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Memories and so much more.... and not the boring bits!!
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The original and most comprehensive web site for remembering some of the highlights of the 20th Century "Hundreds of videos" and tons of material for your enjoyment. Over three hundred links to other relevant websites - new material added frequently. From Fashion to Vaudeville theatre through to Old Time Radio Film and film stars Comics to Tanks through to Trains Cars & Motorbikes, Inventions, The War Years: WW1, WW2, the Vietnam War  Weapons, History of pop music, Aircraft and Warships The Roaring Twenties to the Swinging Sixties  and many other subjects from the 1910s to the 1990s.  If you spot the "deliberate" mistake, email us with a correction. With more than 89 pages and counting! plus hundreds of videos, and links to other relevant websites. If you weren’t around in the 1900’s, then we hope we’ll give you some idea of what you missed out on!

"By and large, the past two generations have made such a colossal mess of the world that they have to step down and let us take over."
"Pete Townsend"

The Summer of Love refers to the summer of 1967, when an unprecedented gathering of as many as 100,000 young people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a phenomenon of cultural and political rebellion. While hippies also gathered in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and across Europe, San Francisco was the epicentre of the hippie revolution, a melting pot of music, psychedelic drugs, sexual freedom, creative expression, and politics. The Summer of Love became a defining moment of the 1960s, as the hippie counter culture movement came into public awareness.

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1960s counter-culture revolution "Our recommended reading"

My stories as well as my non-fiction begin with the 1960s counter-culture revolution, lead by my fellow baby boomers, and extends through the big chill decades. The farther we get away from the cataclysm surrounding 1968, the more I understand how the influences invaded American culture and continued to percolate. In my novels, I look back from a post 9/11 world, fortunate to have been prepared and continuing to be enlightened by Kerouac, Henry Miller, Jerry Garcia,  Dylan, Tom Waits, Saul Bellow and, quietly, by Anne Tyler.

Take me back to the siixties

No sooner had 1967's "summer of love" passed than it all started to come undone in 1968. In that year both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated. LBJ had so escalated America's involvement in the Viet Nam conflict that across the nation's campuses students were rioting, while the "war on poverty" seemed to be going nowhere. The constant criticism from every corner finally convinced Johnson not to run for re-election. There were riots in the inner cities of many urban centers around the country (which would continue to occur each summer for the next several years). The civil rights movement gave up its nonviolence philosophy as SNCC was taken over by radical extremists; in Oakland the Black Panther movement, the extremest of the extreme, was born. Richard Nixon was elected president, and Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California; both ran on strong law-and-order campaigns.

Rock music took a step back from its drug-fueled experiments of just a year before, and turned to less-experimental sounds, while the topics became angrier. Creedence Clearwater Revival was the most successful of the roots rock groups, with hits ranging from "Green River" and "Proud Mary" to the ferocious anti-Viet Nam song "Fortunate Son." Even mainstream acts like Elvis Presley and the Supremes released protest songs. The Yardbirds broke up, and Led Zeppelin, the quintessential seventies hard rock band, grew up out of its ashes (that was also the year that the first version of Pink Floyd appeared, although it would still take a couple years of tinkering with the line-up to create the progressive-album-rock juggernaut that would reign over the FM airwaves in the next decade). Finally, the rise of the Black Power movement helped spur soul music to heights of popularity never before experienced. Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin became major stars.

The next year, 1969, saw two important rock festivals, Woodstock in August and Altamont in December. While people tend to remember Woodstock fondly because the hippies were mostly able to organize and run a 450,000-person three-day festival with few major problems, in retrospect its overwhelmed facilities (only 200,000 had been expected) and lousy weather were a symbol that Woodstock was in reality the end of an era, not the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Only a few months later, at a concert in Altamont, California, (which was documented in the movie "Gimme Shelter,") a fan was knifed to death in the audience as the Rolling Stones performed on stage.

In 1969, Charles Manson and his gang were living in Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's house, sponging off Dennis and using his credit cards. Manson was writing songs and trying to break into the music business. At the same time he was also trying to build up a new religion with himself as God, with followers who were willing to do his bidding. Musically, he got as far as to get the Beach Boys to record one of his songs ("Never Learn Not to Love," on the album 20/20), before Dennis got fed up and kicked him and his gang out. A month later, Manson and his followers committed the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders. The grizzly multiple murder was part ritual sacrifice to show loyalty to Manson, and part warning to the music business not to mess with Charlie (a producer used to own the house in which the murders took place). One of the clues that led to their finally being caught was the fact that Manson had smeared "Helter Skelter" (a Beatles song title from the White Album) in blood on the walls at the scene of the crime. Seems like '60's rock no longer pointed the way to a better world.

By the end of 1969, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix had all died of drug overdoses. In England, the Beatles produced a documentary ("Get Back") that had been meant as a kind of new start for the group, but which instead showed how the boys could barely stand to be in the same room with each other anymore. In America, on the tiny island of Chappaquiddick off Martha's Vineyard, Senator Edward Kennedy was involved in a car crash in which a young woman died. The bizarre and ambiguous circumstances surrounding the fatal accident put a stain on the remaining Kennedy brother's reputation that he was never able to shake.

In 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, but when that singular moment in the history of mankind was announced at an Earth-bound rock festival, the self-absorbed audience booed the news. A year later, the Beatles broke up and Diana Ross left the Supremes; one year after that, Berry Gordy moved his Motown operations from Detroit to Los Angeles. The musical decade of the sixties was over. 

Copyright 1998 Jack Madani 

greasy spoon cafe

The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. The term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends  which occurred roughly during the years 1958-1974 in Western countries, particularly Britain, France, the United States, Italy and West Germany. Social and political upheaval was not limited to these nations, but included such nations as Japan, Mexico, Canada, and others. The term is used descriptively by historians, journalists, and others documenting our collective past; nostalgically by those who participated in the counter-culture (or wish they had);

London in the sixties

modsixties

1960s rock

PastReunited.com

The hippies did not pick that name for themselves: it was given to them by Michael Fallon, a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner,  in a 1965 story about the new bohemian lifestyle that was developing in the city's Haight-Ashbury district (named for two streets that converge there — also called the Haight). Fallon got the name by shortening Norman Mailer's term  hipster, and he applied it to the second generation of beatniks who had moved into the Haight from nearby North Beach. This new generation of dropouts was more optimistic than the beatniks, however, more prone to talk about love, more flamboyant. They belonged to groups such as the Legalized Marijuana Movement and the Sexual Freedom League. In the summer of 1965 the hippies were few in number but were well on their way to creating a small, thriving society — a counter culture.

