an instrumental album titled Not All Who Wander Are Lost, referencing Gandalf’s words to Bilbo and Bilbo’s poem about Aragorn. On the album is a song titled, Riddles In The Dark, which is the title of one of the chapters of The Hobbit. The album was released with Sugar Hill Records. > > The Celtic foursome Broceliande has released The Starlit Jewel, setting to music selected songs by Tolkien. > > Other folk rock and new age musicians inspired by Tolkien include Za Frûmi (singing in Orkish), Nickel Creek, David Arkenstone and Lyriel, among others. The Spanish Neoclassical Dark Wave band Narsilion derived its name from Tolkien’s song “Narsilion” about the creation of Sun and Moon[21] and also their albums are thematically inspired by Tolkien’s legendarium. > **[Works inspired by Tolkien](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_inspired_by_J._R._R._Tolkien)** > > The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that he is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of high fantasy. > Do not laugh! But once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen) I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic to the level of romantic fairy-story... The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other min... ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/4 "2014-02-18T13:52:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Tolkein. And drugs. Plus the Tarot, various standing stones, ley lines, the Matter of Britain (& “Celtic” lore), and remnants of the Order of the Golden Dawn. (And naughty old Aleister Crowley.) There were a few serious students of folklore & the occult among the musicians. Others just enjoyed the general mystical atmosphere. (Not _always_ because of the drugs.) Alas, you might need to seek beyond a website. Try reading a book or two! Start [here](http://www.amazon.com/Place-Enchantment-British-Occultism-Culture-ebook/dp/B003XKOBTU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392731326&sr=8-1&keywords=british+occultism)… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/5 "2014-02-18T14:14:49Z")
> [@Shawaeh](#): > > I get the general gist - society always slides to mystical spheres when times are tough or in the middle of an unsure switch. (It’s not too different from the end of the 19th century, when symbolistic painters went crazy for all kinds of mythologies, from Ancient Greece to Medieval Europe.) You could make the argument that the symbolists or even the preraphaelites were comforting themselves in the ancient and/or mystical in unsure times, but the Academicians had already been painting mythological themes for the greater part of a century or more in a vaguely similar style, and the various Academies are basically the opposite of angst-ridden reaction, so I don’t think the mysticality per se of late 19th century painting comes from unsure times. The way in which the mythology is expressed may be a reaction to it, though (rejecting adademic formalism and/or being weird for weirdness sake I would say could be a reaction to it.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/6 "2014-02-18T14:38:04Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/7 "2014-02-18T14:43:28Z")
> [@Shawaeh](#): > > I’m talking about all the “fairy folk” and “sun kings” and other themes that dominated rock music in late 60s and even early 70s. Namely The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, etc. To say these themes “dominated” rock music in this era is way overstating the case. Yes, certain artists dabbled in these themes (no one has yet mentioned by far the biggest exponent, and perhaps the first: Marc Bolan in his original Tyrannosaurus Rex incarnation). But to put The Beatles on this list on the basis of ONE song (and kind of a throwaway at that, not even particularly tied to this ethos) is silly. And if the total universe of rock songs of this era is considered, you’re likely to find a hell of a lot more of them deal with themes such as getting your rocks off than you are “fairy folk” and “sun kings.” ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/8 "2014-02-18T14:45:26Z")
folk music has long included such tales. you can find the influence of folk music during that period by the existence of electric folk music (not just folk singers with electric instruments but also ancient folk music performed with electric instruments). there were a number of bands that were very popular and it was some great music. old influences new. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/9 "2014-02-18T14:47:19Z")
Fairport Convention, to name one. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/10 "2014-02-18T14:58:49Z")
Joseph Campbell’s _The Hero with a Thousand Faces_ probably had something to do with the surge in popularity of mythology in music as well. It was published in 1949, but influenced a number of musical artists in the 1960s and 1970s (as well as, famously, decidedly non-musical artist George Lucas). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/11 "2014-02-18T15:15:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Fairport Convention, to name one. others that got an international following are Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Fotheringay, Albion Band more groups well known within Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/12 "2014-02-18T15:22:46Z")
