About Celebration of the 1960s:<\/strong> This four-part series looks back at the memorable highlights and trends that made up this exciting decade.<\/em><\/h5>\nTime to hop on our psychedelic bus for a magical ride back to the 1960s. There\u2019s a saying, \u201cif you remember it, you weren\u2019t there.\u201d But a lot of us boomers are blessed with a storehouse of vivid impressions of the era. <\/p>\n
The actual years, of course, were 1960 through 1970. For everyone, John F. Kennedy\u2019s inauguration was the beginning. The decade\u2019s emotional end varies though, depending on who is talking. For many, Richard Nixon\u2019s resignation in 1974 was the end note for this roller coaster decade. For others it was the moon landing, the Manson killings, the rockstar deaths from drug overdoses at the end of the 60s, or Altamont. <\/p>\n
The Music of the Sixties<\/h2>\n
When people of all ages recall the Sixties, it\u2019s the music they talk about. Surely the Beatles were the musical heart of the decade. A worldwide phenomenon, they inspired Beatlemania among teens of both sexes. The British kept invading, with the Rolling Stones, The Who, Dave Clark Five, Hermann\u2019s Hermits, Jerry and the Pacemakers, Donovan, Petula Clark, the list goes on and on. <\/p>\n
This gradually rolled over the surfer music of Chad and Dean and the early Beach Boys. Doo-wop groups came and went, but the Supremes produced hits that topped the charts for years. The Beach Boys got a second wind, developing a more intricate sound. <\/p>\n
American Jimi Hendrix got his first acclaim in Britain, then became a worldwide guitar wonder with his complicated licks. Bob Dylan moved easily from folksinging and protest songs early on to \u201cBlonde on Blonde\u201d and \u201cHighway 61 Revisited.\u201d <\/p>\n
Though the counterculture seemed light years away from \u201cYou Ain\u2019t Nothing But a Hound Dog,\u201d Elvis Presley stayed strong during the 1960s with hits like \u201cViva Las Vegas,\u201d \u201cCrying in the Chapel\u201d and later attempts to sound more contemporary like \u201cIn the Ghetto.\u201d <\/p>\n
Otis Reading, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye all produced classic tunes. Motown had songs in the Top Ten by Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5. <\/p>\n
Old timers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin kept the hits coming, though fewer than in previous decades. <\/p>\n
Woodstock and the peaceful coming together of a half a million hippies in upstate New York was the peaceful highpoint of the musical decade. The killing at Altamont outside San Francisco, at a Rolling Stone’s rock concert, was the low point. <\/p>\n
The Clothes of the Sixties<\/h2>\n
You had to look right to listen to all that great music. First off were the bell bottoms, the wider the better and riding low at the hips. <\/p>\n
Carnaby Street was the new Paris and paisley was the epitome of fashion. Mary Quant gave us the mini-skirt, shown off to perfection by Twiggy. Rock stars dressed in pseudo-Tudor leathers and laces. <\/p>\n
Tie-dying was essential if you wanted to be in. It worked on anything, t-shirts, shorts, skirts, dresses, socks and purses. <\/p>\n
The oldies admired Jackie Kennedy\u2019s famous pillbox hat and Chanel suits. But as the decade wore on, even those over 30 embraced short skirts, long coats and Renaissance styles. <\/p>\n
The Counterculture of the Sixties<\/h2>\n
The escalation of the Vietnam War, started during the Kennedy Administration, brought a strong reaction among draft-age students. Politically, this one circumstance drove the counterculture. Culturally, it was the introduction of the birth control pill and the popularity of recreational drugs. <\/p>\n
Psychologist Timothy Leary proselytized for the hallucinogenic LSD, chanting \u201cturn on, tune in, drop out.\u201d During the brief Summer of Love in 1968 San Francisco, thousands of teenagers did just that. Free love was de rigueur. <\/p>\n
Marijuana was the most common drug of choice on college campuses. Along with LSD and magic mushrooms, it was seen as recreational, just like adults and alcohol. Opinion didn\u2019t start changing until the end of the decade when Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison died of drug overdoses. <\/p>\n
The Violence of the Sixties<\/h2>\n
Assassinations and murders were rife during the Sixties. Richard Speck killed six nurses in Chicago. The Zodiac killer in San Francisco, never caught, terrorized the entire city. Charles Whitman, the Texas Bell Tower sniper, was the first mass shooter of the decade, killing 16 people. <\/p>\n
Charles Manson and the Tate-La Bianca murders closed out the decade. The sheer gruesomeness of the killings removed the halo of innocence from hippie culture. <\/p>\n
President Kennedy\u2019s assassination in 1963 was followed by a tragic series of political murders, including Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Segregationist George Wallace, governor of Alabama, was shot and paralyzed. <\/p>\n
National Guardsmen killed students at Kent State and Jackson State during war protests. <\/p>\n
The Politics of the 1960s<\/h2>\n
The war drove politics during the decade. It culminated in the violence at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Organizations like the Students for a Democratic Society staged protests. Fringe groups like the Weathermen robbed banks and planted bombs. <\/p>\n
Starting with sit-ins at cafeterias and voter sign-up drives in the southern states, steady progress was made in civil rights for African Americans. The high point was Martin Luther King\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ve Got a Dream\u201d speech at the March on Washington. <\/p>\n
The passage of the Civil Rights Bill and, more importantly, the Voting Rights Bill secured these freedoms at the federal level. <\/p>\n
The Progress of the Sixties<\/h2>\n
The Sixties were a decade of technological progress. The Telstar satellite was launched in 1962, making possible global communication and the mobile-rich life we lead today. <\/p>\n