Welcome to British Invasion Bands

Can you believe it's been more than 45 years since the Beatles stepped off that plane at Kennedy Airport?
The British music invasion of the early Sixties is a hazy memory to most of us who are old enough to remember it at all. For many of us, it's the kind of memory that makes us smile and remember a time when things were less complicated... when we shared with each other the pure joy and energy of the new music playing on our radios.

WELCOME TO OUR RARE VINYL RECORD SHOP

The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre  or Kent State massacre,  occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.

Some of the students who were shot had been protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia, which President Richard Nixon announced in a television address on April 30. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance. There was a significant national response to the shootings: hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of four million students, and the event further divided the country, at an already socially contentious time, about the role of the United States in the Vietnam War.

Kent State massacre

You may remember the seventies better ?

Sounds of the 60s

Sounds of the 60s is a long-running Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 2 that features recordings of popular music made in the 1960s. It was first broadcast on 12 February 1983 and introduced by Keith Fordyce who had been the first presenter of the TV show Ready Steady Go! in 1963. Since 1990 the presenter has been Brian Matthew
Subsequent presenters included Simon Dee (b. 1935), the first voice to have been heard on Radio Caroline in 1964, and, for the greater part of its run, Brian Matthew, who had introduced Saturday Club on the BBC Light Programme until 1967. Dee's tenure in 1988 provided a boost to the show and his initial contract was extended. However, he seems to have fallen out with those producing the programme, notably over his wish for it to be based in London rather than Bristol  Matthew first presented Sounds of the 60s in April 1990 and was still doing so in 2007, his place being taken temporarily between September 2006 and February 2007 by former Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 disc jockey Johnnie Walker (and, during Walker's own absence in December 2006, by three guest presenters: Sandie Shaw, Joe Brown and Suzi Quatro). Matthew returned on 10 February, revealing that his prolonged absence had been due to a viral infection contracted while in hospital for a routine operation.

Pop music became big and artists and fans really thought they could change the world in one lovin' and happy society. The sixties the decade with the first massive festival: Woodstock and the Summer of Love in 1967.

Marijuana first became popular in the United States

Marijuana first became popular in the United States with Mexican immigrants in the 1920's and was quickly adopted by those in the jazz community. Later, the Great Depression of the 1930's led to a growing hostility toward the increase in marijuana use that was linked to immigration. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 placed control of the Cannabis plant into the hands of the federal government, which released very exaggerated portrayals of marijuana's effects (i.e., "Reefer Madness") and made the drug illegal. These stories, paired with the ban on private use, kept marijuana use fairly uncommon until the 1960's. After the "hippie" counterculture rediscovered marijuana in the 1960's, demand for, and use of, the substance grew until about 1978, when the favorable attitude toward the substance reached a peak. Since then, public attitudes have varied greatly from complete intolerance to ideas of legalization. In 1970, marijuana was listed as a Schedule I drug where it still remains today; however, the medical use of marijuana has been a hot topic for the last decade, along with the advent of synthetic forms of THC (i.e., Marinol).

Explore our website for more about visiting the exhibition or browse through our 60s memories – you can even add your own. Let us know what you thought of your visit by sending in your photos and comments. Or see how you score in our 60s quiz…. The sixties website

As in any other decade, a series of brief fashions in dress and pastimes captured the public's imagination during the 1950s. Many of these fads were inspired by what Americans saw on television, which most of them encountered for the first time during the decade. In 1955 children and adults alike were swept up in the merchandising blitz surrounding Walt Disney's television series "Davy Crockett." Four million recordings of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," the show's theme song, and fourteen million Davy Crockett books were sold to eager fans. Little pioneers wore replicas of the coonskin cap their hero wore, so that the price of raccoon tails shot from twenty-five cents to eight dollars a pound. Some three thousand items of merchandise were licensed to cash in on the popularity of the Tennessee woodsman, including lunch boxes, bath towels, ukuleles, and women's underwear. Minor sports such as professional wrestling and roller derby were also extremely popular during the decade primarily because of exposure on television. The new medium itself, in fact, was something of a fad during the 1950s because of its novelty, and early stars and shows fascinated the public as few have since.
Dance

Dance crazes of the 1950s were also influenced by television. Young people watched Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," which debuted in 1957, to learn the latest steps. The stroll, a line dance with hand clapping, was especially popular. For their parents, "The Arthur Murray Party" was broadcast weekly throughout the decade; dance instructor Murray popularized several ballroom dances, including the cha-cha and the merengue.
College Fads

College students, always on the lookout for new fads, latched on to quite a few. Panty raids were popular during the 1950s and were, as Peter L. Skolnik puts it, "generally greeted with equal enthusiasm by the raiders and the raided." Only occasionally did the raids get out of hand and turn into full-scale riots. Mostly they were harmless fun. Collegians also stuffed themselves into cars (a variation of the telephone-booth stuffing of old). In 1959 "hunkering" was a popular campus fad: students squatted on their haunches to study or just hang around. Many new toys, some made possible by technological advances from World War II, competed for the attention of the country's youngest consumers. The success of western movies and television shows led to heavy sales of toy guns, holsters, and spurs, to the tune of $283 million. Thirty million children wore propeller beanies in 1952. Slinkies, wire coils that walked down stairs "alone or in pairs," were popular toys during the decade, as was Silly Putty, a moldable glob of silicone, thirty-two million of which were sold between 1949 and 1954.

John F. Kennedy told the nation in 1960

The early 1960s in America were a time of hope, energy, and prosperity, a time when the United States settled confidently into its role as a superpower possessed of military might and financial clout. "It is a time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities," the new president John F. Kennedy told the nation in 1960. 'For there is a new world to be won.'  "Much of the optimism had gone out of American life by the end of the 1960s; it was replaced with grief, cynicism, and fear. John F. Kennedy, the president who had for many symbolized hope of America; Martin Luther King, Jr., the Nobel Prize-winning leader who had promoted non violence to redress social injustice; Malcolm X, the forceful advocate of black pride; and Robert Kennedy, the presidential candidate who promised peace and order, were all assassinated."

history of rock an roll

This web page attempts to explore the roots of rock in such a way as to illuminate the natural progression of musical styles. Too often the study of rock begins with Bill Haley and His Comets and includes scant information about the blues and rhythm records that he, and others, used as a model. A musical genre does not simply appear, it gradually evolves to a point in time when some event-performance, publication, or recording allows listeners to perceive its unique qualities and apply a label. Wyonnie Harris' 1947 recording of "Good Rocking Tonight" was one of many "rhythm records" made during the late 1940s, however when it was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954 it seemed like a new and different approach. What made it seem new and different was its context. Without exploring the history of black popular music, country and western music, race relations, technical developments, and the music business one can be led easily to the conclusion that rock and roll was some new and different music which appeared suddenly.