Don’t forget, it was the Age of Aquarius then too. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/13 "2014-02-18T15:52:19Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > Joseph Campbell’s _The Hero with a Thousand Faces_ probably had something to do with the surge in popularity of mythology in music as well. It was published in 1949, but influenced a number of musical artists in the 1960s and 1970s (as well as, famously, decidedly non-musical artist George Lucas). I kinda doubt it. _Hero_ and Campbell became pop phenomena when Lucas said he was a fan, and when Bill Moyers did his series on him, but before that he wasn’t the pop culture icon he would become. 'm not saying he wasn’t well-known before that – I knew about him and his books when I was a mythology geek in high school. But I’d have a hard time believing that he was inspiring pop music back then. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/14 "2014-02-18T16:25:04Z")
> [@Shawaeh](#): > > I’m talking about all the “fairy folk” and “sun kings” and other themes that dominated rock music in late 60s and even early 70s. Namely The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, etc. I don’t see how the Beatles fit into this. (The [Sun King](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France) is a real historical figure, though I’ve always assumed “Here comes the Sun King” to be just Lennonesque verbal riffing on Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.”) ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/15 "2014-02-18T16:46:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I kinda doubt it. _Hero_ and Campbell became pop phenomena when Lucas said he was a fan, and when Bill Moyers did his series on him, but before that he wasn’t the pop culture icon he would become. 'm not saying he wasn’t well-known before that – I knew about him and his books when I was a mythology geek in high school. But I’d have a hard time believing that he was inspiring pop music back then. It’s pretty well understood that Campbell was a significant influence on Jim Morrison; while Campbell may have had a larger influence on Morrison’s poetry, his works doubtlessly crept into Morrison’s song lyrics as well. Also, according to Jerry Garcia: "You need music. I don’t know why; it’s probably one of those Joe Campbell questions, why we need ritual. We need magic, and bliss, and power, myth, and celebration and religion in our lives, and music is a good way to encapsulate a lot of it.‘’ Mickey Hart and Bob Weir also acknowledged the impact of \*Hero \*on their work. The Doors and Grateful Dead aren’t what I’d classify as “pop” by any means, but that’s not the kind of music the OP is asking about anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/16 "2014-02-18T17:51:54Z")
Joseph Campbell probably influenced more Americans. Generally the ones who’d had an anthro class or two–or decided they preferred Jung to Freud. (Jim Morrison definitely used Freud, too.) The whole Brit-folk-rock thing was part of the land. Early Marc Bolan was mentioned; let’s hear a word for the Incredible String Band. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/17 "2014-02-18T18:49:48Z")
This was the first generation to grow up on science fiction and fantasy, so it would only be surprising if you didn’t see any references. The above is mostly fantasy; a long list of songs about science fiction - and a bunch with titles stolen from sf - could be compiled from that era. I agree that the overall percentage is pretty small. And mostly uninformed gibberish. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/18 "2014-02-18T18:56:26Z")
Of course, the most brilliant example (or parody thereof) of the whole zeitgeist is Spinal Tap’s **Stonehenge**. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/19 "2014-02-18T19:11:37Z")
> [@Shawaeh](#): > > But what exactly fueled it? How did it reach these musicians? Did they actually study it carefully in order to preserve the tradition, or was it just some gibberish put together and coated with nostalgia for the dawn of our kind? Who started it? Does this trend actually have a name? No-one knows who they were, or what they were doing. But their legacy remains. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-about-the-mythology-themed-music-of-the-60s-70s/681616/20 "2014-02-18T19:22:05Z")
> [@Shawaeh](#): > > …But what exactly fueled it? How did it reach these musicians? Did they actually study it carefully in order to preserve the tradition, or was it just some gibberish put together and coated with nostalgia for the dawn of our kind? Who started it? Does this trend actually have a name? > > In my searching I hoped to bump into a comperhensive website that sums it all up, but no luck. > > Thanks for any help. It was in the air. (And the air was scented by sandalwood incense & hashish.) Even before you actually buy a book, searching the various topics here will give you some ideas of the influences afoot.