The biggest scientific event was the first moon landing, immortalized by Neil Armstrong\u2019s \u201cOne small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.\u201d <\/p>\n
The 1960s were tumultuous and memorable. For people who were there, it\u2019s hard to see tie-dyed anything as the new retro-look. It was real, man. The music, politics and culture had a ripple effect that we still feel today. <\/p>\n
\nGuest Post by Mary Hannick<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Highlights of the 1960s About Celebration of the 1960s: This four-part series looks back at the memorable highlights and trends that made up this exciting decade. Time to hop on our psychedelic bus for a magical ride back to the 1960s. There\u2019s a saying, \u201cif you remember it, you weren\u2019t there.\u201d But a lot of us boomers are blessed with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2267,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,161],"tags":[609],"class_list":{"0":"post-1453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-memories","8":"tag-memories"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Highlights of the 1960s - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and relive the cultural, social, political, and eventful highlights of the decade.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Highlights of the 1960s - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and relive the cultural, social, political, and eventful highlights of the decade.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeniorAdvisorDotCom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-14T12:00:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-19T16:08:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/\",\"name\":\"Highlights of the 1960s - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-14T12:00:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-19T16:08:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31ec951e0d906e7d1255c6ef8b4c7f45\"},\"description\":\"Take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and relive the cultural, social, political, and eventful highlights of the decade.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Highlights of the 1960s\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog\",\"description\":\"Empowering Families in their Search for Care\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31ec951e0d906e7d1255c6ef8b4c7f45\",\"name\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/972b6c12f82208b06318fca0cc2b9ba5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/972b6c12f82208b06318fca0cc2b9ba5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff\"},\"description\":\"Senior Advisor's knowledgeable writers blog about senior care services, trends and more.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.SeniorAdvisor.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeniorAdvisorDotCom\",\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/senioradvisor-com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/SeniorAdvisor_\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/senioradvisor-com-admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Highlights of the 1960s - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","description":"Take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and relive the cultural, social, political, and eventful highlights of the decade.","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Highlights of the 1960s - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","og_description":"Take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and relive the cultural, social, political, and eventful highlights of the decade.","og_site_name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeniorAdvisorDotCom","article_published_time":"2014-08-14T12:00:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-09-19T16:08:02+00:00","author":"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/","url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/","name":"Highlights of the 1960s - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-08-14T12:00:39+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-19T16:08:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31ec951e0d906e7d1255c6ef8b4c7f45"},"description":"Take a trip back in time to the 1960s, and relive the cultural, social, political, and eventful highlights of the decade.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/flashback-to-the-1960s-highlights-of-the-decade\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Highlights of the 1960s"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#website","url":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/","name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Blog","description":"Empowering Families in their Search for Care","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31ec951e0d906e7d1255c6ef8b4c7f45","name":"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/10.40.44.169\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/972b6c12f82208b06318fca0cc2b9ba5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/972b6c12f82208b06318fca0cc2b9ba5?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"SeniorAdvisor.com Staff"},"description":"Senior Advisor's knowledgeable writers blog about senior care services, trends and more.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.SeniorAdvisor.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SeniorAdvisorDotCom","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/senioradvisor-com","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/SeniorAdvisor_"],"url":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/author\/senioradvisor-com-admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2267"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1453"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3618,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions\/3618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Highlights](\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2014\/07\/The-1960s1.png\")
<\/p>\n