From Jimi Hendrix to Yoko Ono to Joni Mitchell, the era of flower power saw lots of change as far as political change, social reform, and a shift in pop culture went. Some of the most influential artists of all time were the most famous during the 1960s and '70s. Find out which celebrities were the most important to counterculture...
Gloria Steinem
Steinem is a renowned feminist leader. She worked as a journalist and fought to give women equal representation in the media and workforce. Like all hippies, she also protested the Vietnam War by not paying her taxes.
Ms. Magazine
Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine in 1971, which earned her national acclaim as a fundamental feminist icon. She also published "After Black Power, Women's LIberation" the same year as the Woodstock Festival. She was making waves for her cause across all boards.
John Lennon
Lennon was a man of the people after he left The Beatles. He did everything for peace and human rights, and his song "Imagine" has lived on to be an anthem for change. Though his work was highly politicized, he earned lots of praise for other songs like "All You Need Is Love."
George Harrison
Another Beatle went on to follow the hippie movement once the band broke up. George Harrison let his hair grow longer, his clothes hang looser, and his spirituality took a turn towards the East. He became a vegetarian and took up meditation, which highly inspired his later music.
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono will go down in history for allegedly causing The Beatles to break up. However, her marriage to John Lennon inspired much of her artwork, music, and activism. They were one of the most well-known couples of their time.
A Long-Standing Impact
John and Yoko changed the way we view activism. They were an inseparable couple who fought diligently side by side for world peace and human rights. Ono has carried that legacy with her long after John's death and still works as an artist and activist today.
Cher
Cher has been a consistent, iconic diva since she rose to fame in the 1960s. Her first hit single was "I Got You Babe" alongside her then-husband, Sonny Bono. Her solo career has been extremely successful, with songs like "Do You Believe In Life After Love" earning her a place in everyone's heart.
Holding Her Back
It was pretty obvious to fans that Cher was destined for greater things than Sonny, and his bland lifestyle was holding her back. Her solo albums did much better than any of the Sonny and Cher releases, so they eventually divorced. She's been breaking ground ever since.
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell is exactly what you'd expect a starving hippie artist to look like in the 1960s. She spent much of her time in Canadian playing cheap gigs before she got her start. In her early 20s, she was discovered by David Crosby and flown out to LA. She won her first Grammy in 1970.
Barbra Streisand
Streisand gave up everything for her art at a young age and spent her teenage years and early 20s crashing on friends' sofas as she traveled. She pursued a singing and acting career, and her powerhouse vocals landed her countless roles. However, she never forgot her humble start as she rose to fame.
Janis Joplin
You can't say the word "hippie" without recognizing the impact Janis Joplin had on the music industry. She was the quintessential peace-maker. She grew up a rebel and an outcast and captured the essence of free-spiritedness through her music.
Grateful Deadhead
Janis's life in the 1960s consisted of living with her bandmates in a commune and partying with members of the iconic Grateful Dead. She gave raw and impassioned live performances, and her song "Piece of My Heart" will go down in history. She, unfortunately, passed away at the age of 27 due to a heroin overdose.
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra is the daughter of the famous performer Frank Sinatra. She took hold of the classic '60s style and gave it her own spin. A doe-eyed makeup look paired with hippie-inspired flowers in her hair was her iconic look.
"These Boots Are Made For Walkin'"
She had several hit songs over the course of her music career. Her tracks were filled with confidence and she became somewhat of a role model figure to young women who wanted to be their own person. The hit song "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" is still one of her most popular releases of all time.
Michelle Phillips
The young model embodied the hippie persona through her career in New York. Born and raised in Southern California, she forged her own path and went to the Big Apple to pursue her fashion career. She also got married at 18.
The Mamas & the Papas
Michelle and her husband, John, formed the classic indie-folk band, The Mamas & the Papas, alongside Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty. Michelle later went off to have two different affairs because she loved the idea of "free love," but tensions rose within the band because of it.
Carly Simon
Carly Simon is most popular for her hit "You're So Vain," a song everyone and their mother is familiar with. Simon rose to fame in the 1970s and won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Despite her high-profile career, she always has been and still is a free spirit at heart.
Under-Politicized Music
Despite her popularity and reach, Simon kept politics out of her music. She did, however, give women a voice with her feminist ideals and lyrics. Her tracks about independence inspired women everywhere to stand a little taller.
Goldie Hawn
Kate Hudson's mother had an entire career of her own before she had kids. A 1960s starlet, she was best known for taking on stereotypical "ditzy blonde" roles in her films. She was sweet and charming and landed leading roles by the end of the decade.
