60s Guitar Gems and One-Hit Wonders to Learn on Guitar

On this page, you’ll find a collection of underappreciated guitar songs from the 60s by artists like Adam Faith, Barry McGuire, Billy Roberts, Joe South, Cilla Black, and others.

Whether you're after protest anthems, heart-tugging ballads, or groovy folk-rock tracks, each lesson offers a unique chance to explore the diverse guitar styles of the era.

Poor Me is a classic British pop single released in January 1960 as the follow-up to his breakthrough hit "What Do You Want."

Written by Les Vandyke (under the pseudonym Johnny Worth) and produced by John Burgess with orchestration by the renowned John Barry, the song showcases Faith’s distinctive hiccup-style vocals and an upbeat, rock-and-roll-inspired arrangement.

"Poor Me" became a major hit, reaching No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and cementing Adam Faith’s status as one of Britain’s leading teen idols of the pre-Beatles era.

Its catchy rhythm, polished production, and youthful energy helped define early 1960s British pop, making it a standout track in Faith’s catalog and a memorable piece of pop history.

Eve Of Destruction was originally released as a single in 1965 and later appeared on Barry McGuire's album titled "Eve of Destruction." The song was written by P.F. Sloan.

The chart performance was a single and achieved significant commercial success. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

The meaning of this song is a protest song that addresses various social and political issues of its time, including the Vietnam War, civil rights, and nuclear weapons. It reflects the anxieties and concerns of the 1960s counterculture.

As the song was released in 1965, during a time when music videos were not as prevalent as they are today, there was no official music video produced for "Eve of Destruction."

Hey Joe was copyrighted by Billy Roberts in 1962. Later the song was covered by many artists and groups including The Leaves in 1965 and Jimi Hendrix in 1966.

To my knowledge this song was a single release and never appeared on a Billy Roberts album.

Blue On Blue was a huge hit for Bobby Vinton in the summer of 1963 reaching #3 on the charts and inspiring an entire album on the theme of the color blue. Every song on the album had the word blue in it's title.

I play two rhythm pattern in this one. For the chorus I play a shuffle rhythm root down up down up down root up down up and in the verse I play a rake pattern which root down up root up down up.

I Wonder What She's Doin Tonight was recorded in 1967 and became a top 10 in the US the following year.

The song hails from the album of the same name.

A Summer Song was released in the summer of 1964 with low expectations that the song would have much impact. Even Ringo Starr judged the song as a flop. But the US market loved the song to put it a #7 and #2 on two different charts. The song also reached #7 in Canada and has appeared in several films over the years.

The song went on to be covered by different artists and even in different languages. The duo were on again and off again with several reunions and finally packed it in in 2016. In 2020, Chad Stewart passed away from pneumonia.

Anyone Who Had A Heart was first recorded by Dionne Warwick in the fall of 1963 where she managed a #2 in the US and a #1 in New Zealand.

Cilla Black recorded her version in 1964 and eventually took the song to #1 in the UK.

The song was written by Burt Bacharach and can be found on The Best Of Cilla Black album.

You're My World is actually an old Italian song which was re-written in English by Carl Sigman.

Cillia Black released her version in 1964 and it became her last #1 hit in the UK.The song did well in many countries reaching the top ten in several.

The song was produced by Beatles producer George Martin.

Reach Out Of The Darkness is a song released back in 1960 and was a one hit wonder for the duo, reaching #10 on Billboard. Joe South produced the song and Ray Stevens played keyboard on the track.

The song hails from their only album of the same name.

Don't It Make You Want To Go Home made it onto three separate charts when it was released back in 1969 including Pop, Country and Adult Contemporary.

Joe South recorded this with his brother Tommy and sister-in-law Barbara as backup musicians know as The Believers. The song was a top 30 in the US and a top 15 in Canada and Australia.

Brook Benton, Bobby Bare and Glen Campbell are just a few artist who have covered the song through the years. The song can be found on the album of the same name.

Games People Play was a huge hit for Joe South in 1968, picking up two Grammy Awards. The song was a top in the UK and a #12 in the US. It reached #1 in South Africa.

The song hails from Joe's debut album "Introspect".