Sixty

[David Von Pein]

1 hour ago, James DiEugenio said:

To put it mildly, they don't make them like this anymore: 1962.

1962 was such a great year for movies. And the rest of the '60s wasn't too shabby either. (I still practically live in the '60s. Maybe it's because I was born in that decade....on JFK's 342nd day as POTUS.) 😁

http://DVP's Classic Movies Website / 1960s Index

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

 

[Ron Bulman]

Interesting on the Billboard chart Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul and Mary was number 12.  Not on the other chart, a classic.  Number 13 by them also was Blowing in the Wind.  Another instrumental I liked years later by the Chantays at number 21 (also the Ventures) as done years later by a couple of guitar virtuosos. 

 

[W. Niederhut]

Yeah, Ron, Dick Dale was more or less the Godfather of surf rock.  I think his family was from Lebanon, and he used a kind of Greek bouzouki flat pick style in his pioneering surf rock tunes.

Meanwhile, back in '63, Dion and the Belmonts had a doo wop hit with "Ruby Baby."

Then, in 1982, Donald Fagan recorded a jazzy cover of the song on his phenomenal Nightfly album, taking it to another level entirely.

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[Ron Bulman]

1 hour ago, W. Niederhut said:

Yeah, Ron, Dick Dale was more or less the Godfather of surf rock.  I think his family was from Lebanon, and he used a kind of Greek bouzouki flat pick style in his pioneering surf rock tunes.

Meanwhile, back in '63, Dion and the Belmonts had a doo wop hit with "Ruby Baby."

Then, in 1982, Donald Fagan recorded a jazzy cover of the song on his phenomenal Nightfly album, taking it to another level entirely.

 

Cool.  The Dion version was number 32 on Billboard that year.  Just the name Ruby always makes me think of Jack, in any context.  I guess that would make me obsessed.  But I've never known a woman named Ruby.

[Ron Bulman]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:10 PM, W. Niederhut said:

Ron,

    In thinking about these popular songs from 1963, we also need to remember the critically important role of the transistor radio at that time in history.

     The invention of the transistor radio revolutionized our exposure to pop music-- especially after the mass production of those affordable small Sony transistor radios in the early 60s.

     My mother had an older version of a Westinghouse transistor radio that was about the size of a cook book.  Then, by '63, my oldest sister bought a small Sony transistor radio that could fit in the palm of your hand.  We used to listen to the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and (by 1964) the Beatles, on that Sony transistor radio.

W, my mother too had a cook book sized transistor radio.  In the kitchen.  It was on louder than usual for the noon news when I walked home two blocks from Gust elementary for lunch on November 22, 1963, mother was excited about something, on the phone.

My first radio was a hand held "single serve cereal box" sized transistor at about 9-10 in 65-66.  Where I really discovered the Beatles and the Stones and more.

[Ron Bulman]

A few people ended up with the blues in 1963.

 

[Pete Mellor]

4 hours ago, Ron Bulman said:

A few people ended up with the blues in 1963.

Ron, I ended up with the blues a bit later in 1968.  October 26, 1968 Free Trade Hall, Manchester.

Man, I was just 15yo for this American Folk Blues Festival gig with John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Williams, Jimmy Reed, Curtis Jones & Eddie Taylor Blues Band.

You've brought back lots of memories of the long gone Free Trade Hall.  So many great gigs.  Sadly too young for Dylan's 1966 appearance.  I knew Clive Palmer (original member of Incredible String Band) & he invited me back stage when he supported Pentangle with his band COB.  I picked up a guitar and sat strumming when I was aware of someone behind me.  It was Bert Jansch & it was his guitar.  He was great.  Got invited back to their hotel after the gig & got so out of my head don't remember how I got back to my flat that night.  Saw Tom Paxton too the same year as the Blues Festival.  Loudon Wainwright supported Soft Machine there.  One of the most memorable was the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in '69 with exploding robots on stage!  Happy daze. 

[Ron Bulman]

Trying to remember what was going on in these United States in 1963, as I turned seven three weeks before the assassination, the next thought beyond what might have been on the radio was TV.  Black and White TV.