The 1950s brought with it some famous toys, the Frisbee, the hula hoop, and silly putty just to name a few. But could the toys from the 1960's top the accomplishments of the 1950s? Let's have a look at some of the most famous 1960's toys:

Hot Wheels - The husband of the Barbie doll inventor, Elliot Handler invented Hot Wheels whist doing some experimentation. It's funny how the most famous toys are discovered by accident. In the first year of release, Hot Wheels sold more than ten times more than what was expected making it to this day, one of the most well sold toys ever produced. The car's ability to conduct tricks was one of the main reasons why it was so successful.

LEGO - The famous Lego brand and toy was invented in this decade. Lego has been one of the most popular toys ever and is still played with by countless millions of children around the world today - One of the most famous of 1960's toys.

G.I Joe - The history or should I say, the beginnings of G.I Joe are not well understood with certain myths floating around as to how the toy was created. But regardless of that, G.I Joe was the first toy to be ever called an "action figurine".

Easy Bake Oven - One of the most famous toys associated and marketed to young girls, the easy bake oven was the first toy oven ever produced. It was manufactured by Kenner Products or now more commonly known as Hasbro. In the first year of sales, more than half a million easy bake ovens were sold making it one of the most well sold toys in its first year. As you can see, 1960's toys are probably even more famous than those manufactured in the previous decade. Collecting vintage and antique toys usually begins with toys that bring back fond memories from the past.

Great Britain

Great Britain is the name used by the United Kingdom at the Olympic Games. Great Britain was one of 14 nations to compete in the first Games, the 1896 Summer Olympics, and has competed at every Games. British athletes have won 668 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 21 at the Winter Olympic Games. Great Britain is the only nation to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Games. The Great Britain team includes athletes from Northern Ireland, even though that constituent country is not geographically in Great Britain.

The name was assigned by the International Olympic Committee for the 1908 Summer Olympics along with the IOC country code GBR despite including athletes from Ireland, which was part of the UK, but not part of Great Britain. An attempt was made to gain "separate nation" status for Irish athletes in 1906 but was stopped by Prince George of Greece and Denmark. From the 1924 Summer Olympics, following the secession of the majority of Ireland from the United Kingdom, and the partition of Ireland, athletes from Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom, could choose to represent either Great Britain or a newly created team, Ireland.

Neil Alden Armstrong (born August 5, 1930) is a former American astronaut, test pilot, university professor, and United States Naval Aviator. He was the first person to set foot on the Moon. His first space flight was aboard Gemini 8 in 1966, for which he was the command pilot. On this mission, he performed the first manned docking of two spacecraft together with pilot David Scott. Armstrong's second and last space flight was as mission commander of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission on July 20, 1969. On this famous "giant leap for mankind", Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface ("The Eagle has landed") and spent 2.5 hours exploring while Michael Collins orbited above. Armstrong is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honour.

Buzz Aldrin

Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was in the United States Navy and saw action in the Korean War. After the war, he served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station, now known as the Dryden Flight Research Center, where he flew over 900 flights in a variety of aircraft. As a research pilot, Armstrong served as project pilot on the F-100 Super Sabre A and C aircraft, F-101 Voodoo, and the Lockheed F-104A Starfighter. He also flew the Bell X-1B, Bell X-5, North American X-15, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, B-47 Stratojet, KC-135 Stratotanker and Paresev. He graduated from Purdue University.

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942) is a retired American boxer and former three-time World Heavyweight Champion and winner of an Olympic Light-heavyweight gold medal. In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and the BBC.

Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who was named for the 19th century abolitionist and politician Cassius Clay. Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975 and then Sufism  Ali was best known for his fighting style which he described as "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". His movement is often described as a dance; some go so far as to call it beautiful.

Muhammad Ali

During his career Ali made a name for himself with great hand speed, as well as fast feet and taunting tactics. While Ali was renowned for his fast, sharp out-fighting tye, he also had a great chin, and displayed a great heart and ability to take a punch in his 1974 fight against George Foreman in Zaire, called the Rumble in the .
Muhammad Ali is a mere mortal. But in the eyes of millions he is a legend, immortalised forever by the energy and incredible talent he brought in and out of the boxing ring. Muhammad Ali belongs to a generation of the history's best boxers, when there were a dozen top draws like George Foreman, Ken Norton, Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, and Floyd Patterson. Despite the greatness of his peers though, Muhammad Ali stood apart as the greatest of all time.

Muhammad Ali was first and foremost a great boxer that's what brought Ali to prominence. But he was also a champion of the Civil Rights movement, and an involved activist who used his power and fame to push noble social change.

the 1960s

The Beatles Story calls on friends worldwide to help create the first on-line, fully interactive encyclopedia devoted solely to The Beatles. It is essential Beatles fans across the world help us build the encyclopedia to ensure the legacy of The Beatles can be shared for years to come.

MissDeal's pretty expansive 60's world ... Hippie postcards, games, music and more.

The Beatles

DM's Beatles site
The Beatles Welcome to the site, which is completely devoted to the Beatles, undoubtedly the most famous music band. Please use left menu to navigate through the site in order to access: Comprehensive UK and US discographies with album covers, additional information, reviews and comments. Complete song index with the lyrics. Different takes, demo and live versions, unreleased songs and songs for others. Detailed history day by day, with pictures, links to albums, interviews. More than thousand pictures of the Beatles, people close to them, magazine covers.  Various information on the Beatles, their films, interviews, concerts, bootlegs. Popular discussion forum where you can meet Beatles fans from all over the World.

Rolling stones

One of the most exciting and influential groups to come out of Birmingham in the early 1960s, the Spencer Davis Group is recognized for their classic and ground-breaking recordings as well as for launching Steve Winwood's music career.
Spencer Davis was born on July 17, 1941 in Swansea, South Wales. He moved to London as a teenager where he played in skiffle bands and became heavily influenced by imported American blues music. In 1960 he relocated to Birmingham and studied German at Birmingham University before working as a teacher at Whittington Oval Junior School in Yardley. In the evenings, he would play his 12 string guitar and sing blues at various venues in the city and for a short time formed a duo with future Fleetwood Mac member Christine Perfect.

pop history, pop culture

Welcome the hardest working pop history, pop culture, trivia and time machine on the planet. Look back week-by-week and rediscover old friends, wonderful trivia and those things you just forgot. If you weren't around, you;ll be fascinated by this virtual time travel. Browse the week-by-week sections in each decade. Be sure to come back each week as the site expands, or get entertained in the Ask Mr. Pop History section the Ann Landers of pop culture.Q&As added every week or browse hundreds of past Q&As. Don't be afraid to ask a question.

