1969: 40th anniversaries

[Frankie's Market]

1969 was a year of many memorable musical milestones. Which one do you think was the most important?

[tutusue]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

I don't know about most important but Woodstock is the one I still remember.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

I think a better debate of memoribiality (another new word!) would be between Woodstock and the moon landing.
Of course the first moon shot is way more impressive and important, but unfortunately it has been left in the dust of whocaresism since NASA dropped the ball and the music has continued, at least in the minds of those who gave a rip about it, or both.
Woodstock was obviously important and impressive on it's own and the new DVD set which includes many unreleased performances should be awesome, except for the silly inclusion of the worst 45 min. song from the worst set ever by the Grateful Dead, and they even include something by The Incredible String band, the lousiest band ever.

[tutusue]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

Good point, Ron, altho' FM was going for strictly musical milestones. Still, it didn't occur to me the close time proximity of Woodstock and the moon landing. Possibly it did at the time but it didn't continue to reside in my instant recall brain cells!

[Leo Lakio]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

There are many events from 1969 that FM could have included - but ya gotta go with the ones he chose.

While I recognize the cultural "power" of Woodstock, I chose the one that resonated with me most at the time, and has a longer-lasting effect for me - "Abbey Road."

(And I kinda hope that's the sort of thing FM was looking for in this poll.)

[Frankie's Market]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

Good point, Ron, altho' FM was going for strictly musical milestones.

I would have thought that was self-evident, given that I specifically said "musical milestones" and that this is in the Jukebox section.

If I was going to include historical milestones, the Apollo 11 lunar mission obviously would have been right on top of the list. But you'll also have those sports diehards who would rank the Miracle Mets amazin' run to the 1969 World Series title as their most memorable moment. Still others would hang their helmets on Broadway Joe Namath leading the underdog New York Jets to a stunning upset win over the mighty Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Then there are the infamous moments that still haunt us. The Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Manson Family. The senseless violence and chaos at the Altamont Free Concert.

Having had more time to think about it, I would have also added these to the list of significant 1969 musical milestones:

Led Zeppelin's first LP release.

The Jackson 5 making their first Motown records and national TV appearances.

[mel]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

"In the Year 2525" by Zager & Evans scorched up the charts and was a huge #1 hit that year.

Besides the moon landing, the main musical thing for me that happened in 1969 that still resonates today is The Beatles' Abbey Road album and the several non-Abbey Road singles they put out that year which at the time, no one suspected would be near to their end as a group. "Get Back," and "The Ballad of John & Yoko" were all huge hits in 1969 along with the singles "Come Together" and "Something" off of Abbey Road. Radio also played a lot of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" too.

As for Woodstock, it was a non-event for me since I was less than a teen at the time and my main connection with music was radio, The Beatles and a bunch of 45s that were slowly added to my library. I learned more about Woodstock when the movie came out and some of the bands who played there were prominently featured on the radio at the time and in the months and years after the event.

I think Woodstock put Crosby Stills, Nash & Young on the map, highlight Joni Mitchell even though she did not play there, her song became a hit by CSN&Y and later a top 40 hit in 1971 by Matthew's Southern Comfort.

Add to the mix Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who (who already had a string of hits), Santana, Joan Baez, Jefferson Airplane and several others for which the concert/celebration cemented their places in musical history. I caught most of that after their records became active on the radio and never saw the movie until catching it one night back in the 1980s on cable TV.

In the end, to me, Woodstock seemed to be one huge, crowded, loud, doped out, messy rock concert that I would not have gone to.

There were songs on the radio that were more fun at the time too, besides those played by the Woodstock artists, The Beatles or even the Rolling Stones who hit that year with "Honky Tonk Woman."

As a kid I liked The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" which was very lightweight, bubble gummy and accessible... yet some people associated the song with drug culture too.. funny.

Probably another big music event in 1969 was the separation of Diana Ross from the original Supremes. I think they gave a farewell performance on the Ed Sullivan Show singing their last #1 hit "Someday We'll Be Together". That was pretty big news that year too.

Here is a link to the top 100 hits of 1969:
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1969.htm

[scrivener]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

"Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the first days of my life..."

In non-musical (or peripherally musical) realms, it was also the year of the Tate-LaBianca murders, of Joe Namath's guarantee, of the beginning of the Nixon administration, of the first moonwalk, and only hours apart, of the births of Marilyn Manson and me.

