4 '60s Classic Rock Bands Still Together Today

Some of the greatest rock classics of all time were first recorded in the 1960s and were created by truly iconic bands — many of whom are still household names. However, with the live-fast-die-young lifestyle that is common among many rock stars, many of those legendary groups didn't manage to stay together for very long. Still, some of the biggest bands of the '60s managed to weather the storms of internal conflict, soured friendships, the cut-throat music industry, and a whole slew of vices and were able to stick it out for the long haul. Some bands have even managed to transcend death and illness, sticking together even after some or all of their founding members died or retired from playing.

Despite Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones having to mourn the loss of their longtime bandmate Charlie Watts, who died in 2021, the beloved "Paint It Black" artists are still touring. Famed blues rock group Canned Heat is rocking hard even after the passing of their founding members, as it's kept afloat by the band's longtime drummer. For some of music's biggest stars, nothing can fulfill them quite like performing, and they plan to do it till the very end. Here's a look at some celebrated, groundbreaking '60s rock bands that are still together today, more than six decades after they first got together.

One of the biggest rock bands in music history began as a family affair in 1961, with a trio of brothers — Carl, Brian, and Dennis Wilson — teaming up with their cousin, Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. The band cemented their place in pop culture with such hits as "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Good Vibrations," and "Surfin' U.S.A." Fast forward 60-some years, and fans can still see The Beach Boys perform, although they admittedly look quite a bit different.

In fact, it's only Love who now performs as The Beach Boys, keeping the name going even after all three Wilson brothers have died. There was frequent tension among all the members over the years. Brian Wilson — who died in June 2025 — voiced vocal frustration with Love for performing as The Beach Boys at an event hosted by Donald Trump back in 2020. Brian didn't hold his tongue when it came to distancing himself from the event.

Over the decades, possibly in an effort to revitalize their stage presence, the group has occasionally asked John Stamos to take a minute away from his lavish life and get on stage with the group. Stamos spoke with Vulture in 2024 and said he doesn't feel Love's run with The Beach Boys will end in the near future. "He's not ready to stop anytime soon. He's one of the great front men. I don't care what anybody says," Stamos shared. "I remember telling myself when I first started performing with them, 'Just relax, it can't go on forever.' And now it's been 40 years."

The 1960s were the decade of the British invasion, with rock groups from across the pond making a big splash in the United States. In 1962, English musicians Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, and Hugh Grundy teamed up to create The Zombies, a soulful and melodious band responsible for some beloved hits – most notably, "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season," which have been used in numerous film soundtracks and were very much part of the cultural fabric of the 1960s.

Despite counterculture popularity, the demand to see the band perform in large arenas began to decline, and in 1968, Argent and Blunstone decided to call it quits in an effort to go out on top. However, performing was in their blood, it would seem, and the popularity of their biggest hits continued to provide opportunities to play. The group would occasionally reconnect over the decades before officially reuniting in 2017 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their iconic album, "Odessey and Oracle."

Two years later, The Zombies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the band announced that same year that they would be embarking on a tour alongside Mike Love's iteration of The Beach Boys. The band toured hard until Argent had to step back from performing in 2024 due to a stroke. Keeping the band's name alive, Blunstone continues to perform both as a solo artist and as The Zombies, and fans keep coming to check them out.

In the many years since The Rolling Stones first formed in 1962, the band has become one of the most enduring and genre-defining rock groups of all time. They've been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, have sold more than 250 million albums, and have had dozens of hit songs in the Billboard Top 10. The band's core creative duo of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have both become household names, and their music has been used in the soundtracks for countless films.

However, unlike many bands that found huge success in the 1960s and then rode that wave for as long as possible, The Rolling Stones have continued to work, create, innovate, and reinvent themselves time and again throughout the past six decades. They've never stopped touring or releasing albums, with their 30th studio album, "Foreign Tongues," dropping in July 2026. In fact, their lead single from their new album, "In The Stars," just topped the UK charts when it debuted two months before the album itself.

That being said, the band has changed quite a bit over the years. In August 2021, the group lost their longtime drummer, Charlie Watts, who died from cancer at the age of 80. The group has continued to perform live, but recently had to cancel their planned 2026 European tour because Richards didn't want to commit to constant touring and travel at his age. Jagger spoke with NME in June 2026 and said the band was considering doing some version of "residency" shows, where they perform multiple times at the same venue, promising, "We are gonna get live dates in for next year, hopefully."

The legendary blues rock group Canned Heat got its start in 1965, formed by Los Angeles-based musicians Alan Wilson and Bob Hite. The duo soon brought a few other artists into their line-up, including Henry Vestine, Larry Taylor, and drummer Adolfo de la Parra. In 1968, the band released their breakout single, which also became the biggest hit they'd ever have, "On The Road Again." This cemented their popularity with blues rock lovers, as well as the growing hippie movement.

The band wasn't around long before suffering a major loss. Founding member Alan Wilson died in September 1970 at the age of 27, right before the start of a planned European tour, forever changing the sound of the band. Combined with a great deal of band member turnover and internal arguing, the makeup of Canned Heat seemed to be ever-evolving. Hite died in April 1981.

Despite no original members still being alive, longtime drummer de la Parra has kept the band's name alive, and still performs with a line-up of artists playing the band's most beloved hits. An estimated 45 different artists have been part of the Canned Heat lineup during de la Parra's time with the band, and he told Louder Sound in August 2024 that the band is still attracting new fans. "The baby boomers and bikers are probably eighty per cent of our audience," he shared. "But we're seeing more and more young people, who are curious. You know, for a twenty-year-old to come to a Canned Heat show is an act of rebelliousness."