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1960s
- Chubby Checker shows how to do The Twist in 1960. Little
Eva does The Locomotion in 1962. The Beach Boys radiate
Good Vibrations in 1966.
- John Kennedy becomes youngest US President, January
1961.
- Pioneering independent record companies Stax in Memphis
and Motown in Detroit point the way towards racially
integrated Rock & Roll.
- JFK assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Martin Luther King
assassinated in Memphis and Robert Kennedy assassinated
in Los Angeles in 1968.
- The Beatles spearhead ‘British Invasion’ of USA in 1964;
followed by The Animals, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The
Who and miniskirts.
- 1965: 125,000 US troops in Vietnam.
- Bob Dylan goes electric at 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
- Counterculture cinema in France (Breathless, Pierrot le Fou,
Jules and Jim), Italy (La Dolce Vita, 8½, Blowup, Theorem)
and America (The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Chelsea
Girls, Easy Rider)
- Psychedelic sounds: Jefferson Airplane, The Doors,
Hendrix, Grateful Dead
- ‘3 Days of Peace & Music’ Woodstock Festival 1969.
The ‘60s are actually two rather than a single decade. This is not
because, as is so often presumed today, so much happened
between 1960 and 1970: it was actually a rather uninventive
period, its music and alternative culture having begun life in the
‘50s and even way back in the ‘40s. Instead the decade was
broken in half by the Vietnam War and by the first wave of the
baby boomers leaving their teen years behind. The film American
Graffiti (1973) perfectly captures this momentous and historic
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moment when, in one evening, a gang of boomer-aged friends
dance one last time at the high school ‘Hop’ before two of their
group are to go off to college in the morning. Cutting the early ‘60s
fun mood with a knife, the final credits tell us which of these
fictional characters will die in Vietnam and which will flee to
Canada to avoid the draft.
Young Woman wearing a Mini Skirt, Carnaby Street, London 1965
The first four years of the ‘60s were a period of unprecedented
optimism and youthful exuberance. In 1960 a young and
inexperienced John Kennedy challenged the Republican Vicepresident, Richard Nixon for the presidency. At any other time such
youth and inexperience would have given Kennedy little chance of
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success but the young ex-GIs of WWII and their wives who flocked
to the newly created, endless sprawling suburbs were themselves
young and inexperienced and they thought Nixon looked old, tired
and old-fashion when he debated Kennedy on TV – itself a new
medium for a new age.
The thing to be in the early ‘60s was modern. Modern Jazz,
Modern Art were only the tip of this ever so cool iceberg. With so
much optimism about, that which was new was, ipso facto,
improved. Accordingly, all but the socially suicidal raced to keep
pace with ever accelerating trends: ever shorter skirts, ever more
minimal men’s suits, ever groovier teenage Rock & Roll, ever more
faddish fads like the hula hoop which was non-existent one day
and ubiquitous the next. Sex too became new, improved and
modern: the control of sexually transmitted diseases with wonder
medicines coupled with the advent of the contraceptive pill paved
the way for Playboy magazine to lead a ‘sexual revolution’.
And then a shot rang out in Dallas. The new President, Lyndon
Johnson, a Southern Democrat, challenged the racial segregation
which still divided and shamed America. Change for the better was
still something which could be believed in and modern optimism
prevailed. But, continuing a policy begun by Kennedy, Johnson
sent more and more ‘advisors’ to Vietnam – then actual troops,
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bombs, Napalm and Agent Orange. Yet, all this American might
and technology proved ineffective against the guerrilla tactics and
unconventional cunning of the North Vietnamese.
Back in the USA resistance to the ‘draft’ coupled with a renewed
connection with the ‘protest’ ideology of left-wing folk singers and
pro-civil rights activists, transformed many of the baby boomers
from apolitical, fun-loving Rock & Rollers to political, fun-loving
Hippies. It is at this point that a line is drawn between the Modern,
optimistic, liberal but essentially conformist early ‘60s and, on the
other hand, the ‘alternative’, ‘countercultural’ ‘60s which saw a
fundamental questioning of the values and the direction of ‘normal’
society.
Accordingly, appearance styles shifted from the sharp-edged, cool
‘Mod’ look to a let-it-all-hang-out free and easy ‘natural’ look which
defined ‘unisex’ in terms of letting nature take its course for women
as well as men - shifting away from make-up, hairsprays and
‘dollybird’ fashions. Musically, the shift was away from the vacuous
teen romance of Rock & Roll towards pounding, consciousness
altering Rock as millions of boomers realised that they themselves
were the people their parents had warned them about.
As if this wasn’t enough to break the decade in two, in 1964 a
bizarre and unexpected seismic event occurred which shifted the
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epicentre of the pop culture universe from America to Britain.
