Happy New Year!

Don't let your party get too out of control. Whooooooooaaaaahhh!

Santa's been naughty

Christmas music

My family had three Christmas albums (above) that were played incessantly for weeks until Christmas. The Grants Department Store Christmas album and the Andy Williams album are from 1965.

However, my favorite Christmas music is from the 1963 Phil Spector album featuring Darlene Love. Since 1986, she has performed on Letterman and this year's version was flawless. Hallelujah!

Sunday morning dose of go-go-ness

Where are you getting your go-go boots? Why Sears, of course.

From the 1965 Sears catalog. Comes with 5 records. I'm sold!

Friday night dose of Aretha

Aretha and her girls delight in Stockholm, Sweden from 1968.

Sweet Soul Music

Legendary artists from Stax Records in Memphis perform during a Stax Volt Revue in Norway from 1967. Whooooooooohooooooooooo!

she's naughty

Saturday morning dose of The Beatles

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's not forget what Thanksgiving is all about. Pass the turkey!

Lou Rawls

I needed to get in the mood for a fun Friday night out. Mmmkay?

Muriel's Wedding

An ABBA song got me thinking about 1995's Muriel's Wedding starring the astounding Toni Collette. If you love ABBA and you've never seen this film, you are in for a real treat. Loves ya Muriel.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home

Another show I remember from the cheesy 70s was this. It always confused me as to why daughter Alice came home from her date disheveled during the show's intro. Was she wasted? Date raped? WTF? The 70s were messed up. The show ran from 1972-1974.

Zoom tv show

A coworker recently mentioned that she's good friends with a former Zoomer. If you were a kid during its 1972-78 run, you watched Zoom every night at 6 on PBS. I haven't seen these show openings in 40 years yet I remember these kids so well. Send it to Zoom!

1967's Summer of Love

Far-out footage of San Francisco and Swinging London from 1967.

Saturday night dose of 1966

A crime-fighting rock group with matching boots. Groovy man.

exit, stage left

Who was Snagglepuss anyway? A big, pink, gay lion? Theme songs.

The Searchers

Beautiful color film of The Searchers circa 1963/64.

mods, rockers and beatniks

If I want to be a beatnik, does that mean I can't bathe anymore?

go away already

My friend Glenn and I recently returned from a trip to Amsterdam, Paris and Venice. I first went to Amsterdam and Paris on a school trip when I was 14. The trip cost $750 and I paid for it myself with my summer-job money. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made and I'll never forget it. Is there a place you've always wanted to visit? Go there! There's nothing like traveling. It's the best gift you can give yourself and the memories will last forever.

 Here I am in Paris on the Eiffel Tower in 1980.

The Grand Canal in Venice viewed from the Rialto Bridge.



When in Amsterdam, hop on a bike and join the locals.

1964 Boston Marathon

I grew up in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, start of the Boston Marathon. Thousands of people flood this town on marathon day and a few hours later it's deserted. Here's great footage from 1964.
The Hopkinton High School Band performs at the start. Those kids playing in the band were just hit with a massive wave of Beatlemania.

Beatlemania

Terrific footage of teenagers being interviewed during Beatlemania.

wonderful weirdness

Raquel and the Bugmen spacin' out. What's your sign?

Labor Day Weekend dose of 1965

I don't even care about the "for reseach only" text. Marvelous!

tomorrow is a drag man...

...tomorrow is a big time bust. Here's a little culture for you.

Sunday morning 80s flashback

Shindig!

If you love Shindig! as much as I do, you'll want to see this.

how do you not love 1965?

Check out Susan Hart's outfit. She talks about starring in American International films like Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. What's she hidin' under that hat? I'd like to know... Here's the opening sequence with a groovin' theme song by The Supremes.

surf city

Gnarlatious footage of the surf and skateboard culture from 1966.

Saturday afternoon dose of the 70s

Yowza! Dare to wear the multi-color mood ring, or shirt!

Beatles blow up dolls

How did the moans in the background make it by censors? 😆

Saturday night dose of Shindig!

twang time

The Everly Brothers perform in 1961 with The Crickets.

mambo baby, mambo!

This is a good song to play on the kazoo. But this one is better!

Sunday afternoon dose of 1965

The Shangri-Las give him a great big kiss on Shivaree.

Who was your first concert?

Mine was The B-52s in 1982 at the Ocean State Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island. The B-52s gave me hope as a teenager that there were other normal people out there. Whooooohooooo!

confessions of a disco child

Supposedly, the music that you listened to when you were 13 is music you always have a fondness for throughout your life. I turned 13 in 1978 when disco was still huge. The songs from Saturday Night Fever were played on the radio, A LOT. My junior high Saturday Night Fever-themed dance was cancelled due to the Blizzard of '78. My sister Janet and I never missed Dance Fever – to giggle of course. This scene epitomizes that era for me. What music did you listen to when you were 13?

Juke Box Jury

How bizarro was this show from 1960? Cool jukebox though.

July 4th dose of summer

1964 Beatles interview

Here's a Scottish interview from 1964 if you're so inclined.

Sunday morning dose of 1965

Mothers hide your daughters. The Stones on Top of the Pops.

The Doors

The Doors actually lip-synched on American Bandstand in 1967.

cha cha cha

Kids doing the Cha Cha on American Bandstand from 1957.

Happy Memorial Day!

When was the last time you danced in a bar in your bikini?

The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons were named after a bowling alley in New Jersey.

James Brown's Boston Garden concert

Here's the entire 1968 concert shortly after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death. It was broadcast live on PBS to prevent riots in the city.

Easter morning dose of 1966

Norma Tanega sings her groovy hit Walkin' My Cat Named Dog.

Janis Ian's Society's Child

Society's Child is a hauntingly beautiful and poignant song about the taboo subject of interracial relationships. Janis Ian hit the charts with this song as a 16-year-old in 1967. Many radio stations banned it. Ugh.

Janis won a Grammy for At Seventeen in 1976 for her tearjerker of a song about teenage pain. Wasn't high school a blast?