In the 1960's and
early 1970's music was a force that actually affected the way many people
thought and acted. Music awakened people to what was "hip" or "unhip"
in the world around us.
California
surfers took to skateboards as a way to stay fit out of season, and by 1963, the
fad had spread across the country.
Barbie
dolls, introduced by Mattel in 1959, became a huge success in the sixties, so
much so that rival toy manufacturer Hasbro came up with G. I. Joe, 12 inches
tall and the first action figure for boys.
Another doll, the troll or Dammit
doll (named for it's creator, Thomas Dam) was a good luck symbol for all ages.
Slot cars overtook toy trains in popularity.
The
1960's began with crew cuts on men and bouffant hairstyles on women. Men's
casual shirts were often plaid and buttoned down the front, while knee-length
dresses were required wear for women in most public places.
By
mid-decade, miniskirts or hot pants, often worn with go-go boots, were revealing
legs, bodywear was revealing curves, and women's hair was either very short or
long and lanky. Men's hair became longer and wider, with beards and moustaches.
Men's wear had a renaissance. Bright colors, Dashikis, double-breasted sports
jackets, polyester pants suits with Nehru jackets, and turtlenecks were in
vogue.
Women
wore peasant skirts or granny dresses and chunky shoes. Unisex dressing was
popular, featuring bell bottomed blue jeans, love beads, and embellished
t-shirts. Clothing was as likely to be purchased at surplus stores as boutiques.
Blacks of both genders wore their hair in an afro.
Sly
and The Family Stone
Respect
for authority declined among the youth, and crime rates soared to nine times the
rate of the 1950's. Marijuana use soared. Counter culture figures such as
Timothy Leary encouraged the use of LSD as a mind-opening drug. The hippie
movement endorsed drugs, rock music, mystic religions and sexual freedom. They
opposed violence. The Woodstock Festival at which 400,000 young people gathered
in a spirit of love and sharing, represents the pinnacle of the hippie movement.
Many hippies moved to Haight Ashbury in San Francisco, East Village in New York
City, or lived in communes.
1960's
War protest
Major issues included a growing disillusionment of
government ideology, advances in civil rights, increased influence of the women's
movement, and a heightened concern for the environment.
The
Civil Rights movement made great changes in society in the 1960's. The movement
began peacefully, with Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael leading sit-ins
and peaceful protests, joined by whites and Jews. Malcolm X preached about Black
Nationalism. The Black Panthers were formed and advocated
"self-defense" against oppression.
The Vietnam War, what started out
as a tiny traditional peace movement broke out of its shell, reaching a far
wider segment of the population by 1965 and becoming a radical peace movement on
college campuses. Within three years polls would show that more than half the
population was opposed to the war. The radicalization of the peace movement
began with the formation of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Campus unrest began as sit ins
and protests soon escalated to burning buildings and throwing rocks or bombs at
law enforcement officials.
1968 was a year of unrest and
turmoil. The Tet offensive by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong, President
Johnson’s announcement not to run for a second term, the assassination of
Martin Luther King, Jr., after which riots broke out in almost every major
U.S. City, Robert Kennedy’s assassination, the violent demonstrations
and brutal police reactions at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
were some of the low lights.
On Monday, May 4 at Kent State a
student protest was occurring and National Guardsmen were ordered to clear the
campus . The Guardsman opened fire and fired sixty-one shots within thirteen
seconds, killing four students and wounding nine.
The
Civil Rights movement and the escalating war in Vietnam were the two great
catalysts for social protest in the 1960's and 1970's . Many songs and musicians work
focused on the war and civil rights in the United States during this turbulent
time.
1960's
Fashion-Shagadelic!
From clothing
styles to protesting for a cause, music was a driving force.
Many of the
"radical" ideas of the 1960's gained wider acceptance in the 1970's ,
and were mainstreamed into American life and culture and were reflected in the
music.
SHINDIG!
- Sixties Superstars
Shindig!
was an American music variety show which aired on the ABC network from September
16, 1964 to January 8, 1966.Accompanying the music acts of the week, Shindig!
also featured a dance troupe called the Shin-diggers. One of the regular dancers
was Teri Garr, who would go on to find success as an actress. The Shin-diggers'
assistant choreographer, Antonia Basilotta, later changed her named to Toni
Basil, and would go on to have a successful music career with the hit song
"Mickey". The series house band, the Shin-diggers (later renamed the
Shindogs), featured a young Glen Campbell, Billy Preston, Delaney Bramlett, and
pianist Leon Russell.
"Say
It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" is a 1968 recording by James
Brown. It is notable both as one of Brown's signature songs and one of the
most popular "black power" anthems of the 1960s. In the song, Brown
addresses the prejudice towards blacks in America, and the need for black
empowerment. He proclaims that "we done made us a chance to do for ourself/we're
tired of beating our head against the wall/workin' for someone else".
James
Brown
1933-2006
On
May 26, 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono held a very unique protest-in bed. During their week-long bed-in at
the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, the former Beatle and his wife recorded
their anthem Give Peace a Chance. "We're here as a protest
against violence," Lennon said.
"If we say peace often
enough, if I, John Lennon, say peace, it's going to make all those people who
love me say peace. Now think about it. At least, they're going to think about it
which is the most anybody can count on, " On December 8,1980 John Lennon
was shot and killed by obsessed loner Mark Chapman.
In
1970 George Harrison organized the Concert for Bangladesh to raise funds for
UNICEF's relief efforts to aid war victims in Bangladesh. -- the first, and
perhaps the greatest, concert-for-a-cause that rock 'n' rollers ever staged.
It
was staged at Madison Square Garden, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon
Russell and Ringo Starr, among others played . Unofficially, it was the
first rock for benefit concert.
Data
compiled from The British Antarctic Study, NASA, Environment Canada,
UNEP, EPA and
other sources as stated and credited Researched by Charles
Welch-Updated dailyThis
Website is a project of the The Ozone Hole Inc. a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Organization
