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.”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p1dfIF_HZwg8eIBzwouJR4wcnBAPaJAYF0CDQYVF4OjAf_M3EVruqlG9gPm24k6I0kmYrr52vjZMDXg-4nyQcRKWeAbpHxH9Q3_arrNnPznzEGe6jZUPD-Db-DSmwldwZYk7hvDaX2k/s1600/miniskirts+hippie+glasses.jpg)
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 ...