When anthropologists try to understand the culture of a generation, one of the first things they look at is the music. There can be little doubt that for our generation our culture was the music. The Chinese say, “May you live in interesting times!” Oh, what times we lived in and it was reflected in the sounds around us. Protest songs, the British Invasion, surf music, the peak of Motown and the crossover of soul, the birth of country rock, acid rock, and the start of heavy-metal are just a few of the genres our generation moved to. Also, the music was everywhere not just on our radios or turntables. There were local church dances like “The Inn,”, “The Orbit,” and “The Barn.” Also the school functions like the Proms or the “Backwards Dance.” If you were lucky you got to see The Moonrakers, Beggars Opera, Chocolate Hair, or the Boenzee Crique. Then promoters got smart and started putting on concerts at the sporting venues. I remember Jeff Finesilver’s mother driving us to see “Paul Revere and the Raiders.” Barry Fey had the Family Dog and opened Red Rocks, still one of the most magical places to see a show as I have ever seen. Three months before Woodstock, Fey put together the Denver Pop Festival which placed Denver on the map as a “must-stop” for touring acts. Years later I would get to travel with the bands and provide security.
Look and Listen
(Titles link to each song on YouTube)
Aretha Franklin, ‘Respect’
Released: April ’67, Atlantic
The Beach Boys, ‘Good Vibrations’
Released: Oct. ’66, Capitol
The Beatles, ‘Hey Jude’
Released: Aug. ’68, Apple
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ‘Purple Haze’
Released: March ’67, Reprise
Otis Redding, ‘(Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay’
Released: March ’67, Reprise
The Beatles, ‘A Day in the Life’
Released: June ’67, Capitol
The Rolling Stones, ‘Sympathy for the Devil’
Released: Dec. ’68, London
The Doors, ‘Light My Fire’
Released: June ’67, Elektra
The Rolling Stones, ‘Gimme Shelter’
Released: April ’69, London
Sly and the Family Stone, ‘Dance to the Music’
Released: Jan. ’68, Epic
My dear friend Jim Chidley and I have put together some special music from our time. Our music was and still is special and certainly provided the soundtrack to our lives. With the help of Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 songs of all time, we assembled the top 250 hits from fall 1966 (the start of our sophomore year) to spring 1969 (the end of our senior year). We included other hits from the time that did not appear on the Rolling Stone list. We tried to include as many genres as possible from soul to the blues, from the San Francisco sound to the British bands. There is surf music, car music, protest music, psychedelic rock, country, and folk rock.
There is no disputing taste, but we sincerely tried to include a little bit of everything and we also believe there is something for everyone to enjoy. In our youth, recording artists captured the unique spirit of the time in their music.
It was a magic time, and you knew something was happening. Music sets the rhythm of a generation. People tell me “Laughter is the best medicine…” but maybe “Music is the best medicine!” As Bob Marley said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.” The music you are going to hear at our reunion was the background music for our lives. For me, music is shorthand for your heart. It gives the world taste, color, and texture in addition to sound. At our reunion we will celebrate to the music we grew up on. Now rock on and take home one of the flash drives of the songs which are available for purchase at the event.
With tremendous love and affection, I remain,
Kevin Fitzgerald
George Washington Class of 1969
Nice!
Thanks for tunes
THAT is a really cool thing to do Kev!!
Good job Kevin! I like the selection!
Superb insights and perspective, Kev. Nice work by you and Jim putting together this timeless playlist, too!
What a great idea! Thanks Kevin and Jim for all your hard work putting this collection of music together. I’m sure working on this project brought back lots of memories. Do we need to reserve a flash drive ahead of time or will there be plenty at the reunion? I definitely want one!
Kevin and Jim –
What a perfectly written description of what music did for us, how hearing a song makes us visualize ourselves as those high school students, and the memories are vivid in our minds.
Thank you for the time and effort that you put into making these moments in time live on forever.
Peace and Love- Jeannie
Great job, Kevin! Looking forward to listening to the tunes next month and getting one of those drives.
Three of our classmates and I took a road trip in the summer of 1970 to Seattle and saw Jimi Hendrix in his last mainland US tour. All I need to do is listen to one of his songs these days and suddenly I’m a kid again……the power of music!
WOW! Thanks for doing this.
What a fantastic idea and memorable moments.
Great tunes and what memories! Thanks for compiling/posting.
Kevin and Jim , what a great idea. Music is just as important to our souls now as it was then. I want one too. Choir was one of my special memories. I sing in a choir now. Paul Revere and the Raiders was my first album. Followed by Simon and Garfunkel.
Those were such the days! Nice article Kevin.
Thank you.
Jeff
Paul Revere and Raiders was my first ever concert. I think Vicki Bernstein’s dad drove us. I still tell the story about being pepper fogged at the Denver Pop Festival (right before Jimi Hendrix came on, as I recall). It’s been so fun to see on Facebook the other “Patriots” who were at those concerts. I think of us as kind of collective unconscious–we may not have all been close friends, but so many of us had the same experiences in high school. I think that’s what makes this milestone reunion that much more important. I can’t wait to hear the music, that alone will make it so much fun. Thanks Kevin and Jim, so looking forward to this.
Aw, I do remember those days and still listen to that music!! Are you planning on selling this CD at the Reunion Dinner? I would buy it and I would, almost guess, others would buy it.
See you at the Reunion.
Great article Kevin!
Isn’t it fascinating to see/ hear all the different genres we listened to? We were so lucky to be in this time/place as teens at GW. I’m still into music & look forward to hearing your compilations at the reunion.
A masterpiece, you two! It’s amazing how a song transports us to exactly where and when we were listening to it in those olden days… Thanks so much!
This is an amazing article Kevin! Kudos to you and Jim for putting together a music montage for the reunion.
Sadly I will be out of the country and not able to attend. I would love to purchase the flash drive. Please let me know if that can happen.
Have a great time. I will be in Green Giant spirit!
Best to all, Peggy
Great article. Reading it brought back many memories. I still believe that laughter is the “best medicine “ however, music has always been and always will be a need, a want, and a desire. There is some form of music around the globe. It is the international language.
Anyway, great job, great insight, and great research.
See you at the reunion. Should be a hoot!
Thank you for doing this. Our music was great and bring back so many memories
Great job on the play list, Kevin & Jim! Every single song included brings back a memory. We were the luckiest generation to have such great music to grow up to.
Dear Kevin,
What a great article-
And what a wonderful project you accomplished.
We have all experienced the sensation when listening to music, with only a few notes, being transported to different time and place.
How fitting for a 50th reunion!
Thank you and looking forward to seeing everyone again.
Thank you, Kevin! Great music memories!
Here’s one more just for fun, in memory of our “Jolly Green Giant” mascot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P0uchWPXP0
“Jolly Green Giant”
by The Kingsmen
Released Dec. 1964 Reached the top 100 in 1965 for 12 weeks.
Wow, Kevin, well phrased. I’m sure your higher education helped, but we all had a great base level education.
Thanks to Fitz and Chids. Music endures as the companion to all that we have known. Well done!
Kev & Jim, thanks so much for doing this! Must confess it’s still my fav to listen to while doing art. Something about that era…. special times! Unable to make the reunion as we continue to work on our travel bucket lists. Have a perfectly wonderful time!! Hugs to all.
Thanks, Jim and Kevin! Hah! Paul Revere and the Raiders! My older sister and her boyfriend took Shelly Payne and me to that show, our first ‘real date’. Afterwards, we ‘made out’ on the couch at the boyfriend’s house, with Johnny Mathis on the stereo. A fond memory, indeed.