I thought I remembered Sunday nights after watching Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (in b & W) it was followed by Bonanza.  I was right!  Per the ratings Bonanza was # 4, tied with Lucy, Disney was # 24.  I was really surprised the number one show of the 62-63 season was the Beverly Hillbillies.  I don't remember watching it in b & w at the time, maybe we did, maybe it was too silly for my mother.  As were Red Skelton, tied for number 2 with Candid Camera, Jack Benny, tied for number 11, or Jackie Gleason, number 17.  She did like Lawrence Welk, unrated.

Top-rated United States television programs of 1962–63 - Wikipedia

I do remember watching Ben Casey, but not Dr Kildare.  My dad, and I watched the westerns.  Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Have Gun Will Travel.

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Ron Bulman

[W. Niederhut]

19 minutes ago, Ron Bulman said:

Trying to remember what was going on in these United States in 1963, as I turned seven three weeks before the assassination, the next thought beyond what might have been on the radio was TV.  Black and White TV.

I thought I remembered Sunday nights after watching Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (in b & W) it was followed by Bonanza.  I was right!  Per the ratings Bonanza was # 4, tied with Lucy, Disney was # 24.  I was really surprised the number one show of the 62-63 season was the Beverly Hillbillies.  I don't remember watching it in b & w at the time, maybe we did, maybe it was too silly for my mother.  As were Red Skelton, tied for number 2 with Candid Camera, Jack Benny, tied for number 11, or Jackie Gleason, number 17.  She did like Lawrence Welk, unrated.

Top-rated United States television programs of 1962–63 - Wikipedia

I do remember watching Ben Casey, but not Dr Kildare.  My dad, and I watched the westerns.  Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Wagon Train, Have Gun Will Travel.

 

      Yeah, Ron, we also watched the Wonderful World of Disney and Bonanza on Sunday nights in those days-- and a lot of Westerns-- in addition to Allen Funt's Candid Camera.  I think Woody Allen was a writer for Candid Camera.

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by W. Niederhut

[Ron Bulman]

That was funny W.  Thinking of TV in 1963 early on brought memories of The Rifleman with Chuck Connors.  But, alas, it was not in the top 30.  Was I wrong?  No, it ran from 1958-1963.  Just didn't make that top 30 it's last year.  I called it Mark's Paw early on I was told later.

[Ron Bulman]

In an earlier post I noted JFK's playing football on the lawn at Hyannis Port and at Harvard wondering about games he might have seen in the early 60's on tv or in person.  As mentioned in the water cooler thread Jim Brown died today.  The Browns played the Redskins in Washington once a year during his later senatorial years and his Presidency.  I wonder if he might have seen him play in person or on tv.  RIP.  Note, 63, against the skins.

 

[Ron Bulman]

Looking to see what was happening in the U S and world in 1963 I came across this interesting list of Historical Events of that year.

What Happened In 1963 - Historical Events 1963 (eventshistory.com)

Here are some that stood out to me.

1/2  The VC win at Ap Bac.

1/29  First list of pro football Hall of Fame inductees.

2/8  Travel and transactions with Cuba made illegal by the JFK administration.

2/12  Construction of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis began.

3/21  Alcatraz closes.

4/16  MLK pens letter from the Birmingham jail protesting segregation.

5/3  Birmingham Police filmed using fire hoses and attack dogs against protesters.  Goes world wide.

6/10  Equal Pay Act regarding gender signed by JFK

6/11  JFK proposes what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

6/12  Medgar Evers murdered in his driveway by a KKK member.

6/20  Ich bin ein Berliner, JFK in Berlin.

7/1  Zip codes introduced by the USPS.

8/5 The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed by the US, U K, and USSR.

8/8  The Great Train Robbery in England.

8/15  The last hanging in Scotland.

8/28  I Have A Dream speech by MLK in Washington.

9/7  The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio.

9/15  Four children killed in racist Birmingham church bombing.

10/7  JFK signs ratification of the Partial Test Ban Treaty.

11/6  Diem assassinated.

11/18  First push button telephone goes into service.

11/22  12:30 P M.  Dallas.

11/24  Ruby shoots Oswald on live TV in the Dallas Police Department basement.

11/29  LBJ establishes the Warren Omission.

12/7  Instant Replay makes it's debut in the Army - Navy game. Army vs. Navy 1963: Remembering Kennedy - Sports Illustrated 

[Michael Griffith]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:41 PM, Ron Bulman said:

As we approach the 60th anniversary of JFK's Assassination I started thinking back.  To remembering that day, the funeral.  Questioning the lone nut theory starting in the late 70s.  Mafia did it in the 80's.  Then a few books, The Ruby Cover Up, Crossfire, High Treason.  Then the film, JFK.  A few more books, then the internet.