 An era of Rock and Roll

"This site is best viewed with a Bacon Sandwich and a Mug Of Tea"

One of the most popular toys for young American girls during the last several decades has been the Barbie doll, which debuted by the Mattel company in 1959 at the New York Toy Fair. The first Barbies were slim but shapely, eleven and a half inches tall, and sold for $3.00. Girls could not only collect the dolls but a whole range of fashions ("authentic in every detail," her makers proudly proclaimed) for the Barbie to wear. Although the earliest dolls had dead white skin and limp hair, by the early 1960s her skin tone was more natural and her designers were giving her a variety of hair-styles, especially the beehives and bubble cuts that were popular at the time. Barbie's ever-changing wardrobe also reflected the fashions of the time, from the elegance of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to the short-skirted "Carnaby Street" look imported along with the British Invasion of 1964. Like every popular teenager, Barbie soon had a circle of friends for girls to collect, as well. Her boyfriend Ken was introduced in 1961. (Barbie and Ken made it official in 1965, when Mattel offered a wedding ensemble for the two.) In 1963 Barbie gained a best girlfriend, Midge. In 1964 and 1966 Barbie's makers offered siblings for her: first her little sister Skipper, and then the twins Tutti and Todd. In 1966 the public was introduced to Francie, Barbie's mod cousin, and in 1968 Christie, a black friend, was added to the group. There was, of course, plenty for all of Barbie's friends to wear, too: the designers at Mattel added hundreds of new pieces to the group's wardrobe each year. 

The Nostalgic Boomer

The Nostalgic Boomer, a virtual nostalgia heaven for Baby Boomers. A place to relive and revive memories of the Innocent Fifties and Turbulent Sixties. An era of Rock and Roll, Elvis, The Beat Generation, Hippies and The Beatles that belonged to the post war baby boom of 1946 through 1964.

With movie audiences declining due to the dominance of television, major American film companies began to diversify with other forms of entertainment: records, publishing, TV movies and the production of TV series. For example: In July of 1961, TWA Airlines began the first regular in-flight movies in first-class during a NYC to LA flight, with a Bell and Howell projector aimed at a screen to show the glossy soap opera By Love Possessed  (1961), starring Lana Turner, in September of 1961, Saturday Night at the Movies premiered on NBC with the first wide-screen comedy, How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) - it marked the start of the trend to broadcast Hollywood movies on TV, in 1965, Columbia released folk/rock singer Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited, separate awards for Black and White and Color Cinematography were eliminated by AMPAS for 1967 (and after) films, because most films were being made in colour, Increasingly in the 60s, the major studios financed and distributed independently-produced domestic pictures. And made-for-TV movies became a regular feature of network programming by mid-decade. Many "runaway" film productions were being made abroad to save money. By mid-decade, the average ticket price was less than a dollar, and the average film budget was slightly over one and a half million dollars. And by the end of the decade, the film industry was very troubled and depressed and experiencing an all-time low that had been developing for almost 25 years.

"Classic Beach"

Artists and groups that were important to the formative years of this genre include: Artie Shaw, Wynonie Harris, Jimmy Cavallo and The House Rockers, Ruth Brown, Little Willie John, Earl Bostic, The Drifters, Wilbert Harrison, Clyde McPhatter, Billy Ward and The Dominos, Hank Ballard, Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs, The Tams, The 5 Royales, The Coasters, Fats Domino, Jimmy McCracklin, Solomon Burke, Sam Cooke, The Platters, The Four Tops, Louis Prima, Arthur Alexander, Stick McGhee, Jackie Brenston, Willbert Harrison, Big Joe Turner, Bruce Channel, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, Dinah Washington, Billy Stewart, The Temptations,The Impressions, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The O'Jays, The Spinners, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, The Checkers, The Clovers, Barbara Lewis, Don Covay, Jimmy Ricks and The Ravens, Mary Wells, Garnet Mimms and The Enchanters, Ben E. King, Major Lance, Willie Tee and Ernie K-Doe.
While some of the "beach hits" by these artists appeared on the R&B and rock and roll charts nationally, a great many of them were "b-sides" -- or even more obscure recordings that never charted at all. With this penchant for obscure R&B, especially from the sixties, beach music has much in common with the northern soul phenomenon in the UK.

Top 100 Songs of 1960

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So, what does that say about our Eternally Cute and Favorite Monkee? It says that he has fans that care enough about him to take the time to build little altars of appreciation for all the years he has given to us.....but there is more to this site than our Darling David....

 the 60's

Have your parents ever told you about the 1960's? If they have, was it boring, or about the least important thing? (Not that anything boring happened in the 60's.) Well, don't worry, they're not the only people who know about that time period. Even some of your fellow kids have some good info on the 60's. Like Jessica and Amy, the writers of this totally awesome web page!!! Your parents might have told you that the 60's were all about hippies ... well, the 60's were more than just hippies, although they did play an important role during the decade. There was also: Martin Luther King Jr.'s " I have a dream" speech, psychedelic music, Kennedy's assassination, the Vietnam War, and the first man to walk the moon. So hold on to your chairs, 'cause your about to go on a on a wild ride through time to the 1960's!!!!

Radio Caroline in the Sixties.

The following pages are devoted to special memories of Radio Caroline in the Sixties. If you have a particular memory of something that happened while listening to Radio Caroline, or have unearthed some rare memorabilia, please click on the button, right, and let us know!

Flower power

Your trusted guide to the decade of short skirts and flower power.

Flower power was a slogan used by hippies (aka Flower Children) during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of non-violence ideology. It is rooted in opposition to the Vietnam War. They burned their draft cards and created a hippy culture. They dressed in flowery clothing and wore flowers in their hair. The expression is said to have been coined by the US poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965. It has since been used in many places when referring to the sixties, including countless films, TV programs and documentaries. The "meeting place" for the Flower Power movement was based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in a club called Paradiso. The hippies chose this club because of the name paradiso, which reminded them of a peaceful place, paradise. Artists such as Yoko Ono have since been performing there on occasional visits. Nowadays it is found next to a Hard Rock Cafe and is a centre of music for all groups of people, including followers of movements such as the Rastafari movement. Flower Power also celebrated symbolic action such as giving flowers to policemen and putting flowers into the barrels of ROTC rifles. A Pulitzer-nominated photograph (with the same title) by Washington Star photographer Bernie Boston has been a classic image of the Vietnam War era protests. The photo, taken at the October 21, 1967, "March on the Pentagon", showed a young, long-haired man in a turtleneck sweater, placing carnations into the rifle barrels of military policemen. The young man turned out to be George Edgerly Harris III, an 18 year old actor from New York. Harris later took on the stage name of "Hibiscus".

Trippervision a video experience consisting of nonstop, imaginative, and beautiful consciousness-expanding psychedelic visuals.