A Private Yet High-Profile Life
Few people know this, but Goldie Hawn and actor Kurt Russell have been a couple for over 35 years. They met on the set of The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band in 1966, and have been a couple since 1983. They have one son together aside from Hawn's children from a previous marriage, Kate Hudson's brother, Wyatt.
Pattie Boyd
Pattie Boyd was working as a model and photographer when she caught George Harrison's eye. The Beatles were at the peak of their career when the two starting dating. However, she then met musician Eric Clapton, who also fell for her, and one of history's most powerful love triangles was formed.
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger abandoned his economics degree for a life as a rocker on the road in 1963. He and bandmate Keith Richards wrote songs together that would withstand the test of time. Jagger was a perfect fit for a free-spirited lifestyle, and songs like "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" were reflective of that.
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull was a rocker in her own right before she met her boyfriend, Mick Jagger. The famous arm candy wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though. She was one of the top female performers of her time, though she reflected a darker side of the hippie movement, due to her issues with substance abuse.
Keith Richards
The other half of the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards, was responsible for creating those intricate guitar tones that are prominent in Stones' songs. He and Jagger were just two young kids out on the road together when they first got their start. The band still plays today, and they're still as close as ever.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix's short-lived career earned him a place as one of the best guitarists of all time. He was a proponent for social change and the hippie lifestyle, and his '70s-chic outfits exemplified that. His most iconic performance was at Woodstock to promote peace and love.
Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin hit Hollywood in the 1960s, but later transitioned into music when she met Serge Gainsbourg. The two collaborated on music for over a decade, and their hit "I Love You...Me Neither" was actually considered scandalous at the time.
Joan Baez
Joan Baez was a guitarist and singer-songwriter through the 1960s and was also responsible for introducing the world to Bob Dylan, her boyfriend at the time. She was passionate about human rights and diversity and included a song in Spanish on her debut album. Activism has been an important part of her life and career ever since she was young.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan was a freewheeling songwriter who lived to travel. He was a "counterculture" musician, and most of his songs were anthems for other free spirits. "These times They Are a-Changin" was viewed as pretty political. Dylan was also a talented poet who became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
David Bowie
Does it get any more eclectic than David Bowie? He was known for defying the confines of genres, and during the boom of the hippie era, he rebranded himself as a bohemian folk musician. He and his girlfriend at the time, Hermione Farthingale, formed a folk trio until their breakup in 1969.
Veruschka von Lehndorff
The German supermodel was just 20 years old when her career took off. She lived in New York City and attended the Woodstock festival. Most of her photos depicted Veruschka wearing hippie-inspired pieces and surrounded by nature.
Jane Fonda
Fonda is best known for being a political activist, model, and actress. She was a proud supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and used her platform in Hollywood to spread awareness about social justice issues. She continues to be an activist, supporting climate change issues and even getting arrested to support the cause.
Jack Nicholson
Thanks to his successful screenplay "The Trip" following his risky move to LA in the 1950s, Jack Nicholson became a household name. After he was cast in several psychedelic thrillers, he established himself as an anti-hero and appealed to people involved in the counter-culture movement.
Talitha Getty
Always one for the theatrics, Talitha Getty was the daughter of an artist and a bohemian model. She wore a white mini skirt on her wedding day to John Paul Getty and is even responsible for setting up Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull. She fully embraced the hippie lifestyle and was a prominent activist.
Grace Slick
The Jefferson Airplane singer carried the band through the soul-rock genre and into psychedelia. Her greatest hit song still to date is "White Rabbit," which she composed with her former band, The Great Society.
Stevie Nicks
Everyone knows who Stevie Nicks is. The iconic "Landslide" singer was an elemental player in Fleetwood Mac, and her relationship with Lindsay Buckingham inspired much of their album, Rumours. She has been tied to Wiccan and hippie cultures, both of which she proudly embraces.
Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart is regarded as one of the best-selling artists of all time. He had an eclectic sense of style to match his bluesy-bohemian lyrics, and audiences ate it up. He left his initial band, the Jeff Beck Group, to go solo, and then joined another band, Faces.
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty was a prominent actor in the 1960s, and his rebellious roles and easy-going style earned him a place in the counter-culture revolution. At just 29 years old, he starred in and produced the film Bonnie and Clyde, a timeless love story of two rebels on the run.
Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison lived on a rooftop in Venice Beach after graduating college. He rose to fame with his band, The Doors, following the release of deeply poetic tracks like "Light My Fire." He was the quintessential bohemian, caring about nothing and going with the flow.
Johnny Winter
Winter had been rocking since he was fifteen years old but wasn't signed to Columbia Records until 1968. His advance - $600,000 - was the largest record deal in history. Months after his discovery, he took the stage at Woodstock.
