By JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM

I love music from many decades but my heart is with the songs of the 1960s. Born in 1973, I was, to a great extent raised with these melodies and the chords resonate with me. I am not convinced that the only reason for this is that they were the background for the road trips of my youth.

In 2020, where just four short months has seen such seismic shifts in our lives it is easy to call this an unprecedented time. Music and entertainment have been decimated along with much of normal life by the sweeping wave of COVID-19. Nearly 50 years prior to lockdown, cancelled concerts and even singing bans becoming "the new normal" the world saw a similar seismic change.

It is the music that enters your ears when you are a teenager that usually sticks in your mind the longest. Being a teenager during a certain decade, or just a part of it and listening to the music of the day just seems to stick with you forever. No exception here, spending a part of teenage years in the sixties, has made the music of that decade a personal favorite that simply doesn't go away.

It's 2012. Thirteen-year-old me is sitting in front of the TV on a Saturday night, waiting for a re-run of The Monkees to come on at midnight. Truly.

Tommy James and the Shondells hold a special place in my heart because they have so many great songs which I just simply love to listen to again and again. They reached the peak of their success in the late 1960s. This American rock band had two very popular hit singles in the U.S. which are still played on the radio today. The hits were”Hanky Panky” and”Crimson and Clover”.

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John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr formed a musical quartet that took the music industry by a storm in the 1960s and went on to achieve monumental global success.

The Byrds came on the scene in 1964 in Los Angeles, California. This was an American rock band that was formed by Roger McGuinn a.k.a. Jim McGuinn, who remained the band's constant member until they disbanded in 1973. If you would ask anyone about them today you would be informed that they are considered to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s.

This incredible pop music group The Bee Gees came together in 1958 and consisted of three brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. They had great success and in the 1970s joined the disco craze. The Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits as well as writing and producing hits for other artists.

An incredible rock and roll singer whose heart also belonged to country music. Del Shannon came from the U.S. and scored a string of hits in the 1960s. In 1961 he had his first big hit with ”Runaway” which was followed by others as people started noticing this singer with his smooth singing style. Among his other hits were”Keep Searchin’ (We’ll follow the Sun)" and”Hats Off to Larry”. Del Shannon’s last appearance onstage was on February 3, 1990 when he appeared with other rockers in North Dakota. Tragically on February 8, 1990 he died of a gunshot wound which was thought to be a suicide as he was suffering from depression.

The Dave Clark Five played some really great rock. When I got to know their music and I realized how wonderfully talented they really were. One of my all time favorite songs by the Dave Clark Five is ”Bits and Pieces” which has a really nice beat to it.