We all can pretty much agree that The Beatles were the most successful, famous and popular band in the 1960s.

What band do you think would come in 2nd in the 1960s, just taking into account 60s music:  The Beach Boys?  The Rolling Stones?  The Supremes?
Someone else perhaps?
Herman's Hermits? The Four Seaons? Temptations? The Who?

Any thoughts?

We all can pretty much agree that The Beatles were the most successful, famous and popular band in the 1960s.

What band do you think would come in 2nd in the 1960s, just taking into account 60s music:  The Beach Boys?  The Rolling Stones?  The Supremes?
Someone else perhaps?
Herman's Hermits? The Four Seaons? Temptations? The Who?

Any thoughts?


Okay, you said 'bands' ... so artists like Elvis, The Big O and Bob Dylan are out of the race. I would think the biggest bands (after the obvious Beatles) were as follow;  The issue is that music changed in the 60's and many great bands were only around for the late 60's/early 70's (like, CreedenceCR, Buffaloe Springfield,Cream, The Birds, Mamas and Papa's, 3 Dog Night ... and can you call them 'great' if they had no longevity?

The Rolling Stones
The Hollies
Hermans Hermits
Simon & Garfunkel
Manfred Mann
The Beach Boys
Supremes
Temptations
Frankie Valli & the Fur Seasons
The Monkees
The Jackson Five
The Animals

Late 60's The Bee Gees

Late 60's The Bee Gees


Yes.. they had a huge career before their huge career!

Yes.. they had a huge career before their huge career!
Big in Australia, before deciding to take the Beatles on in their own game.

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones
The Hollies
Hermans Hermits
Simon & Garfunkel
Manfred Mann
The Beach Boys
Supremes
Temptations
Frankie Valli & the Fur Seasons
The Monkees
The Jackson Five
The Animals


I like your list, except the Jackson 5 don't really belong with the rest. They had more "Early 1970s" popularity.

Okay, you said 'bands' ... so artists like Elvis, The Big O and Bob Dylan are out of the race. I would think the biggest bands (after the obvious Beatles) were as follow;  The issue is that music changed in the 60's and many great bands were only around for the late 60's/early 70's (like, CreedenceCR, Buffaloe Springfield,Cream, The Birds, Mamas and Papa's, 3 Dog Night ... and can you call them 'great' if they had no longevity?

The Rolling Stones- Agree, and the longest enduring band of the bunch, now in its 51st year.
The Hollies- More of a "Tier 2" band. They're respectable, but are nothing compared to The Stones, Beach Boys, or even The Who.
Hermans Hermits- They were #3 behind Beatles/Supremes briefly before the Stones' Satisfaction was released, but their legacy isn't a fulfilling as most bands of their time.
Simon & Garfunkel- Had an older, more diverse audience and was on the same label as Bob Dylan and won record of the year with Mrs. Robinson, I'd put them around #5 or #6.
Manfred Mann- Had a few big hits, but many releases went under the radar and is just a "Tier 2" band.
The Beach Boys- They may have been #2 in 1963 only to the Four Seasons and to the Beatles for awhile in 1964 before the Supremes came along, but of all-time, I'd rank them as #3 after the Stones; plus they had many medicore albums littered through their career, though "Pet Sounds" and the rediscovered "Smile" are still must listens.
Supremes- Overall they were #2 in terms of sales/popularity overall, but it was most pronounced between late 1964 and mid 1967; afterwords it was between the Stones/5th Dimension/CCR. Their airplay on oldies radio seems to have tapered off over the last decade in favor of disco and '80s pop however.
Temptations- If this question was What was the #2 Motown band of the 1960s, this is who'd I choose. Probably still in the Top 10 overall.
Frankie Valli & the Fur Seasons- Before the Beatles arrived for a period of about 18 months, they were the #1 band, then settled into the Top 10 through about 1966. They are still staples on some oldies stations, plus the Valli of course had a big hit with Grease and they had some comeback hits in the mid-70s. I'd rank them as #4 overall.
The Monkees- They were probably the third most popular band from mid-1966 to the end of 1967, but overall they'd be just outside the Top 10 overall.
The Jackson Five- Although their first big album was released in 1969 and were #2 to the Beatles around their "Let it Be" period, they were basically #1 from mid-1970 to mid-1971, afterwhich the Carpenters, Bread, and the Osmonds competed with them for #1.
The Animals- Probably around #9 or #10 overall back in the '60s, but except for "The House of the Rising Sun", they almost seem like one-hit wonders to the general public today.


In terms of critical acclaim, The Who, the Jimmi Hendrix Experience, and Jefferson Airplane should also be considered for being #2 after the Beatles.

? and the Mysterians
8)

I always find it humorous that when list like this are posted, one very influential band is usually
left out. That band....The Kinks, maybe not worthy of the #2 band of the decade but an argument
can be made.

The way I saw it, 60/61 there wasn't any one strong "band" or "Group" that were leaders, main stream music on AM radio pretty much sucked, I mean The Percy Faith Orchestra was concidered rock'n roll music then, only the Do-Wop groups on cool local stations ruled the air waves, then in 1962/63 the Four Seasons took hold of the number one group, with the Beach Boys on their tail for the rest of the decade, then late 63' the Beatles were the number two group to the Four Seasons, and in 1964 the Beatles took over as number one with the Rolling Stones as number two in 65 as the permenant number one and number two bands untill the 70's. Each year after there was a band that took third place for that year... Dave Clark Five, The Monkey's in 65, Mama's and the Papa's 66, Rascals 67, all the British invasion groups, to many to mention, in the late 60's were only number three to the number one Beatles and the number two Stone's. These are the only white groups, the black groups ran equalto the white groups being as popular as number one and two with James Brown and the Famous Flames as number one with dozens of number two groups
in the 60's and the Supremes as number one girl group with every other black girl's group in the 60's as number two. It was a decade of great music, never to be equaled again in my lifetime, except for the a lot of the 80's music, that was good music too.

I always find it humorous that when list like this are posted, one very influential band is usually
left out. That band....The Kinks, maybe not worthy of the #2 band of the decade but an argument
can be made.


Yes, I should have added "The Kinks" to the list too, agreed.

The way I saw it, 60/61 there wasn't any one strong "band" or "Group" that were leaders, main stream music on AM radio pretty much sucked, I mean The Percy Faith Orchestra was concidered rock'n roll music then, only the Do-Wop groups on cool local stations ruled the air waves, then in 1962/63 the Four Seasons took hold of the number one group, with the Beach Boys on their tail for the rest of the decade, then late 63' the Beatles were the number two group to the Four Seasons, and in 1964 the Beatles took over as number one with the Rolling Stones as number two in 65 as the permenant number one and number two bands untill the 70's. Each year after there was a band that took third place for that year... Dave Clark Five, The Monkey's in 65, Mama's and the Papa's 66, Rascals 67, all the British invasion groups, to many to mention, in the late 60's were only number three to the number one Beatles and the number two Stone's. These are the only white groups, the black groups ran equalto the white groups being as popular as number one and two with James Brown and the Famous Flames as number one with dozens of number two groups
in the 60's and the Supremes as number one girl group with every other black girl's group in the 60's as number two. It was a decade of great music, never to be equaled again in my lifetime, except for the a lot of the 80's music, that was good music too.


Nice analogy.

The Yardbirds' influence can not be understated.