The Baby Boomer Generation

The Baby Boomer Generation is a source for trends, research, comment and discussion of and by people born from 1946 - 1964. Covering issues on the Boomer Generation including original content for Boomers, bulletin boards, user comments, Sixties and Seventies music, Baby Boomer culture, health and coverage of issues for "Ageing Hipsters." 

songs from 1960-1975

Rediscover your favourite songs from the sixties and early seventies. Find those long-lost tunes you thought you had long forgotten. We maintain a searchable database of links to sound clips for over 4000 songs from 1960-1975 which can be browsed both by performing artist and by song title.

The Small Faces

I believe that The Small Faces are one of the greatest bands to come out of the sixties (not counting the Beatles) and I feel that there are not enough websites around about them, so I have decided to make this one. I have tried to include everything that a Small Faces fan would look for, things like pictures of the band, wallpapers and also lyrics, as well as a number of links to other cool Small Faces fan sites.

The sixties

The sixties were a time of change, counter culture and political movements. Many young people involved themselves in trying to make America a better place for all people, no matter what gender or race they were. The sixties began with the election of America's youngest president, John F. Kennedy. During his period in office people stepped out and said how they felt. They thought that with Kennedy leading America, anything was possible.

1960s-volkswagan-kombi

The 1960s brought us hippies, the Civil Rights Movement, the British Invasion and so much more. The decade also brought us a whole new lingo that was used by everyone. Below is a small list of the slang used in the 1960s. Some are still commonly used today, while others are not and some are just clearly dated but we love them anyway.
Slang Still Commonly Used Today
Crash: to go to sleep or be worn out. "After protesting on Washington all day, I crashed on my couch."
Dibs: to own or possess something. "I've got dibs on that tie dye shirt."
Jinx, you owe me a soda: shouted out after two people say the exact same thing at the exact same time.
Old Lady: refers to your own or someone's mother. "My old lady is in love with Breakfast at Tiffany's."
Peace Out: a way of saying goodbye. "I'm heading to San Francisco for the Summer of Love, peace out."
Scarf: to eat quickly. "I'm so hungry, I'm going to scarf down a whole pie."

Slang Still Used Today but Dated by the 1960s
Boogie: to leave. "This party is lame, let's boogie." It can also mean to dance. "I want to boogie down to Motown tonight."
Dig: to understand. "Can you dig what I'm saying?"
Far Out: something that is cool and exciting. "Neil Armstrong landing on the moon is far out."
Funky: something that is great and unique. "Sonny and Cher's new song is funky." It can also mean something is rotten. "Your flip flops smell funky."
Groovy: also means something is cool or great. "Elvis Presley is a groovy guy."
Hang Loose: to relax. "Let's hang loose at your old lady's pad tonight."
Slang Not Commonly Used Today
Blitzed: to be drunk. "I got blitzed at Woodstock this summer."
Dude: a nerd or geek, different than how we use it today. "That dude from math class lost his pocket protector."
Gas: to have fun. "I had a real gas at the Beetles concert last night."
Gutt Waddin': fast food or a quick snack to fulfill your hunger. "Let's grab some gutt waddin' before we head to the drive-in theater."
Hook: to steal. "He hooked that Mustang from his old man."
Panty Waist: another term for a nerd or a mama's boy. "That Panty Waist is too scared to see Psycho."

The Protest song
was one of the main symbols of the sixties youth culture and was aimed at awakening public awareness of social issues, particularly the Vietnam conflict. The songs provided the soundtrack to our demonstrations against that War and All war.

WAR
War has shattered
Many young men's dreams
We've got no place for it today
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord, there's just got to be a better way
It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War !
What is it good for?
("War", by Edwin Starr was the United States number 1 song in 1970.)

The Bands and Artists We Loved

The 1960s

You have entered a part of my website that is near and dear to me, --the era of my youth... Come back to the day before cell phones, pagers**, CD's, email or the internet, how'd we ever survive?  Well, somehow we did manage to survive and we obviously didn't need those things that today we feel we can't live without.  If it were at all possible, I am quite sure that the majority of us that came out of the 70's --would gladly jump into a time machine and transport back into time...

An A-Z of British bands and songwriters of the sixties.

The sixties were the age of youth, as 70 million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults.  The movement away from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in the cultural fabric of American life.  No longer content to be images of the generation ahead of them, young people wanted change. The changes affected education, values, lifestyles, laws, and entertainment.  Many of the revolutionary ideas which began in the sixties are continuing to evolve today. 

Catweazle

It was 5.30pm on Sunday 15th February 1970 when Catweazle dropped in from 1066 with the very first episode 'The Sun In A Bottle'. Two years of sheer magic followed, but he waved us goodbye on Sunday 4th April 1972 in Episode 26, 'The Thirteenth Sign'. That was the last we saw of him on UK television, apart from the repeats on Sky Television! he was gone but not forgotten............

The beginning of Rock and roll started with The Twist. by Chubby Checker This song changed our dancing moves. Other dance songs that helped this period of rock and roll along include: The Mash Potato, The Monster Mash ,the Pony, The Swim, The Jerk, The Monkey, and The Hully Gully. The first New York white rock star was Dion. He was the lead singer of the band the Belmonts. He was one of the the few rockers in his generation to evidence serious artistic growth (Unterberger). He moved into Country Blues, and Dylan material with sensitivity ,but drug problems slowed his progress until the late 60s. He made a comeback as a folk-rock singer with his song Abraham ,martin and John. Dion was one of several Italian-Americans to make important pop rock in the 60s. Other big American Rock groups of the 60s include: The Beach Boys, the four Seasons, and Frankie Valli. They had songs which included Sherry, Walk like a man, Candy Girl, Dawn, and Rag doll. Joey Dee was the most popular white twist artist of the 60s with his hit Peppermint Twist. Other members of Joey Dees band formed another Band called the Nucleus of the rascals. This band Featured a thick Organ sound of Felix cavaliere,They had a number one hit titled Good Lovin in 1966.

Chubby Checker

The beginning of Rock and roll started with The Twist by Chubby Checker This song changed our dancing moves. Other dance songs that helped this period of rock and roll along include: The Mash Potato, The Monster Mash ,the Pony, The Swim, The Jerk, The Monkey, and The Hully Gully. The first New York white rock star was Dion. He was the lead singer of the band the Belmonts. He was one of the the few rockers in his generation to evidence serious artistic growth (Unterberger). He moved into Country Blues, and Dylan material with sensitivity ,but drug problems slowed his progress until the late 60s. He made a comeback as a folk-rock singer with his song Abraham ,martin and John. Dion was one of several Italian-Americans to make important pop rock in the 60s. Other big American Rock groups of the 60s include: The Beach Boys, the four Seasons, and Frankie Valli. They had songs which included Sherry, Walk like a man, Candy Girl, Dawn, and Rag doll. Joey Dee was the most popular white twist artist of the 60s with his hit Peppermint Twist. Other members of Joey Dees band formed another Band called the Nucleus of the rascals. This band Featured a thick Organ sound of Felix cavaliere,They had a number one hit titled Good Lovin in 1966.

