The 60's, the good....the bad....and the ugly
Educational Editorials© by William M Wright BBA, MBA
The 60’s and 70’s some say were a time of lost innocence. A simpler less complex time. Wrong! Did these people live in the same sixties and seventies I did? Is this the thinking of some old timer’s anger with the present or wishful thinking about the past?
True, in the begining of the 60's most every boy and girl looked
picture perfect. Boys spent as much time combing their hair as girls. Girls had those beehive hair hills. We watched the Andy Griffith Show, I Dream of Jeanie, Leave It To Beaver, The Bingo Crosby Show and Hullabaloo.
Let’s go back in time...back nearly 50 years to 1960. We start the 60's with the clean cut all-american music from boys like The Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson and Bobby Vee. We end the 60's listening to hippies with dazed eyes like Jimi Hendrixs and country Joe McDonald.
The Good: In the 60's Folk singers flourished led by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Motown was born. The Temptations, The Supremes and The Four Tops. They were superbly choreographed vocal bands. The British Invasion came. Bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Yardbirds. California gave birth to The surfing sound of The Beach Boys and the hippie movement sounds of the Jefferson Airplane , the Turtles and the Grass Roots.
We start the 60’s dressed like tidy preppies. We wore white shirts and thin black ties. We ended the 60’s looking like counter-culture hippies wearing large medallions (the fore runner to Bling-Bling) with our shirts open to the navel. Long skirts gave way to mini skirts. Detroit muscle cars, eastern religions and psychedelic drugs were all a part of the 60’s culture. The Summer of Love in San Francisco in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969 became emblematic moments for those counter-culture youth forever know as the hippies.
The Bad: A Cold war with Russia and China was escalating. Lines were drawn in Korea and being fought over in Vietnam. We’re not talking small bands of terrorist carrying cheap Ak-47’s and RPG’s. We are talking about a two million plus men China Army. And an even more superior U.S.S.R. military supported by a USA like Navy and Air force. Massive amounts of Nuclear War Heads were produced –enough to destroy the world twice. Russian ICBM missiles containing multiply (MIRV) thermonuclear warheads capable of raining down on American cities within 90 minutes. Families who could afford it built underground nuclear bomb shelters.
Revolution was every where from Latin America to Africa and it wasn’t in favor of Colonialism or Capitalism. The Cuban revolution and the Bay-of-Pigs leads to the coldest (cold war) October on record in 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis –the closest the world has come to self-destruction.The song “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire reflected the thoughts of a generation.
The Ugly: The Civil Rights movement for social justice and equality; the hippies; the Ku Klux Klan, the Black Panthers, the John and Ted Kennedy assassinations; the Martin Luther King assassination; segregation and integration; Riots in major American cities. Crimes double during the 60's. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse –Vietnam comes. The American draft and draft dodger. We were torn for 10 years between those believing in the fight against communism and anti-war protestors. In the end nearly 59,000 American, 40,000 South Vietnam and over 1,000,000 North Vietnam military personal gave their lives for their sides cause. The civilian casualties’ estimates ranged from 1 million to 4 million.
The 60’s a simpler more peaceful time? No, that was just wishful thinking. It was never simple or peaceful. So much for the good old days theory. Now lets listen to the music of the 60's. Enjoy the 60's music.
The Beach Boys first British TV show - I get Around & When I Grow Up
The Beach Boys -singing Surfer Girl ( lost unknown concert )
Dusty Springfield -I Only Want To Be With You -First Hit 1964 Dutch TV
Shangri La - The Leader of The Pack -with Robert Goulet on the bike
The Beatles -I Want'a Hold Your Hand
The Beatles -This Boy
The Beatles -In My Life -with rare film clips of the boys
Bobby Dylan & Joan Baez NME 1965 -It Ain't Me Babe
Bob Dylan 1965 NME -Like A Rolling Stone
Joan Baez -It Ain't Me Babe (written by Bob Dylan) 1964
The Turtles -Almost There
Over 1 million have listen to this version.
Dion & The Belmonts -Teenager In Love -Dick Clark American Band Stand
Joni Mitchell -Seasons 1966
The Byrds -Turn. Turn.
Mama's and Papa's 1966 California Dreaming
Scott MacKenzie - San Francisco -1967
Righteous Brothers
Gerry & The Pace Makers -Ferry Across The Mercy
You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & The Pace Makers (Elvis version is great)
Gerry & The Pace Makers -How Do You Do It
The Spencer Davis Group -1966 Steve Windwood Lead Singer
Paul Revere & The Raiders -1964 Mark Lindsay Lead Singer (1970 song)
The Animals -1964 Ed Sullivan Show -Eric Burton Lead Singer
The Animals 1964 House of the Rising Sun
The Yardbirds -Heart Full Of Soul
Rolling Stones -Paint It Black 1966
This Could Be The Last Time -1965 -Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones -Get Off My Cloud -1965
The Soulbenders from Grand Rapids MI. -Hay Joe -1967
The Bee Gees in 1969 -World (The Bee Gees had been singing since their childhood)
Motown Power
Window To Wall Street's -Rare Classic Collectors Clips from the British show : The Weekend Starts Here
Historical notes:This special videos above was mainly Dusty Springfield's idea, to promote the Motown music and artists in Britain. Dusty was an occasional presenter of the weekly Ready Steady Go (which had the tag line... The Weekend Starts Here). She was a big fan of Motown music, and suggested the idea for this special to Vicki Wickham, recording artists manager, and RSG's producer at Rediffusion.
Let's hope that this show (and other surviving RSG footage) one day gets a DVD release. It's now been 20 years since anything's been heard of these shows. The "Rediffusion London" TV station ceased to exist after July 1968, when the franchise for commercial TV in the London region changed. Sadly, only a handful of their music shows have survived. Most of the RSG shows are now lost to history
Hit The Road Jack -Ray Charles
The Supremes -Stop -1965 Video
The Temptations -Get Ready
The Four Tops -Baby I Need Your Loving -1965
Eric Burton -Hold On
Woodstock 1969
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a historic event held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York from August 15 to August 18, 1969. Bethel is 43 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York.
To many, the festival exemplified the counterculture of the 1960s and the "hippie era." Thirty-two of the best-known musicians of the day appeared during the sometimes rainy weekend. Although attempts have been made over the years to recreate the festival, the original event has proven to be unique and legendary. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in music history and was listed on Rolling Stone's 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.
The event was captured in a successful 1970 movie, Woodstock, and Joni Mitchell's song "Woodstock", which memorialized the event and became a major hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Here are a few samples from the Woodstock weekend music event.
Country Joe's War Protest Song -Woodstock 1969
Richie Havens -Freedom -Woodstock 1969
Santana -Soul Sacrifice -Woodstock 1969 (Santana looks like a teenager)
Jimi Hendrix -Hey Joe
The Who -My Generation