Sad News from the Monkees

I was so sad to hear today that the Monkees' Davy Jones has died. He was only 66.

I know that a lot of people consider the Monkees to be a "fake band." Their show The Monkees capitalized on the success of the Beatles' comedic movies A Hard Day's Night and Help. In their show, the Monkees partake in various shenanigans but still have time to make some groovy tunes.

I count the Monkees among my favorite musical groups. Even if they were put together for the commercial success of a TV show, each one of the Monkees was talented. I enjoy listening to the music that these talented individuals produced together.

Throughout my life, I have been able to identify with such hits as "I'm a Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," and "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone." The happiness and satisfaction that I feel while listening to the Monkees' music is enough for me to respect them as a musical group, no matter how they may have been formed.

I will always think of Davy Jones fondly when I listen to one of my favorite songs, "Daydream Believer." He will be greatly missed.

"The Largest Music Gathering Ever"

Although I have been focusing on 1960s pop culture so far, today I wanted to write about something that resulted from 1960s pop culture. The 1969 Woodstock rock festival inspired the July 28, 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen.

Over 30 artists had performed at Woodstock, but only 3 major bands performed at Watkins Glen, which also took place in New York:

• The Allman Brothers Band
• The Grateful Dead
• The Band

Although far fewer musicians performed at Watkins Glen, the turnout was greater than at Woodstock by about 100,000 people: 600,000 people attended the Summer Jam, which was advertised as "The Largest Music Gathering Ever."

This huge turnout of young rock fans naturally produced a number of intriguing stories at the Summer Jam. Pirate radio station CFR AM broadcast the event. Each band performed for astonishing lengths of time; the Grateful Dead gave the longest concert at 5 hours. There was even one young woman who gave birth at Watkins Glen.

My mom was one of the 600,000 rock fans in attendance at the Summer Jam. She was happy to be a part of the experience but acknowledged that the event did not have as much cultural impact as Woodstock did.

Rock fan Robb Strycharz wrote an account of the Summer Jam. He gave some explanation as to why the huge turnout at Watkins Glen did not make much history. Strycharz explains that "the protests, the placards, the defiance, and the true revolutionary zeal of the young had actually subsided" since the 1960s. While young people in the 1970s still loved coming together for rock, they may not have had as much desire for social change as for listening to music. The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen shows an interesting social transition between the 1960s and 1970s.

Go-Go Boots!

Today I woke up to see a couple of inches of snow outside my window . . . I wish I had worn boots today!

I realize that thus far in my blog, I have written about parts of 1960s pop culture like TV, movies, and music. Today I thought I would talk about some 1960s fashion—in particular, go-go boots!

My mom had a pair of go-go boots when she was growing up, and they always sounded like so much fun to wear/dance in when she talked about them. I've been reading about the history of go-go boots this week, and I learned some interesting facts:

• The word go-go comes from the French word la gogue, meaning joy or happiness.
• Before go-go boots became popular, it was unusual for women to wear boots in nice weather.
• Nancy Sinatra's song "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" increased the popularity of go-go boots.

After seeing some of the different varieties of go-go boots, I am tempted to buy a pair!

But soft! Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I have been thinking lately of one of my favorite movies: Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, which premiered in 1968. My first experience with the play Romeo and Juliet was not completely positive. I went on a class field trip to see a production of it when I was 12 or 13. Because I had never read the play before, I had some trouble understanding the dialogue. Even so, I remember not liking the cold, empty sets of this modernized rendition of the play.

When I was 14, I read the play in English class my freshman year of high school and immediately loved it. My English teacher only fed the fire when he showed my class Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet.

I loved the movie because it played so well off of my imagination. I especially love that the lead actors, Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, were so young. Earlier movie renditions of the play had cast older veteran actors in the roles of Romeo and Juliet. But I think that the angst and energy of Whiting and Hussey are a perfect match for the intense drama of Romeo and Juliet. And after studying abroad in Rome, I now appreciate even more the movie's beautiful setting of Renaissance Italy. I still get chills just watching the trailer.

While reading about the movie this week, I found an original review of the movie from The New York Times. I don't completely agree with everything that the review says. I would hardly describe the Nurse as "cold," for example. However, as I mentioned above, I heartily agree with the review's statement that the lead characters are "as young and full of life as they ought to be." If you have seen the movie, what do you think?

A Groovy Find from Life Magazine

As I mentioned in my last post, I am currently taking a class on the Beatles. I am going to write a paper on the (amusingly outlandish) Paul is Dead conspiracy theory that surfaced during the Beatles' later years. While reading about the conspiracy, I learned that the theory had gotten so serious that Life Magazine published an article and a statement from Paul McCartney in November 1969 to prove that the musician was still alive.

I found a full copy of this issue of Life on Google Books. Google Books has available almost all issues of Life Magazine between 1935 and 1970. As can be seen from the subject matter of my previous posts, I have a great interest in different aspects of 1960s pop culture. As I browsed this issue of Life, I got a thoroughly enjoyable look at different aspects of life in the late 1960s.

The article about the rumors of Paul McCartney's death was highly amusing. It included not only a statement from Paul himself but also quotes from the president of the Is Paul McCartney Dead Society at Hofstra University. Other parts of the magazine that I especially enjoyed include a photo interview with a wealthy 7-year-old girl from New York City and all of the late-1960s advertisements.

I hope my readers enjoy looking through this magazine as much as I did! What were your favorite parts?