Rock and roll

The Cultural Sixties began with the assassination of John F Kennedy in 1963. The Beatles invaded in 1964 changing our music and our culture. Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali and became the athlete of the century. The Rolling Stones hit big with Satisfaction in 1965. Bob Dylan turned on the   Beatles  who began putting more thought into both their music and lyrics giving rise to what is said to be the greatest studio album of all time, Sargent  Peppers Lonely Heartclub Band. In 1966 the war in  Vietnam was building into a political problem on the homefront and we first heard of the hippies and the music which was to define the decade. In 1967 Israel won the 6 Day War in the Middle East, Senator Eugene McCarthy entered the race for President giving the struggling peace movement momentum. In 1968 Lyndon Johnson refused to run again for President,  Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated and the Vietnam war escalated. 1968 also had Americans orbiting the moon while riots dominated the Democratic Convention  in Chicago. In 1969 Richard Nixon became President, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon, Jimi Hendricks played Woodstock and bikers killed a fan at a free Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway  and Easy Rider with  Jack Nicholson became a hit. In 1970 the United States began B-52 bombing of Cambodia, in protest four students were shot by the National Guard at  Kent State Univeristy.  1970 was also the year the  Beatles broke up and Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died in drug-related deaths. In 1972 came All in the Family with  Archie Bunker. and in  1974 Richard Nixon   resigned and The Sixties ended with President Gerald Ford's words, "Our long national nightmare is over."

Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935 in Beaumont, Texas), is a Hall of Fame former Major League Baseball player. He was an outfielder, most notably with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. During a 21-season career, he is the only player to win League MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues, won the Triple crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series (the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles), and amassed the fourth-most career home runs at the time of his retirement (he is currently seventh).

Frank Robinson

During the last two years of his playing career, he served as the first permanent African-American manager in Major League history, managing the Cleveland Indians to a 186-189 record. He went on to manage the San Francisco Giants, the Baltimore Orioles, the Montreal Expos and the Washington Nationals.

Michael Holiday

1960s hits UK A
1 Michael Holliday - "Starry Eyed"
January 29 for 1 week
2 Anthony Newley - "Why"
February 5 for 4 weeks
3 Adam Faith - "Poor Me"
March 4 for 2 week
4 Johnny Preston - "Running Bear"
March 17 for 2 weeks
5 Lonnie Donegan - "My Old Man's a Dustman (Ballad of a Refuse Disposal Officer)"
March 31 for 4 weeks
6 Anthony Newley - "Do You Mind"
April 28 for 1 week
7 Everly Brothers - "Cathy's Clown"
May 5 for 7 weeks
8 Eddie Cochran - "Three Steps to Heaven"
June 23 for 2 weeks
9 Jimmy Jones - "Good Timin'"
July 7 for 3 weeks
10 Cliff Richard & The Shadows - "Please Don't Tease"
July 28 for 1 week
11 Johnny Kidd & The Pirates - "Shakin' All Over"
August 4 for 1 week
12 Cliff Richard & The Shadows - "Please Don't Tease"
August 11 for 2 weeks
13 The Shadows - "Apache"
August 25 for 5 weeks
14 Ricky Valance - "Tell Laura I Love Her"
September 29 for 3 weeks
15 Roy Orbison - "Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)"
October 20 for 2 weeks
16 Elvis Presley - "It's Now or Never"
November 3 for 8 weeks
17 Cliff Richard & The Shadows - "I Love You"
December 29 for 2 weeks

1969 Woodstock Festival & Concert

Woodstock

A collection of Woodstock Facts, Figures, Stories, Photos, Current Happenings, Memorabilia, Links, and Assorted Tit bits. Assembled to give you a clearer picture of an event that reshaped Music and Society. Join us for a trip to the 1969 Woodstock Festival & Concert!!

WEIRDSVILLE.com presents a mind-bending selection of swankadelic sounds

pastreunited.com

Originally, hippies were part of a youth movement composed mostly of white teenagers and young adults, between the ages of 15 and 25 years old, who inherited a tradition of cultural dissent from the earlier Bohemians and the beatniks.Hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Eastern philosophy,championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarian and eco-friendly, promoted the use of psychedelic drugs to expand one's consciousness, and created intentional communities or communes. They used alternative arts, street theatre, folk music, and psychedelic rock as a part of their lifestyle and as a way of expressing their feelings, their protests and their vision of the world and life. Hippies opposed political and social orthodoxy, choosing a gentle and nondoctrinaire ideology that favored peace, love and personal freedom,perhaps best epitomized by The Beatles' song "All You Need is Love". They perceived the dominant culture as a corrupt, monolithic entity that exercised undue power over their lives, calling this culture "The Establishment", "Big Brother", or "The Man". Noting that they were "seekers of meaning and value", scholars like Timothy Miller describe hippies as a new religious movement.

The roots of British popular music for the rest of the 20th century and into the next were set during the 1950s. In the aftermath of World War 2, the economy was still performing poorly. Many consumer goods were not available, and there was little high-wage labor. American media was popular, and the British youth grew infatuated with the apparent wealth of their American counterparts. The economy of the United States was booming, and the images on TV made it appear as though American teens were able to purchase much that the British could not. At the same time, a legion of American musical innovators, including Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, were adapting African American rock and roll for mainstream audiences, and American folk bands like The Weavers were fomenting a roots revival of old time music. Indigenous styles of music production and performance dominated the United Kingdom until the late 1950s, when imported American rock and roll, pop-folk and rockabilly gained fans among British youth, while American roots music, especially the blues, found its own devoted fanbase. Joe Boyd brought the "Blues and Gospel Caravan" to England in April 1964 (including Muddy Waters and Otis Spann). He found the English audiences more enthusiastic than the US ones (see ""White Bicycles" chapter 2). Many USA blues artists followed in their trail.

sixties photos

Welcome to Sixties Photos, the website that brings you back to the sweet, swinging, psychedelic Sixties with photographs taken by major photo-masters of the era. Among our incredible collection, we present Gene Anthony, a giant among men behind the camera then and now whose photo archive of over 200 categories was assembled from assignments he completed over the years for Life Magazine, Paris Match, Der Stern, Newseek, Playboy and other major publications.