Britain? That little country left so devastated by WWII and its loss
of empire? Yes, and in retrospect, it seems clear that this loss of
empire and power was a necessary prerequisite to that ‘UP
YOURS!’ to tradition, the class system and British reserve which
was Swinging London and, more broadly, a whole country bent on
rediscovering itself and its youthful potential.
Young Mods, London 1964 – David Magnus/Rex
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All of which had been bubbling up for more than a decade while
eyes had been focused elsewhere: thousands of British kids
listening with great care to the precious records which came off the
boats from America – especially that ‘Rhythm & Blues’ by Black
musicians whose creations were so often ‘covered’ by less
talented white musicians back in America. Also important were the
West Indian immigrants who had brought their always sharp,
always creative dress style as well as their can’t-not-dance
Bluebeat, Rocksteady and Ska music to Britain’s increasingly
multi-racial and multi-cultural mix. The early Mods paid particular
attention to these West Indian contributions and cross-indexed
them with the latest ‘modern’ looks from jazz and Italian design.
As well as all the musicians who reformulated what they heard
coming from the other side of the Atlantic and infused it with new
energy and creativity, there was a new generation of British
fashion designers (Mary Quant), photographers (David Bailey),
entrepreneurs (John Stephens of Carnaby Street), Comedians
(Peter Cook), film-makers (John Schlesinger), etc. who threw away
the old British rulebook. Going back to the 1920s, America had
been the unchallenged capital of the world’s (increasingly
important) popular culture. Now, suddenly, it was England which
was ‘where it’s at’. But in the ‘60s nothing stayed the same for long
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and by 1967 the world’s eyes were on San Francisco and, like the
tourist tat now selling on Carnaby Street, Swinging London
seemed dated and passé. Nevertheless, from the mid ‘60s to the
present day, the spotlight of ‘where it’s at’ continues to flick back
and forth across the Atlantic.
Hippies in the Haight/Ashbury district, San Francisco 1967 – Peter
Larsen/Rex
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Rockers at the Ace Cafe, London 1964 - Frank Monaco/Rex
Mods, 1965 - Jim Witts/Rex
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The Rude Boy look, East London late 1960s – Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi
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Blow Up 1966 BUY
Easy Rider 1968 BUY
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1960s LOOKS
Fashion:
All change. For hundreds of years fashion had focused on middle-aged women
and, to a lesser extent, middle-aged men. But as the enormous baby boom
generation exploded into their teenage years, like every other industry, fashion
had little choice but to adjust its age bias. Too old and set in its ways to make this
leap, Paris handed the baton to a new, feisty generation of designers in Swinging
London. For women both hair and hem lengths got shorter, colours brighter,
fabrics and boots kinkier – as designers like Mary Quant ditched sophistication for
fun. Just as importantly, the boys got in on the act as traditional inhibitions about
masculinity were challenged by the ‘unisex’ revolution.
Mods:
The ultimate minimalists, the Modernists or Mods of England found stylistic
inspiration in the modern jazz coming from America, the casual elegance of postwar Italian menswear and the sharp, trim look of the Rude Boys of Jamaica who
immigrated in large numbers to the UK in the 50s and 60s. In direct counterpoint
to the Teddy Boys whose extravagant style harked back to the Edwardian era, the
Mods looked only to the future. Losing sleep over how many buttons to have on
one’s jacket, the early Mods would have been horrified by the riot of sartorial
excess committed in their name as Swinging London lost the plot around mid
decade.
Rockers:
Called ‘Coffee-bar Cowboys’ or ‘Ton-up Boys’ in the ‘50s, British Bikers in the ‘60s,
taking their cue from American Rock and Roll, rechristened themselves ‘Rockers’.
Their American style motorcycle jackets were often festooned with badges or
decorated with paint or studs with the name and logo of their bike club. Usually far
outnumbered by the Mods in the battles which took place at a string of English
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seaside resorts in 1964, history seemed to pass them by in the excitement of
Swinging London – but long after all the razzmatazz fizzed away, they are still
standing and their look a timeless classic.
Rude Boys:
Sartorially fastidious and personally creative, the West Indians who immigrated in
huge numbers to Britain in the ‘50s and ‘60s enriched Britain visually as well as
musically. Putting their own take on the minimal look of American jazz and soul
musicians, the Rude Boys showed off bright white socks and shiny loafers with
extra short (generally un-hemmed) trousers. ‘Two Tone’ suits shimmered with
contrasting colours of threads and, typically, the look was topped off with futuristic
shades and pork pie hats. All of which would be recycled as ‘Two Tone’ in the late
‘70s and early ‘80s.