[tutusue]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

"[...] In the end, to me, Woodstock seemed to be one huge, crowded, loud, doped out, messy rock concert that I would not have gone to.[...]

This is exactly why and how I remember it!

No amount of money would've enticed me to attend. Still, it was big news at the time and I watched it...in between episodes of Romper Room and Disney!

[Frankie's Market]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

I think Woodstock put Crosby Stills, Nash & Young on the map.

Actually, Crosby-Stills-Nash were already well-known commodities prior to Woodstock. (David Crosby formerly with the Byrds, Stephen Stills with Buffalo Springfield, Graham Nash with the Hollies.) The trio had already released an entire album before Neil Young was invited to join in. And Marrakesh Express had entered the Top 40 even before the group had stepped foot on the stage of Woodstock. So they had already made their presence felt in the music world, and that supergroup would have made it just as big even had they not participated in Woodstock. But one could definitely say that the Woodstock appearance does add to their legend.

The acts that shot to national fame and prominence as a direct result of Woodstock? My first pick would be Sha Na Na, the '50s/doo-wop revival group that was practically unknown until their performance of At The Hop made an apperance on the Woodstock movie and original soundtrack LP. Another one would be Melanie Safka, who had a couple of hits in Europe, but did not make much of an impact on the American airwaves until she appeared in Woodstock. One could also possibly give the nod to Santana, whose first album sales very likely got a healthy shot in the arm thanks to Woodstock.

Other 1969 cultural milestones:

Easy Rider becomes a big box-office success, despite its low-budget, countercultural theme, and experimental filming techniques. While not universally praised by the critics, one thing is undeniable. It was the film that launched Jack Nicholson to stardom.

Hair, which opened on Broadway the year before, had become an international phenomenom by '69 with numerous productions of the hippie musical taking place around the world. And, oh yes, it provided the material for what would turn out to be the biggest hit single of 1969. The 5th Dimension's Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In.

[tutusue]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

[...]Hair, which opened on Broadway the year before, had become an international phenomenom by '69 with numerous productions of the hippie musical taking place around the world. And, oh yes, it provided the material for what would turn out to be the biggest hit single of 1969. The 5th Dimension's Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In.

Saw Hair in L.A., circa 1969, and again in Honolulu, 1991 or 92. Would love to see it again. I never tire of the music.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

The trio had already released an entire album before Neil Young was invited to join in. And Marrakesh Express had entered the Top 40 even before the group had stepped foot on the stage of Woodstock. So they had already made their presence felt in the music world, and that supergroup would have made it just as big even had they not participated in Woodstock. But one could definitely say that the Woodstock appearance does add to their legend.

Yes, especially since it was only their second live gig as a group - they had released their album, to success and acclaim, only three months prior.

[mel]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

Yes, I remember "Marakesh Express". I had the 45, though did not buy it until 3 years after it came out after I found it in the cut-out bin for 33¢ at Kress Store... backed with "Helplessly Hoping". I admit I was not and still am not the biggest CSN; CSN&Y fan, although I have about 3 of their albums... "Deja Vu" and the earlier one both on LP... got those after a friend had gotten rid of her vinyl in the 1990s. I have "Four Way Street" as a double LP set too and got that one when it came out in 1971 through Capitol Record Club (long defunct).

Melanie definitely found her success after Woodstock in the U.S. In 1970 she had a hit single with "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" and then scored with a top 10 novelty hit in 1971, "Brand New Key"..... I got a brand new pair of roller skates, he's got a brand new key...

[mel]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

Saw Hair in L.A., circa 1969, and again in Honolulu, 1991 or 92.

Some of the songs from that musical were top 40 hits in 1969.

• Aquarius / Let the Sunshine - Fifth Dimension
• Hair - The Cowsills
• Good Morning Starshine - Oliver
• Easy to Be Hard - Three Dog Night

[cynsaligia]

Re: 1969: 40th anniversaries

yeah, i'm too young for the original subject. however....

Saw Hair in L.A., circa 1969, and again in Honolulu, 1991 or 92. Would love to see it again. I never tire of the music.

tutusue, if you saw the 90s version of hair (twas actually the 1990-1991 season) on a saturday night, you and i might have been in the same audience. ah, the revelation of watching naked people onstage for the first time whilst still in one's teens...

oh, and the music itself was revelatory, of course!