Jerry Garcia
The Grateful Dead founder and lead guitarist is exactly what anyone thinks of when they think of hippie culture. Garcia stole his mom's car, was kicked out of the army, and spent the rest of his life dedicated to music that would shape an entire generation. Garcia's music was known for embodying the jam aesthetic, something that hadn't been done to the Dead's extent before.
Robert Plant
The Led Zeppelin frontman embodied the stereotypical counter-culturist. He had long wavy hair, ethereal clothing, and an anthemic voice. The band released two albums the same year as Woodstock. "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway To Heaven" have gone down in rock and roll history.
Jimmy Page
Without Jimmy Page, there is no Led Zeppelin. He was the one who brought on Robert Plant, and the two were close musical partners as they worked their way through the ranks of the music industry. Page has gone down in history as one of rock's finest guitarists.
Roger Daltrey
The founder of British rock band The Who, pictured above on the left, embodied the rebellious type of hippie. His signature move was swinging a microphone by its cord while on stage. The song "My Generation" pays homage to the counter-culture era.
Richie Havens
Richie Havens was the iconic opening act at Woodstock. He was a poet before he was a musician, but he expertly combined the two crafts and decided to pick up a guitar. Good thing he did, right? He was picked up by Bob Dylan's manager in the 1960s and wrote several blues albums.
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie is the son of folk legend Woody Guthrie and composer Marjorie Guthrie. Arlo's song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" depicts anti-war propaganda, and earned him a spot among counter-culture musicians. He earned a recording deal and played small venues before his ultimate gig at Woodstock.
Sly Stone
Sly, of Sly and the Family Stone, turned folksy Woodstock into a funkadelic party. Sly was raised right in the middle of the hippie movement's base in the San Francisco bay area. He had mastered four instruments by the time he was eleven, and his band exemplified everything that hippies were fighting for.
John Fogerty
Fogerty was the frontman of the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, and their performance at Woodstock blew fans away. However, he wasn't always a musician. Years before the fest, he had to quit music to join the army since he'd been drafted.
Carlos Santana
The same year he took the Woodstock stage, Santana was signed to Columbia Records. His first solo album was supposed to release after the festival in order to take the crowd by surprise with his sound. He's gone on to have a prolific guitar-playing career since then.
Jade Castrinos
You could argue that the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros singer is today's Janis Joplin. She has a grunge-inspired, jazz-infused vice, and completely free-spirited style.
Lisa Bonet
Once married to rockstar Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Bonet has been an actress since she was a child. She starred on The Cosby Show when she was young, and then went on to play a chic musician in High Fidelity. She's now married to actor Jason Momoa.
Nikki Reed
The former Thirteen and Twilight Saga actress seems to be stepping back from Hollywood in order to pursue a new passion: fashion and sustainability. She and husband Ian Somerhalder live on a secluded farm and care for their daughter while they work on environmental initiatives.
Patti Smith
The iconic "Because the Night" singer Patti Smith ran in Bob Dylan's circle when she first moved to New York. She was homeless for a time, sleeping on various sofas while she got her start. She details her eclectic lifestyle in her memoir, "Just Kids."
Jack Kerouac
Many beat generation writers, like Jack Kerouac, embodied the hippie lifestyle before counterculture really took hold. His book "On the Road" details a life of travel and escapism, something that many people yearned for.
Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate, the famous actress murdered by the Manson family, lived a lavish, free-spirited life until her death. She married director Roman Polanski, and her wedding dress was simple and self-designed. They even attended a Supremes concert after the ceremony.
Britt Ekland
Britt Ekland dated Rod Stewart in the 1970s, and she was an actress, musician, and dancer during her time with him. Their art was reflected in each other's work, and their relationship was very collaborative. She even had a French verse in one of Stewart's songs.
Farrah Fawcett
The classic Charlie's Angels actress was the most-seen face in 1970's media. Her hair, aside from her immense talent, was the most recognizable part of her. She had a prolific career until she passed away from an aggressive battle with cancer.
Andy Warhol
It doesn't get any more wild than iconic pop artist Andy Warhol. He lived life at a nonstop pace, and his most famous works, such as his Marilyn Monroe and Campbell's Soup prints, are recognizable to nearly every audience today.
Lorde
Not a hippie in the classic sense, but Lorde does manage to live a pretty low-profile, whimsical life. With nearly no social media presence and an effortlessly careless sort of aesthetic, she's the type of spirit the music industry needs. She resurfaces to release music, and then disappears again.
John Mayer
John Mayer seems to be revisiting his hippie roots. With a new gig as an honorary Dead & Company member, he's gained a new appreciation for the era of flower power. Let's not forget when he tried his hand at becoming a country singer, though.