Thursday, August 1, 2019

Rock Radio AUGUST 1969 Peace & Love


Peace & Love in a Field of Mud  

After studying moon Rock and watching Apollo 11 Roll back through the heavens to Earth in July, how can we possibly top that for August?

Slip-sliding through the month at WOODSTOCK of course!

50 Years Ago this Month Rockin' News
August 5th: We were still feeling a little spacey, as NASA’s Mariner probe 7 completed the first dual mission flyby to Mars, following Mariner 6’s close encounter a week after the Moon Landing, July 31. Their observations inspired a heightened interest in Mars knowledge and further exploration.

AUGUST 15-18th: Woodstock! This was a spacey event with a whole new meaning of the term. The grandfather of legendary “happenings” celebrates its 50th anniversary this month, to little fanfare except as a legend in our own minds.
The muddy, wet, and joyous “Woodstock Music and Art Fair” phenomenon in Bethel / White Lake, New York, is part of our lives today, whether we attended or not. “… you got high on just being there with your friends and all the beautiful people who came to sit in peace and listen to the music.” (Woodstock 69 Summer Pop Festivals; Joseph J. Sia, February 1970; BFYP Collection.)
As an icon of the ‘60s era, Woodstock climaxed the decade in what became classic Rock & Roll style … with a crash of guitar rifts, a bang of rainy lightening (today’s fireworks), and a glassy, lopsided smile on 400-500,000 people who can’t all be crazy … right?!

August 17th: Baby Boomer Recognition Day just happens to coincide with what was originally to be the last day of Woodstock  … coincidence? I think not. Great day to see if your tie-dyed Levi’s still fit or how bent up your wire, rose-colored glasses are; if all else fails, tie a bandana around your head and Rock Out to Jimi Hendrix’s best vintage tunes … Peace and Love, Baby!
Peace & Love transistor radios 1970; BFYP Collection

August 30th: Although not the blockbuster of upstate New York’s legendary event, a copycat Texas International Pop Festival was no slouch, drawing an estimated 120,000 to 150,000 to its open field near Lewisville.
            The Labor Day weekend hippie and happy music happening in the south contained all the same Peace and Love elements of Woodstock, without the enduring prominence. With some grand names like Grand Funk Railroad, Janis Joplin, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, and a bunch more, I’m sure it still made for happy memories 50 Years later. 

Rockin’ Retro Radio
BFYP featured DJ, Bill Bailey watched The Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Woman” Rock the top of WLS/Chicago’s “Radio 89 Hit Parade” August 11, 1969, although they weren’t partying at Woodstock the following weekend. 
     Landing with much fanfare at WLS, Bill must have been impressive, as John Rook (PD) once said of him, Bill's salary was "the biggest we've ever offered a new man." (From BFYP Book 2.)

Featured Radio Survey: KFXM/San Bernardino, California fans cheered for Credence Clearwater Revival and Tim Hardin appearing at Woodstock, and both in the top five of KFXM's August 15th “Tiger Thirty.” Were you there … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio? That groovy day when … 

Celebrate AUGUST 1969 and … Rock On!
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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series, available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!

Note: FYI – All links in the BFYP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. However, as with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion. 

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