"It Was Twenty Years
Ago Today…"
(Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
(Lennon/McCartney)
I'm calling Bullshit on that...
... because it's been 48 years since they first appeared live on the Ed Sullivan Show!!
... and my Life was changed. I think the lives of many young people were changed... My hair length changed... I became interested in guitars...
This was a tragic time in the United States... in the world... we had been on the brink of an atomic bomb exchange with the Soviet Union over the placement of missiles with nuclear warheads being placed in Cuba...
Kennedy and Khrushchev were face-to-face... and Khrushchev blinked... the boats carrying the missiles turned around...
Then came that day in Dallas, November, 22, 1963...
Everything that had been perceived to be right about our country came crashing down around us...
... and a few months later, these guys from Liverpool came to the United States... and our thoughts were diverted.
*Sighs*
Forty~eight years?
Where has the time gone??
All I've done is get old...
**Double Sighs**
Thank you guys for making a difference in my Life...
~shoes~
Allow me to sigh first. Sigh. I know exactly what you mean, Shoes. Time flies and while we thought it was just a slow glider, it turns out it's more like an incredibly fast jet. I still have original Beatles records somewhere in my basement. It has already happened to me that a student - a university student for crying out loud! - asked me: 'A record... that's one of those big black things, right?' That when you know. That's when you realize all your efforts to stay young and in the game have been a total waste of time. Why do you think I'm blue? :) I often write about time flying while I'm staying put, and I've recently been dubbed a dinosaur by an iPhone fetishist. Even Elvis knew he had to change when he first learned about the Beatles, and he did. Until he got stuck in another rut... Anyway, you have a nice day, Shoes!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I remember it. I am 51, but we used to go to an elderly relative's home every Sunday afternoon for dinner and then stayed to watch Ed Sullivan.
ReplyDeleteMy parents were interested and the elderly people were aghast.
I had learned a new trick of jumping off the hassock from my knees and landing on my feet.
It would kill me today.
Can you imagine what they were thinking that first Ed Sullivan show? Or - if they had any CLUE what a difference they would make in music AND attitudes? My kid is 17 and the Beatles can be heard blasting from his room just as loud and as much as whatever other stuff he calls music...
ReplyDelete;-D
you're not old...
xoxo
gobbles
We thought they were revolutionary for their mop-tops and chords. It took me much, much longer to realize the full measure of their genius. And Shoes, I suspect you've changed a few lives, too.
ReplyDelete@ RCB... My Dad was 90 when he died... just before he passed, he told me that he had no idea that 90 years could go by so quickly...
ReplyDeleteI still have all of my original BeaTle vinyl... I treasure it and all of the memories that they contain!!
Things are pretty ok, RCB... thanks... how are your classes going??
@ Ami...my oldest sister had tons of disrespectful things to say about them... I told her recently about how much Sir Paul McCartney was worth... THAT she appreciated!!!
I hope all is well with you!!
@ Gobbles... I don't think that they could have known what impact they would have... there music is still SO relevant...
I've been hooked on listening to 'The Fab Faux.' Have I told you about them? It's the bassist from the band on Letterman and other NYC area musicians... they are BeaTle fanatics... and they are dedicated to playing the 'hard' BeaTle music... there are some YouTube posts titled 'Abbey Road'... One must listen to them... they nail the sound of the BeaTles perfectly...
Man....
Old? Older than dirt, dear...
~shoes~
@ Blissed... They were revolutionary for the time. I liked them for their music and their look at the time... it wasn't until later that I understood the depth of their music...
ReplyDeleteI so related to George in his later years as he searched for his Spiritual Base... I think in that regard I still relate to him.
I hope I've made a difference... That would be the best thing that could happen... Imagine if we each could just make a difference in one person's Life... maybe we could change the nature of Today's Society...
Thank you so for your nice words...
~shoes~
I can't believe it's been that long. How did I get to be this old? The show I remember so vividly on Ed Sullivan was seeing Elvis with the bottom of the screen blacked out. Look at television now! Wow.
ReplyDeleteI love the Beatles. I still think "I wanna hold your hand" is the most perfect love song out there on the planet. And they inspire me, make me think, make me smile, and always always always, make me sing along.
ReplyDeleteme too, red shoes, me too
ReplyDeleteyour blog looks great
love
kj
Shoes, thank you for this post. I also grew up with The Beatles. Because I'm from the UK they were there at every turn and press of a radio button, and on frequent TV shows. They changed and shaped the lives of so many young people in the 1960's and I think its wondeful that their writing and music is still relevant today.
ReplyDeleteIn the 60's I thought I was invincible. Now I AM actually in my 60's I still think I'm invincible. Until I try to get up off the floor. Impossible from a kneeling start - have to shuffle to the nearest piece of furniture and drag myself up! I wonder if Ringo and Paul also have arthritis??????
Note to self - go buy fish oil tablets!
@ Barb... I KNOW!!!! I remember sitting on the floor in front of the television watching... it seems it was just yesterday...
ReplyDeleteAs hectic, dangerous, and unsettled as things were then, I prefer them to today's world...
@ Phoenix... isn't that the most wonderful song?!? The music seemed 'simple' back then, but when I tried to learn Lennon's strumming pattern or McCartney's bass line to 'All My Loving'... I was blown away by the complexity of it all... I read on your blog that you are now engaged... congratulations!!!! :o)
@ kj... thank you!!!
@ Leah... I have read about their popularity... and how they seemed to be involved in 'skiffle' music.. are you familiar with Lonnie Donnegan (sp?) ??
I've been working on my family tree/genealogy for a few months... and have traced part of my family back to Liverpool... where they were tea merchants in the late 1700's/early 1800's... they were supporters/followers of Cromwell, and wound up having to flee England for their safety... History is so interesting!!
Re: Invincible... tell me about it... I'm right there with you... I still feel like I did back then... until I try to get up... run... HAR!!!
Fish oil is good for you!!
~shoes~
I AGREE with you Shoes... I liked the look but not the music (at first) and then later (when I dropped acid) I understood the dept. My ceiling light fixture became the "way in" to strawberry fields forever!
ReplyDeleteAll I had to do was read the title of this post and I started singing...
ReplyDelete@ Monkey Girl!! hey you... Bless your heart... how are you??
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should have dropped acid... you think?
That would have been one scary fukt up scene...
@ Christine... I think that is the mark of great lyrics!!! There are some that all I have to do is hear the first couple of words... and I'm off.... I just wish I could sing...
~shoes~
when i was about seven, sgt pepper's was my absolute favorite movie. and album. that and xanadu (but i was seven so don't hold that one against me.)
ReplyDeletegood stuff.
'Things are pretty ok, RCB... thanks... how are your classes going??'
ReplyDeleteI've been seriously ill since August. The same damn thing that caused my friend Bernie 'Ocean's Eleven' Mac to kick the bucket. But things have stabilized so the plan is to start teaching again two weeks from now. Enjoy the weekend, Shoes!
Great post. Ah....the positive power of music.
ReplyDelete