Stage and film musicals remained a major part of 1960s popular culture even as rock and soul transformed youth music. Broadway, Hollywood and soundtrack albums continued producing songs that became international standards.
Broadway and film crossover
West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Funny Girl and other productions kept orchestral song and theatrical storytelling central to mainstream entertainment.
Rock begins to enter theatre
By the late 1960s, productions such as Hair showed that counterculture, rock rhythm and contemporary social themes could enter the musical stage directly.
Why it matters
Musicals provide the bridge between older orchestral popular song and the more integrated multimedia culture that later rock operas and concept albums would explore.