Fast forward to the 50th anniversary, ten years ago.  I watched the National disgrace put on by the city of dallas live that day.  And listened to Jeff Morley's featured speaker at Lancer that year speech, how many thousand hits his website had gotten that day.  New books, revised second editions.  I thought, this is it, interest will wane, probably few newer relevant books or anything else.  It seemed amazing at that point that I believe it was still around 70% of US citizens still didn't believe in the official Oswald lone nut theory.  Especially given the subject was, and is, taboo in the main stream media.

Well I was wrong, about the books especially.  Which is good for Truth in history and encouraging.  The last I read, still over 60% don't believe the LN theory. Podcasts by younger people with interest like Robbie Robertson's Out of the Blank and more are encouraging as well in a world where reading is often limited to a few lines.  Along the same line, video vs reading's appeal to a younger audience, I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Oliver Stone and Jim DiEugenio for the documentaries JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass and Destiny Betrayed.  Other documentaries in the last 10 years have helped keep interest in the subject alive.  Wormwood, exposing the CIA's secretive machinations prior to JFK's Presidency comes to mind.

But regarding the books.  Thanks to all the authors for keeping the faith, exposing the Truth for future generations (and Me!) the last 10 years.  These are some I've read in that time, in no particular order, some details of which I'm sure I missed or have forgotten.

The Devil's Chessboard, David Talbot, 2015

In the Eye of History, William Matson Law, 2015

Faustian Bargains, Joan Mellen, 2017

Ghost, Jefferson Morley, 2017

Burying the Lead, Mal Hyman, 2019

JFK Revisited, Jim DiEugenio, 2022

Rose Cherami, Michael Marcades, 2020

Political Truth The Media and the Assassination of President Kennedy, Joseph McBride, 2022

JFK vs Allen Dulles, Greg Poulgrain, 2020

America's Last President, Monica Wiesak, 2022

Tipping Point, Larry Hancock, 2021 (should probably be closer to the top if putting in any order, jmo).

Honest Answers About the Murder of President John F. Kennedy, Vince Palamara, 2021

Last for now, again, not intentionally, one of the latest, Coup In Dallas, Hank Albarelli, Leslie Sharp and Alan Kent.  A game changer?

Other related books in the 10 years.  A Lie Too Big To Fail, Lisa Pease, Poisoner In Chief, Stephen Kinzer, and Chaos, Tom O'Neil.

The question of LHO's lone guilt remains a thankfully open question to many of us because of these authors, documentarians and pod casters.  Thank you all.  And others who ask legitimate relevant questions

Though JW is not, the subject is,

Let's not forget Anthony Summers' blockbuster 1980 book Conspiracy, which made it respectable to believe JFK was killed by a conspiracy. The book received praise from important mainstream figures such as Robert MacNeil (of the PBS MacNeil-Lehrer Report), former JFK aide Arthur Schlesinger, former UN ambassador William Atwood, Congressman and former HSCA member Richard Preyer, and former HSCA chief counsel G. Robert Blakey, to name a few.

Summers' careful, measured scholarship and his avoidance of wild speculation made the book very hard to attack, especially given the praise it received from the likes of MacNeil, Preyer, Blakey, etc. With such heavyweight praise, critics knew they could not credibly dismiss it as another "fringe conspiracy book."

[Ron Bulman]

What Happened In 1963 - Historical Events 1963 (eventshistory.com)

Not on this list.

6/10  JFK's American University Peace speech.  Same day he signed the equal pay (gender) act.

6/11  Incomplete.  Alabama Governor George Wallace stands at entry door to the University of Alabama to prevent Black students from entering.  JFK had sent Asst. AG Katzenbach and federalized the Alabama National Guard.  GW stood aside.  That evening he proposed what would become the 1964 Civil Rights Act on national TV.  

After a miscarriage in 1955 and a stillborn child in 1956 Patrick Bouvier Kennedy was born 8/7/63, 5 /12 weeks early and passed on 8/9.  Ultimately, Jackie lost a son and a husband 3 1/2 months apart. 

October 24, U S Ambassador to the United Nations Adali Stevenson is spat upon and hit with a placard in Dallas.

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Ron Bulman