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

1	Archies	Sugar, Sugar
2	Fifth Dimension	Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In
3	Temptations	I Can't Get Next To You
4	Rolling Stones	Honky Tonk Women
5	Sly and The Family Stone	Everyday People
6	Tommy Roe	Dizzy
7	Sly and The Family Stone	Hot Fun In The Summertime
8	Tom Jones	I'll Never Fall In Love Again
9	Foundations	Build Me Up Buttercup
10	Tommy James and The Shondells	Crimson And Clover
11	Three Dog Night	One
12	Tommy James and The Shondells	Crystal Blue Persuasion
13	Cowsills	Hair
14	Marvin Gaye	Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
15	Henry Mancini and His Orch.	Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet
16	Youngbloods	Get Together
17	Friends Of Distinction	Grazin' In The Grass
18	Elvis Presley	Suspicious Minds
19	Creedence Clearwater Revival	Proud Mary
20	Jr. Walker and The All Stars	What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)
21	Isley Brothers	It's Your Thing
22	Neil Diamond	Sweet Caroline
23	Oliver	Jean
24	Creedence Clearwater Revival	Bad Moon Rising
25	Beatles	Get Back