Question

This british band, once idolized by mainstream america, became the unofficial leaders of the anti-establishment counter-culture movement that swept across the nation in the late 1960s. who were they?

Answer 1

Beatles--they were the boy next door band bringing British pop to American. Then the band became active in the anti-war movement and their songs turned to protest. 

The Beatles were an innocent "boy band" when first introduced in the US. They sung of love and teenage life. However, by the mid- to late 1960s, the members took on the look of the hippies and began signing protest songs.