The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was fought by the United States between 1965 to 1973. It was the longest war the country had ever engaged in. The Vietnam War was unique in one other regard: It gave rise to the largest and most successful antiwar movement in United States history. In a sense, the war in Vietnam could be described asacid.jpg (49166 bytes) a two front war - a war in Vietnam with war being waged with tanks, guns and bullets - and a "war at home," fought on the streets and campuses throughout the nation.

From Twiggy to James Bond

From Twiggy to James Bond, the Rat Pack to the Beatles, Janis to Jimi, the Supremes to Steve McQueen, the Swingin' Sixties' swinginest guys and gals unite for a kooky (but respectful!) celebration of swingin' style in our new "encyclopedia" The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool.

From the 1920's to 2000's

From the 1920's to 2000's we list all of the craziest fads that have come and gone. Go back a few decades and read about the silly to serious fads that helped change our society and create a pop-culture. Want to know which fads your parents experienced? What about the ones you experienced yourself? Maybe you will start a new fad yourself after reading some of the following crazy fads.

1950s 1960s 1970s Vintage Old Toys & Collectibles For Sale

Pop music also set in motion a series of dance crazes, starting with the twist in 1961. That dance was so popular that First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy even had a twisting party at the White House. By the time the adults learned the steps of one dance, however, the teenagers had generally moved on to another one. The frug, the watusi, the mashed potato, the pony, the swim, and the jerk all had their brief spells of popularity on America's young dance fans.

Beatles

Brians drive in

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Welcome to Sixties Photos

The Spencer Davis Group

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is one of the most successful musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, garnering an unprecedented three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (The Yardbirds, Cream, and solo). Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Eric Patrick Clapton

Although Clapton's musical style has varied throughout his career, it has always remained rooted in the blues. Clapton is credited as an innovator in several phases of his career, which have included blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds) and psychedelic rock (with Cream). Clapton has also achieved great chart success in genres ranging from Delta blues (Me and Mr. Johnson) to pop ("Change the World") and reggae (Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"). Clapton also achieved fame with Derek and the Dominos through the hit song "Layla".

Hard to find Beatle tracks! Free MP3 Downloads!

six-day-war-1967-arab-israel-war-cartoon.jpg

The Six Day War occurred against the background of continuing Arab world hostility to the State of Israel, which had begun with the War of Independence. In that war, the newly created state of Israel had defeated the Arab armies that had invaded it, and expanded its territory. The war had created about 700,000 Palestinian Arab refugees, who fled or were expelled in 1948.

Officially, no Arab country recognized the armistice lines of 1949 as international borders, and no Arab country recognized Israel, diplomatically. Israel, according to Arab rhetoric, had no right to exist, and was referred to as "The Zionist entity." Defeating and destroying Israel and "reversing the results of 1948" became central goals of Arab political rhetoric. Prestige and leadership of the Arab world were based on leadership in confrontation of Israel.

Gamal Abdul Nasser and his fellow officers had taken power in Egypt, in order they claimed, to modernize the country and undo the shame of the lost 1948 war. However, in 1956, after Nasser closed the straits of Tiran and Suez canal to Israeli shipping and moved terror squads into the Sinai peninsula, Israel, Britain and France attacked Egypt. Israel captured the entire Sinai peninsula in 100 hours. Before agreeing to withdraw, Israel got an Aide de Memoire from the US that it would support Israel's right to unrestricted access to the straits of Tiran, in accordance with international law, and the UN agreed to station an emergency force in Sinai (UNEF).

Nasser claimed a "victory" in that he had gotten Israel, Britain and France to withdraw, but the UNEF and the free access of Israeli shipping  were a constant shameful reminder. Nasser bid to lead the Arab world, but his plans foundered in economic woes and a failed war in Yemen, evoking inter-Arab rivalry. Constant taunts dared Nasser to dismiss the UNEF and close the straits of Tiran.

Tension began developing between Israel and Arab countries in the 1960s. Israel began to implement its National Water Carrier plan, which pumps water from the Sea of Galilee to irrigate south and central Israel. The project was in accordance with a plan proposed by US envoy Eric Johnston in 1955, and agreed to by Arab engineers. Arab governments refused to participate however, because of the implied recognition of Israel. In secret meetings, Israel and Jordan agreed to abide by the water quotas set by the plan.

The newly formed Palestinian Fatah movement seized on the Israeli diversion as an "imperialist event" that would catalyze their revolution, and Yasser Arafat began calling for war to eliminate Israel. In the Fatah newspaper, Filistinunah, ("our Palestine") Arafat ridiculed Egyptian President Nasser and other Arab leaders for their impotence, and called for effective action against Israel. Nasser decided to found the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as a "tame" alternative to the Fatah, and placed Ahmed Shukhairy, an ineffective and bombastic diplomat at its head.

The Syrians, who had broken with Nasser's pan-Arabism, countered by supporting Fatah and attempted to take over the Fatah group. Syrian army intelligence  recruited terrorists for actions against Israel, giving credit for the operations to Fatah. The first of these actions was announced on December 31, 1964, an attack on the Israel water carrier at Beit Netopha, but in fact no attack had taken place. A second attempt was made on January 2, 1965, but the explosives charge was disarmed. However, successful attacks soon followed on January 14 and February 28. In the 18 months preceding the war, there ware 120 terror attacks, resulting in 11 fatalities.  These minor terrorist activities received great publicity in the Arab world, and were contrasted with the lack of action and bombastic talk of Gamal Nasser, challenging Nasser's leadership. This ferment is considered the catalyst of the events that brought about the Six day war. It is a moot point whether it is to be attributed to Syrian rivalry with Nasser, or as Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians claim, to the Fatah movement. Faced with the "heroic" deeds of the Palestinians under Syrian tutelage, Nasser was pushed to an increasingly bellicose stance.

Uncle Mac's

The Chevrolet Corvette was becoming a veteran sports car when the 1960s began, and thus was prominently featured in the new, popular television series, "Route 66," in which it whisked young actors Martin Milner and George Maharis across the country in search of adventure.The 1960 Corvette was described in a sales catalogue as being "elegant on the boulevard and eager on the road." But the two-seat convertible didn't really take off until a few years after its 1953 introduction. It was almost killed in 1955, when only 674 were sold, compared with 16,155 Thunderbirds.
 

1967_Chevrolet_Corvette

Yesterdays gold.

Rock Music Memorabilia, Authentic Autographs & Just Plain Kool Stuff

P. J. Proby

THE SUMMER OF 1967

With its "Love-Ins," "Be-ins," and "Flower Power," came to be known as "The Summer of Love," and was one of the seminal moments of our generation. Over thirty years later, we who came of age during the turbulent decade of the sixties are dismayed to realize that, to the young adults of today, those years are now ancient history.

