A monumental decade of social and political upheaval, the 1960s saw the Civil Rights Movement, The Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassinations of both Martin Luther King and President JFK. As a time of such intense unrest it also gave way to some of the best music ever written.

These are the 25 best 60s songs to stick it to the man.

Famously written during a 39.5 fever, Neil Young penned the lyrics for Down By The River, Cinnamon Girl and Cowgirl In The Sand amidst hallucinations. However, nothing matches the grand heights of this 9 minute epic.

Crazy Horse are locked in, the guitars are howling, Young is yearning and the lead work is iconic.

Over the years, Joan Baez became known for her essential take on the folk classic We Shall Overcomeand it later became a key song of protest for the Civil Rights Movement.

Baez became renowned for her rendition of the tune after performing it at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and it still gives us chills to this day.

Fuzzed out riffs and a clinking piano set the tone for Iggy Stooges dark rupturing barks and sexual masochism. The classically trained John Cale handled production adding the single note piano and sleigh bells.

Always one for pushing boundaries, Iggy turned the pop trope of puppy love into an exposing reflection of animal instinct and sexual humiliation, eventuating in one of the best all time 60s songs.

When Woodstock inevitably descended into madness and disarray before the first act even hit the stage Richie Havens had a weight on his shoulders. The road was blocked for miles and no other artists were yet to arrive at the festival.

After three encores Havens started improvising and the first thing that came to his head wasFreedom, one of the most impassioned black rights songs of all time and the epitome of the counterculture movement.

Released in August 1968, a few months after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King,Say It Loud: Im Black & Im Proudis the ultimate Civil Rights protest song.

A lot has changed in half a century, yet the need to defend ethnicity against derision continues, hence the challenging, exhilarating, and resonating opulence of James Browns finest work.

Janis Joplins raw emotion tearing itself her soul in Piece Of My Heartis one of the most honest expressions of humanity ever recorded.

With Big Brother and the Holding Company riding the crest of the fuzz revolution, their live album, Cheap Thrills, is Joplin at her passionate best.

The final track from The Doors 1967 debut was the psychedelic overhaul the decade was scrambling towards and inevitably opened the flood gates to a diluvian downpour of fractals and kaleidoscopic sound.

The poetic acuity of Jim Morrison and the breathing, heaving flow of the band elevated The Doors to music royalty and hinted at their sonic schizophrenia to come.

The melancholy extravagance of Nicos voice makesThese Daysmore than just one of your your casual coffeehouse 60s songs. The later addition of the strings from Tom Wilson elevate the emotional intensity of Nicos already serene voice to a potent token of 1960s remembrance.

Recorded a mere 6 weeks before his death and released posthumously, (Sittin On) The Dock Of The Bay reflects on Reddings life as a black man seeking opportunity and stardom in San Francisco then Georgia.

The solo was a lucky accident and Otis Redding had supposedly planned to finish the lyrics before his fateful plane crash in 67.

Written by Lee Hazelwood, These Boots Are Made For Walkintook pop to places it had only previously been fantasised about. Boots were hot in the 60s with DylansBoots Of Spanish Leatherbeing one of his most highly acclaimed works.

Nonetheless, Nancy Sinatras empowered sexuality and poised vocals made this one of the most undercover political 60s songs.

The eternal recurrence of Bob DylansThe Times They Are A Changinmakes it, thematically, one of the strongest songs ever written.

Change is inevitable and it seems Dylans voice will ring as clear and true in 2964 as it did a thousand years before.

Famed for its extended live forms, Dazed and Confusedis as experimental as Led Zeppelin gets. With Page bowing his guitar, Plant teeming with lust and Bonham being Bonham; its quintessential Zeppelin and a screaming, distorted classic in every sense.

Written to detest President Nixons elitist favouritism allowing certain demographics to avoid being drafted to the Vietnam War, John Fogerty created a masterpiece.

Its one of those rare songs that opposes war but empathises with troops and a hallmark of Fogertys lyrical acuity. This is CCR at their absolute finest.

Swiping inspiration from Baudelaire, Mick Jaggers lyricism in Sympathy For The Devilis daring to say the least. It not only sympathises with satan but presents him as as well spoken man of the world.

Perhaps even more daring is Keith Richards desire to put it all to samba but it all just works like butter on toast.

Another anti-Vietnam protest to make the cut,The Fiddle and the Drumis from Joni Mitchells sophomore 1969 albumClouds.

Written from an outsiders perspective it delicately tandems themes of USAs plentiful opportunity while demonising the countrys warmongering government.

Heroinwas a landmark in its lyrical honesty and avant absurdism. Lou Reed was at his cliff edged romantic best. Matching the manic all time high of heroin, this hauntingly beautiful piece owes its uniqueness to Moe Tuckers jiggling percussion and John Cales freakish viola.

Unlike its anti-Vietnam brethren of the decade, Everyday Peopleis a plea for equality and an everlasting example of Jake Slys genius.

The eternal statement is just as relevant today as it was 60 years ago and Sly & Family Stones performance at Woodstock was one of the defining moments of the decade, according to Carlos Santana.

The now iconic anti-war anthem is not the only song written in disgust of Americas involvement with Vietnam in the 60s.

Its not only a perfectly written and emotionally charged protest song but a testament to the power of musical objection. Sometimes all you need is a guitar and a voice.

Shied by the deification of his hero, Jimi Hendrix put everything into his iteration of Dylans All Along The Watchtower. As a result itbecame a favourite on pirate radio stations in Vietnam, receiving heavy airplay and becoming a symbol of hope for the troops.

You cant stick it to the man much more than that.

Covering the poignant Billie Holiday number, Nina Simone injected her own unique sadness and urgency into Strange Fruit.

Perhaps the most haunting song of all time, the poem was writing by Jewish writer Abel Meeropol and, upon its many iterations, became an urgent plea to stop the black lynchings in the South.

Another resplendent jewel in the crown of protest music, Buffalo SpringfieldsFor What Its Worthis up there with the most lyrically poignant songs ever penned.

A progenitor for Neil Youngs later success,Buffalo Springfield are just as iconic as this unquestionable masterpiece.

Somehow the people werent hearing the message so Aretha Franklin had to spell it out.

An epochal reflection of racial and gender discrimination, Aretha used her supernatural hit making abilities to turn Otis Reddings original into the undying feminist anthem that it is today.

Appearing like the Man In Back himself, Johnny Cash sounds powerful and larger than life at Folsom Prison. The crowd cheers replete with desperate honour.

As the song progresses Cashs breath deepens as he seems a man as afraid of confinement as any of the inmates, marking the birth of the most famous live album of all time.

The archetypal expression of Lennon-McCartney dualism, A Day In The Lifeis The Beatles most succinct and impactful mosaic.

With John as a morbid philosopher and Paul playing the acidhead business man, this song essentially bridged pop and avant garde and is a zeitgeist moments of the 60s.

Arguably the greatest protest song of all time, this is Bob Dylan at his most eloquent. With a knack for summarising hugely complex philosophical and political concepts into one succinct line, Bob Dylan hits the nail squarely on the head with Blowin In The Wind.

Dylans omnipotence and linguistic strength have loaded him with a barrage of 60s songs that proudly stand the test of time and have deified the artist in the eyes of the world.

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The 25 Best '60s Songs to stick it to the man - Happy Mag