Music

I want to talk about the importance of music to the baby boomers. I remember when I was 13, in 1960, I received a transistor radio for my birthday--and the whole world opened up- I would sit in the back seat of my parents car with the palm sized Japanese radio pressed to my ear and listen to the hit songs of the day. "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, "A Summer Place" by Percy Faith, "The Twist" by Chubby C. Songs by Elvis, Brenda Lee, Ray Charles--1961 Del Shannon "Runaway", Roy Orbison "Running Scared", "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by the Tokens.. and so on..I can remember hearing that song for the first time on my way to a trampoline park..remember those?..they were big for a couple of years until too many kids got hurt. We used to go jump at least once a week. I was living in California at the time. My gang and I considered ourselves Surfers, we wore Chuck Taylor All Stars sneaks, Pendleton shirts--I'll never forget my first one from my aunt..I was so proud of it. Levis of course..We made our own skateboards and traveled everywhere on them. Derailleur bikes from Italy were just hitting the states..I didn't have enough money for one so converted my 3 speed bike--I painted it a wonderful grape purple, it had 12 speeds, Italian racing seat, racing handle bars, foot holders on the pedals, no fenders..It was my pride and joy. In the summer we would ride many miles to go to POP (Pacific Ocean Park) Near the end of the ride we would go down a steep, long hill with a stop light at the bottom..and pray for a green light. Another summer activity was to go to Manhattan or Hermosa beach..At the time my parents didn't have a spare dime so to get bus fare we would walk to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away and hit their wishing well. It was usually good for a dollar or so which was enough to get the four of us to the beach and back, with enough left for a hamburger. My other source was a collection of silver dollars given to me by my parents. One a day got me through a lot of the summer. They could have killed me when they found out..There were still a few left which I have in my vault. Going to these beaches was my first exposure to surfing..I borrowed a board and tried it a couple of times. Also learned to body surf there.
About this time a young group was forming and taking advantage of the surfing popularity..I met Mike Love in a barber shop and listened to 1/2 hour of his BS about his new group, the Pendletones, how they were in a studio recording, blah blah..he had tricked me on the way into the shop so he got the young hip barber and I got the older owner--I didn't like him and laughed to myself at his tale. Of course a few months later the Beachboys released "Surfing" and the rest is history..They played the sock hops at my high school back then--
I suppose living through an experience doesn't lend itself to basic understanding..I was listening to the birth of rock and roll. From "Rock around the Clock" to "Jailhouse Rock" --the rockabilly music--"Blue Suede Shoes", even "Race" music..Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry--all coming through my little transister radio. Update--One of my favorite songs from that era is "It's only make believe" by Conway Twitty--I just discovered him on YouTube singing this song much later in his career. Fantastic..Also sings "Rainy Night in Georgia", a duet with Sam Moore, of Sam and Dave fame. Once again great singing by both. Third is a great song I'd never heard before "Goodbye Time"--Too bad Conway passed away in 1993 at age 60. A great talent but mostly forgotten in the world of Rock. However I read he had 55 # 1 hits on the country charts so he did very well.