See books written by Paul Pakusch at https://www.amazon.com/author/paulpakusch



Friday, August 30, 2019

Growing Up in the 1960's

If you read virtually any history of the sixties, you will think that every young person was a hippy and went to Woodstock, everyone protested the Vietnam war, and everyone was listening to psychedelic rock. That's not how I remember it.

I was born in 1960, so this period accounts for the first ten years of my life. I was doing what kids that age typically do. I occasionally saw long-haired teenagers called hippies, but most of what the sixties are known for was not a part of my life. Superman, Batman, comics, Bewitched, Adam-12 and the NASA rocket launches and recoveries were. I had a cool 5-speed Stingray bike that I rode constantly all over the neighborhood. I loved climbing trees; we had a couple of awesome trees in our yard for climbing. Eventually we put a rope swing on one.

My parents listened to country music of the day and so did I.  I remember President Johnson. I didn't really understand who he was or what he did, just that "President Johnson" had a nice ring to it and couldn't imagine saying "President-anybody-else". I was too young to remember Kennedy. I once asked my mom what I was doing when the word of his assassination came on TV. She told me I was playing in the living room. She remembered Walter Cronkite breaking down on TV, so I guess I must've seen that. On November 22, 1963 I was a few weeks away from my third birthday. I do remember watching the episode of Bewitched in 1968 that was interrupted by a news bulletin about Martin Luther King being shot. Before then, I didn't know who he was. I also remember watching the long train ride of Robert Kennedy's funeral and my mom crying.

Just to see how the music of 1969 compares to today's version of history, here's the top 25 hits of 1969 according to Billboard Magazine



1ArchiesSugar, Sugar
2Fifth DimensionAquarius / Let The Sunshine In
3TemptationsI Can't Get Next To You
4Rolling StonesHonky Tonk Women
5Sly and The Family StoneEveryday People
6Tommy RoeDizzy
7Sly and The Family StoneHot Fun In The Summertime
8Tom JonesI'll Never Fall In Love Again
9FoundationsBuild Me Up Buttercup
10Tommy James and The ShondellsCrimson And Clover
11Three Dog NightOne
12Tommy James and The ShondellsCrystal Blue Persuasion
13CowsillsHair
14Marvin GayeToo Busy Thinking About My Baby
15Henry Mancini and His Orch.Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet
16YoungbloodsGet Together
17Friends Of DistinctionGrazin' In The Grass
18Elvis PresleySuspicious Minds
19Creedence Clearwater RevivalProud Mary
20Jr. Walker and The All StarsWhat Does It Take (To Win Your Love)
21Isley BrothersIt's Your Thing
22Neil DiamondSweet Caroline
23OliverJean
24Creedence Clearwater RevivalBad Moon Rising
25BeatlesGet Back      


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