British Sixties Radio

No DJ's, no talk, very few ads (no ads if you are a VIP member), British Sixties Radio has just the best music in the world!

While the first contemporary musicians to be influenced by psychedelic drugs were in the jazz and folk scenes, the first use of the term "psychedelic" in popular music was by the "acid-folk" group The Holy Modal Rounders in 1964, with the song "Hesitation Blues." The first use of the term "psychedelic rock" was on the 13th Floor Elevators' business card , designed by John Cleveland, and circulated in December 1965. The term was first used in print in the Austin Statesman in an article about the band titled "Unique Elevators shine with Psychedelic Rock" , dated 10th February 1966.

In 1962, British rock embarked on a frenetic race of ideas that spread back to the U.S. with the British Invasion. The folk music scene also experimented with outside influences. In the tradition of Jazz and blues many musicians began to take drugs and included drug references in their songs. Beat Generation writers like William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and especially the new exponents of consciousness expansion such as Timothy Leary, Alan Watts and Aldous Huxley profoundly influenced the thinking of the new generation. In late 1965, The Beatles unveiled their brand of psychedelia on the Rubber Soul album, which featured John Lennon's first paean to universal love ("The Word") and a sitar-laden tale of attempted hippy hedonism ("Norwegian Wood", written by John Lennon). Jeff Beck claimed that British rock act The Yardbirds were "the very first psychedelic band really" releasing singles: "Shapes of Things", "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" in 1966.

No amount of rationalization or blaming can pre-empt the moment of choice each of us brings to our situation here on this planet. The lesson of the 60's is that people who cared enough to do right could change history.

 popular culture of the 1960s

During the sixties, as people were trying to find new ways to explore pleasure and ways of bringing it about, marijuana became an obvious choice. Despite the fact that it was illegal, many people were willing to try this amazing substance. Marijuana is a weed, hence the nickname "weed", and as such, is currently native to all continents on the planet but Antarctica; and who knows, a researcher down there might be doing a few "hydroponic" experiments. Although marijuana is not a mind altering drug like a psychedelic, it was also eagerly sought out for a good "buzz". marijuana has been very popular in recent history, and every since the 1960s, has been a common part of our society as a whole.

Adrian The Ageing Hippy

1960s

"When I'm Sixty-Four" is a love song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (but co-credited to John Lennon) and released in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It is sung by a young man to his lover, and is about his plans of growing old together with her. Although the theme is about ageing, it was one of the first songs McCartney wrote, when he was sixteen.The Beatles used it in the early days as a song they could play when the amplifiers broke down or the electricity went off.

The 1960s were marked by several notable assassinations, including Kennedy's assassination in 1963, and Malcolm X in 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
First Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Patrice Lumumba, is assassinated by Belgian/Congolese firing squad on January 17, 1961
First South Vietnamese president Ngo Dihn Diem (Ngô Ðìhn Dim) is assassinated in coup d'etat on November 2, 1963.
US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22, 1963 in his car during a parade
Malcolm X is assassinated on February 21, 1965
The assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968.
The assassination of presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 6, 1968.
Anti-War Movement
A mass movement began rising in opposition to the Vietnam War, ending in the massive Moratorium protests in 1969, and also the movement of resistance to conscription (the Draft) for the war. The antiwar movement was initially based on the older 1950s Peace movement heavily influenced by the American Communist Party, but by the mid-1960s it outgrew this and became a broad-based mass movement centered on the universities and churches: one kind of protest was called a "sit-in." Other terms included the Draft, draft dodger, conscientious objector, and Vietnam vet. Voter age-limits were challenged by the phrase: "If you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough to vote."

Hundreds of full-length films were produced during the 1960s.

The decade is known for being prominent in historical drama, psychological horror, and comedy, as well as the sub-genres of spy film, sword and sandal, and spaghetti westerns, all peaking during this decade.

Historical drama films continued to include epics, in the style of Ben-Hur from 1959, with Cleopatra (1963), but also evolving with 20th-century settings, such as The Guns of Navarone (1961), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965).
Psychological horror films extended, beyond the stereotypical monster movies of Dracula/Frankenstein or Wolfman, to include more twisted films, such as Psycho (1960) and Roger Corman's Poe adaptations for American International Pictures as well as British companies Hammer Horror and Amicus Productions.
Comedy films became more elaborate, such as the The Pink Panther (1963), The President's Analyst (1967), or A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) elevated the concept of a comedy-drama, where the subtle comedy conceals the harsher elements of the drama beneath, and Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove (1962) set a new standard for satire by turning a story about nuclear holocaust into a sophisticated black comedy.
Beyond the trenchcoat and film noir, spy films expanded with worldly settings and hi-tech gadgets, such as the James Bond films Dr. No (1962) or Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965).
Similar to spy films, the heist or caper-films included worldly settings and hi-tech gadgets, as in the original Ocean's Eleven (1960), Topkapi (1964) or The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film).
The spaghetti westerns (made in Italy or perhaps Spain), were typified by Clint Eastwood movies, such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) or Hang 'Em High (1968); however, several dashing Italian actors had their own series of such westerns.

Science-fiction or fantasy films employed a wider range of special effects, as in the original of The Time Machine (1960) and Mysterious Island (1961), or with animated aliens or mythical creatures, as in the Harryhausen animation for Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Some extensive sets were built to simulate alien worlds or zero-gravity chambers, as in space-station and spaceship sets for the epic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the psychedelic, space settings for the erotic Barbarella (1968), and with ape-city in the original Planet of the Apes.

Late in the evening of September 30, 1919, black sharecroppers were holding a union meeting in a church in Hoop Spur outside of Elaine, Arkansas. Tensions were high and they had posted guards at the door. When two deputized white men and a black trustee pulled into view, shots rang out. Who fired first is still debated, likely unknowable, and perhaps not that important. What is important is what transpired afterwards. One of the white men was killed, the other wounded. The black trustee raced back to Helena, the county seat of Phillips County, and alerted officials. A posse was dispatched and within a few hours hundreds of white men, many of them the "low down" variety, began to comb the area for blacks they believed were launching an insurrection. In the end, five white men and over a hundred African Americans were killed. Some estimates of the black death toll range in the hundreds. Allegations surfaced that the white posse and even U.S. soldiers who were brought in to put down the so called "rebellion" had massacred defenseless black men, women and children. Nearly a hundred blacks were arrested, and in sham trials that lasted no more than a few minutes each, sixty-something black men were sentenced to prison, and twelve were slated for execution. A massive effort on the part of the NAACP and others, including a prominent black attorney in Little Rock, ensued, and by 1925 all the men were free. But planters had established that blacks had best not organize, even within the law, for racism would bring whites of different classes together to put them down.

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