Psychedelics:
An acid trip of colour and over-the-top, any-thing-goes decoration, the
Psychedelics who blossomed in California and in London in the ‘60s were the
opposite of both the minimalist Mods and of the naturalistic Hippies (with whom
they are often erroneously confused). Delighting in a blend of sci-fi futuristic
artifice and old school paisleys, the male Psychedelics conducted important
experiments with the old boundaries of masculinity – and set the stage for Glam
and many other developments in both style and fashion.
Hippies:
Seeing the ever accelerating speed of America and the West’s pursuit of a
capitalistic ‘plastic’ future, the Hippies ideology and style sought ‘the real’ in
nature, in the pre-industrial past and in traditional cultures. Long hair, a disinterest
in shaving, denim jeans, kaftans and other ethnic garments, headbands, Native
American jewellery, sandals and flowers worn in the hair all featured in a look
which went as far as possible in the opposite direction to that of the modernists.
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Reading
Andrews, Bart, The TV Addict’s Nostalgia, Trivia & Quiz Book, New York, 1984.
Anglo, Michael, Nostalgia: Spotlight on the Fifties, London, 1977.
Chenoune, Farid, A History of Men’s Fashion, Paris, 1993.
Cohn, Nik, Ball The Wall: Nik Cohn in the Age of Rock, London, 1989.
Didion, Joan, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, New York, 1968.
Dimery, Robert (ed.), 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, London, 2005.
Gillett, Charlie, The Sound of the City, London, 1970.
Graham, Burton, A Do You Remember Book: Television, London, 1974.
Hebdige, Dick, Subculture: The Meaning of Style, London, 1979.
Jones, Dylan, Haircults: fifty years of styles and cuts, London, 1990
Larkin, Colin, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, London, 1999.
Larkin, Colin, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (Virgin Encyclopedias of
Popular Music Series), London, 1998.
Levy, Shawn, Ready, Steady, Go!: The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging
London, New York, 2002.
Lobenthal, Joel, Radical Rags: Fashions of the Sixties, New York, 1990.
Melly, George, Revolt Into Style: The Pop Arts in the 50s and 60s, Oxford, 1989.
Mulvey, Kate & Melissa Richards, Decades of Beauty: The Changing Image of
Women 1890s to 1990s, London, 1998.
Pearce, Chris, The Sixties: A Pictorial Review, London, 1991.
Peellaert, Guy & Nik Cohn, Rock Dreams, London, 1982.
Polhemus, Ted, Streetstyle, London, 2010.
Powell, Polly & Lucy Peel, ‘50s & ‘60s Style, London, 1988.
Salamander Books, The Illustrated Rock Handbook, London, 1983.
Sculatti, Gene, The Catalog of Cool, New York, 1982.
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Stewart, Tony (ed.), Cool Cats: 25 Years of Rock ‘N’ Roll Style, London, 1981.
Tarrant, Chris, Rebel Rebel: 25 Years of Teenage Trauma, London, 1991.
Tobler, John & Pete Frame, 25 Years of Rock, London, 1980.
Weldon, Michael, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, New York, 1983.
Wolfe, Tom, The kandy-kolored tangerine-flake streamline baby, New York, 1965.
Music
John Coltrane, 'Giant Steps' (1960)
Chubby Checker, 'The Twist' (1960)
Roy Orbison, 'Only the Lonely' (1960)
The Marvelettes, 'Please Mr Postman' (1961)
Ella Fitzgerald, 'Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook' (1961)
Judy Garland, 'Judy at the Carnegie Hall' (1961)
Del Shannon, 'Runaway' (1961)
Booker T and the MG's, 'Green Onions' (1962)
Julie London, 'The Best of Julie London' (1962)
Bob Dylan, 'Bob Dylan' (1962)
Dexter Gordon, 'Go' (1962)
Original Soundtrack, 'West Side Story' (1961)
Little Eva, 'The Loco-motion' (1962)
Bobby Boris Pickett, 'The Monster Mash' (1962)
Cliff Richard, 'The Young Ones' (1961)
Tony Bennett, I Left my Heart in San Francisco' (1962)
James Brown, 'Live at the Apollo' (1963)
John Coltrane, 'Live at Birdland' (1963)
The Ronettes, 'Be my Baby' (1963)
The Beatles, 'Please Please Me' (1963)
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The Surfaris, 'Wipe Out' (1963)
The Supremes, 'Baby Love' (1964)
Martha and the Vandellas, 'Dancing in the Street' (1965)
Stan Getz, 'The Girl from Ipanema' (1965)
The Animals, 'House of the Rising Sun' (1964)
Johnny Cash, 'I Walk the Line' (1964)
The Kinks, 'The Kinks' (1964)
John Coltrane, 'A Love Supreme' (1964)
Louis Armstrong, 'Hello Dolly!' (1964)
