Tuesday, March 1, 2016

50 Years Ago this Month - Lennon Rocks Radio Boat


Teen Power 50 Years Ago this Month = Boomer Power Now!

If today’s power-mad teens think they are the driving force of retail sales, let them be reminded – we started it!

Week of March 12, 1966: “Teen Power – America’s 24 million teenagers spent $15 billion on leisure time activities last year, a boost of $3 billion over the past two years. According to Billboard magazine, youngsters bought around 68% of all single records and 34% of all albums sold across retail counters.

What did we buy? Miniskirts, Espresso, Ben Franklin glasses, music by the Righteous Brothers, and more Rockin’ vinyls by the Rolling Stones.
 
As with today’s teens, our music and the artists we loved often reflected our restless and rebellious attitude, with reactions to it as diverse as the swirling colors in a tie-dye shirt.

Example: the UK public took John Lennon’s off-hand statement made in the London Evening Standard in March 1966, with Lot’s grain of salt. But in the US, it rubbed salt in Christian wounds ...