After the tears came the music
Finally, it's over. It appears we're now done drowning ourselves in memories of President Kennedy's assassination. At least for the time being.
Thirty years is a long time. Dwelling on what happened on November 22, 1963 brings sadness to aging baby boomers. The murder of the President was dreadful enough. When you combine that with the passing of time, it heightens our awareness of the many changes, both as a nation and as individuals, we've been through.
Only a few months after JFK's death a revolution swept through America. The weapons used in this revolution weren't guns or bombs, but guitars and drums.
For years popular music had been dominated by King Elvis. Gene Pitney, Bobby Vee, Neil Sedaka, the Four Seasons and the Everly Brothers were often in the Top 10. Then the British invasion began.
First came the Beatles. John, Paul, George and Ringo. Last names weren't necessary; within a few weeks everyone knew who you were talking about. On the radio, "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" played incessantly.
Their lyrics may have been trite and their music usually consisted of the same three or four chords, but it made no difference. They had the big beat, a vibrancy and energy that made you happy when you heard it. Many American young people became instant Beatlemaniacs.
The Beatles had distinct haircuts, distinct clothes, distinct language. Or so it seemed. Mom pointed out the same haircut was sported in the 1940s by Ish Kabbible of Kay Kyser's band. Since then I've seen a couple of Kay Kyser's films and Mr. Kabibble (real name: Merwyn Bogue) did indeed have the look.
A peculiarity was how the Beatles sang without accents, but when they spoke it was hard to make out what they said. We were able to understand, however, that good things are always fab or gear.
Fans couldn't get enough of their songs or enough information on the Liverpool four. What were their favorite foods, their favorite colors, their favorite cars? Separate fan groups developed for each Beatle. John was the smart one; Paul the cute one; George the serious one and Ringo the happy (some thought dumb) one.
The only unhappy one was Pete Best, the Beatles' drummer since the group formed in 1960. He was dropped in favor of Ringo in 1962. That's what I call more than bad luck.
Some adults, particularly parents, found the Beatles objectionable. There was nothing new about that. Earlier generations of parents warned their children about Rudy Vallee, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Some objections have more validity than others, but young people rarely listen. Challenging authority comes naturally for teenagers.
Following the Beatles' American triumph, the country was inundated with other English groups. The Dave Clark Five, the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, the Searchers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Freddie and the Dreamers, the Animals, the Yardbirds, the Kinks, the Moody Blues, the Spencer Davis Group, the Zombies . . .
There were indeed a lot and they provided some terrific music. None of them, though, had the impact of the Beatles.
When John Lennon got involved in the peace movement, so did millions of his fans. When Beatles scoffed at drug laws, so did many of their fans. When the Beatles turned to the transcendental meditation of a fraud, some of their fans discarded traditional religious beliefs.
How much was attributable to the Beatles? What would have happened had they stayed in Liverpool? It's impossible to say. One thing is certain: They had a major impact on the culture and the lives of an entire generation.
Yesterday marked another event baby boomers remember. It was 13 years since John Lennon was killed. The smart Beatle wasn't so smart. Drugs damaged him to the point where he'd stare out a window for hours at a time and not speak for days.
I prefer to remember the John Lennon of 1964, when he and the other Beatles helped ease the pain of a national tragedy. Those were happy times and their music still sounds good. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
December 9, 1993
Several years ago I became acquainted with several young English women who were traveling around the world.
In one of our chats, they took a particularly snotty tone toward America. I decided to turn the table and suggested that without America, the Beatles would've never amounted to anything more than a German pub band.
They became so flustered that they were almost unable to speak ... and I had one of the best laughs of my life.
Except that Jerry Lee Lewis got dumped when it was discovered that his second wife was his 13 year old cousin and Chuck Berry went to jail for violating the Mann Act bringing a minor across state lines for immoral purposes.
These are sexually active performers. Lock up your daughters kind of thing. The Beatles did get laid a lot in their Hamburg days and in their tour of North America.