Wilson Pickett, 'In the Midnight Hour' (1965)
Aretha Franklin, 'Respect' (1967)
James Brown, 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag' (1965)
Bob Dylan, 'Highway 61 Revisited' (1965)
The Rolling Stones, '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' (1965)
The Who, 'My Generation' (1965)
The Supremes, 'Stop! In the Name of Love' (1965)
'The Lovin' Spoonful, 'Do You Believe in Magic?' (1965)
Petula Clark, 'Downtown' (1965)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, 'Here Comes the Wistleman' (1966)
The Mamas and the Papas, 'California Dreamin' (1965)
Wilson Pickett, 'Mustang Sally' (1966)
The Beach Boys, 'Good Vibrations' (1966)
Bob Dylan, 'Blonde on Blonde' (1966)
The Byrds, ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ (1966)
The Beach Boys, 'Pet Sounds' (1966)
Donovan, 'Sunshine Superman' (1966)
Joan Baez, 'With God on Our Side' (1966)
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The Troggs, ‘Wild Thing’ (1966)
Simon & Garfunkel, ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Tyme’ (1966)
The Beatles, 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)
The Velvet Underground, 'The Velvet Underground & Nico' (1967)
The Doors, ‘Light My Fire’ (1967)
The Grateful Dead, 'The Grateful Dead' (1967)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Are You Experienced?' (1967)
Cream, 'Disraeli Gears' (1967)
B.B. King, 'Blues Is King' (1967)
Albert King, 'Born Under a Bad Sign' (1967)
Donald Byrd, 'Slow Drag' (1967)
Procol Harum, ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ (1967)
Otis Redding, ‘The Dock of the Bay’ (1967)
Marvin Gaye, ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ (1968)
Johnny Cash, 'At Folsom Prison' (1968)
The Rolling Stones, 'Beggar’s Banquet' (1968)
Big Brother & the Holding Company, 'Cheap Thrills' (1968)
Iron Butterfly, 'In-A-Gadd-Da-Vida' (1968)
Os Mutantes, 'Os Mutantes' (1968)
Walter Carlos, 'Switched-On Bach' (1968)
Dalida, ‘Le Temps des Fleurs’ (1968)
Traffic, 'Traffic' (1968)
Nina Simone, ‘Ain’t Got No, I Got Life' (1968)
The Who, 'Tommy' (1969)
Led Zeppelin, 'Led Zeppelin' (1969)
The Beatles, 'Abbey Road' (1969)
Joni Mitchell, 'Clouds' (1969)
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Crosby, Stills & Nash, 'Crosby, Stills & Nash' (1969)
Ella Fitzgerald, 'Ella' (1969)
Frank Zappa, 'Hot Rats' (1969)
Bob Dylan, 'Nashville Skyline' (1969)
Quincy Jones, 'Walking in Space' (1969)
The Rolling Stones, ‘Honky Tonk Women’ (1969)
Desmond Dekker, ‘Israelites’ (1969)
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg, ‘Je t-aime . . . moi non plus’ (1969)
Frank Sinatra, ‘My Way’ (1969)
Film
Psycho (1960)
The Apartment (1960)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
West Side Story (1961)
The Hustler (1961)
Viridiana (1961)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
Dr No (1962)
8 1/2 (1963)
The Birds (1963)
Doctor Strangelove (1963)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
My Fair Lady (1964)
A Hard Days Night (1964)
Goldfinger (1964)
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The Sound of Music (1965)
Repulsion (1965)
Alfie (1965)
Dracula - Prince of Darkness (1965)
Blow-up (1966)
Faster Pussycat...Kill! Kill! (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
Belle De Jour (1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
If... (1968)
Barbarella (1968)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Easy Rider (1969)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Italian Job (1969)
Video
A Look Back at the 1960s
Vintage fashion Newsreels 1960s
Swinging London (Documentary)
Sixties Fashion Mary Quant London
The Hippie Revolt (1967)
60s Fashion
JFK assassination on live Dallas TV
Marlboro commercial The Beatles
Newsreel: Anti-war March 1967
Playboy Club Footage
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The Bunny Years
Websites
BBC Cult: I Love the 1960s
BBC Homes: 1960s
Fashion Era: The 60s Mini Skirt
FiftiesWeb: 1960s Fashion Pictures
The People History: 1960s
Making Time - 1960s British Music
AMC Filmsite: Film History of the 1960s
1960s Flashback
V&A: Dating Clothes and Photographs from the 1960s
Lone Star College: American Cultural History
Global Oneness: A Wisdom Archive on 1960s - Culture
Fantastic Plastic: Science Fiction 1960s
1960s Counterculture
Mod Culture: The Mod Scene Online
Hippy: Hippy Roots and the Perennial Subculture
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