Heavy metal music before 1970

This is a timeline documenting the formative events in heavy metal music before 1970.

Since the dawn of rock music in the 1950s and continuing through the 1960s, various artists pushed the boundaries of the genre to emphasize speed, aggression, volume, theatricality, and other elements that became staples of the heavy metal style. In the late 1960s, this experimentation coalesced into various rock subgenres like hard rock, acid rock, and psychedelic rock, which were all influential in the development of heavy metal.

1959

 * The Dave Clark Five
 * The Kingsmen

1960

 * The Beatles
 * Neil Young

1961

 * Bob Seger

1962

 * ? and the Mysterians
 * David Bowie
 * The Rolling Stones

1963

 * The Animals
 * The Pretty Things
 * The Yardbirds

1964

 * Lynyrd Skynyrd
 * MC5
 * The Amboy Dukes
 * The Kinks
 * The Mothers of Invention
 * Donovan
 * The Troggs
 * The Velvet Underground
 * The Who

1965

 * 13th Floor Elevators
 * Big Brother and the Holding Company
 * The Doors
 * Jefferson Airplane
 * Pink Floyd
 * Scorpions
 * The Guess Who
 * The Grateful Dead

1966

 * The Jeff Beck Group
 * Black Widow
 * Blue Cheer
 * Buffalo Springfield
 * Cream
 * The Jimi Hendrix Experience
 * Iron Butterfly
 * The Move
 * Slade
 * Stray

1967

 * Blue Öyster Cult (as Soft White Underbelly)
 * Budgie
 * Creedence Clearwater Revival
 * The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
 * Crow
 * The Deviants
 * Elf
 * Flower Travellin' Band
 * Genesis
 * The Gun
 * Sammy Hagar
 * Jethro Tull
 * Status Quo
 * Steppenwolf
 * The Stooges
 * T. Rex
 * Vanilla Fudge
 * Santana

1968

 * Accept
 * Alice Cooper
 * Black Sabbath
 * Breakout
 * Deep Purple
 * Edgar Broughton Band
 * Free
 * Grand Funk Railroad
 * Humble Pie
 * Led Zeppelin
 * Meat Loaf
 * Nazareth
 * Rush
 * Sir Lord Baltimore
 * Sweet
 * Warpig
 * Yes

1969

 * Aguaturbia
 * April Wine
 * Argent
 * Atomic Rooster
 * Blackfoot
 * Bloodrock
 * Cactus
 * Coven
 * Crushed Butler
 * Dust
 * Focus
 * Gary Moore
 * Gypsy Sun and Rainbows
 * Hawkwind
 * High Tide
 * Iron Claw
 * Josefus
 * Judas Priest
 * King Crimson
 * Leaf Hound
 * May Blitz
 * Mott the Hoople
 * Mountain
 * Steeleye Span
 * Thin Lizzy
 * Tucky Buzzard
 * UFO
 * Uriah Heep
 * Wishbone Ash
 * ZZ Top

pre-1960

 * "How Many More Years" by Howlin' Wolf
 * "I Put a Spell On You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
 * “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley
 * "Rumble" by Link Wray

1960

 * "Shakin' All Over" by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates

1961

 * "Jack the Ripper" by Screaming Lord Sutch

1962

 * "Miserlou" by Dick Dale
 * "Palisades Park" by Freddy Cannon

1963

 * "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen
 * "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen

1964

 * "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks

1965

 * "Action" by Freddy Cannon
 * "My Generation" by The Who

1966

 * "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians
 * "Talk Talk" by The Music Machine
 * "Wild Thing" by The Troggs

1967

 * "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf
 * "I Can See for Miles" by The Who
 * "Mr. Soul" by Buffalo Springfield
 * "Purple Haze" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
 * "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream
 * "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles

1968

 * "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
 * "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles
 * "The House at Pooneil Corners" by Jefferson Airplane
 * ’’Hurdy Gurdy Man’’ by Donovan
 * "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
 * "Race With the Devil" by The Gun
 * " Summertime Blues" by Blue Cheer

1969

 * "The Nile Song" by Pink Floyd
 * "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson
 * "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
 * "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin

1964

 * The Kinks - Kinks

1965

 * The Kinks - Kinda Kinks
 * The Kinks - Kinks-Size
 * The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
 * The Pretty Things - The Pretty Things
 * The Pretty Things - Get the Picture?
 * The Sonics - Here Are The Sonics
 * The Who - My Generation
 * The Yardbirds - For Your Love
 * The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up

1966

 * Cream - Fresh Cream
 * The Kinks - Face to Face
 * The Who - A Quick One
 * The Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer

1967

 * Cream - Disraeli Gears
 * The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced
 * The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love
 * The Kinks - Something Else by The Kinks
 * The Pretty Things - Emotions
 * Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge
 * The Who - The Who Sell Out
 * The Yardbirds - Little Games

1968

 * The Jeff Beck Group - Truth
 * The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
 * The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
 * Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum
 * Blue Cheer - Outsideinside
 * Cream - Wheels of Fire
 * Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple
 * The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
 * Iron Butterfly - Heavy
 * Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
 * The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
 * The Pretty Things - SF Sorrow
 * Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf
 * Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf the Second
 * Vanilla Fudge - The Beat Goes On
 * Vanilla Fudge - Renaissance

1969

 * The Jeff Beck Group - Beck-Ola
 * Blue Cheer - New! Improved! Blue Cheer
 * Blue Cheer - Blue Cheer
 * Alice Cooper - Pretties for You
 * Coven - Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls
 * Cream - Goodbye
 * Deep Purple - Deep Purple
 * Deep Purple - The Book of Taliesyn
 * Edgar Broughton Band - Wasa Wasa
 * Grand Funk Railroad - On Time
 * Grand Funk Railroad - Grand Funk
 * High Tide - Sea Shanties
 * Humble Pie - As Safe As Yesterday Is
 * Humble Pie - Town and Country
 * Iron Butterfly - Ball
 * King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
 * The Kinks - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
 * Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
 * Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
 * MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
 * Mott the Hoople - Mott the Hoople
 * Slade - Beginnings
 * Steppenwolf - At Your Birthday Party
 * Steppenwolf - Monster
 * The Stooges - The Stooges
 * Vanilla Fudge - Near the Beginning
 * Vanilla Fudge - Rock & Roll
 * The Who - Tommy