What made us who we were in 67

1945
- End of World War II
- UN is founded

1945 - 1953
- Harry S. Truman US President
- Atom bomb dropped on Japan ends the war in the Pacific

1947
- The Cold War begins.
- Sen. Joe McCarthy leads a witch-hunt against suspected Communists
(Reds under the bed).
- John Capanna, Charles Giana and Tom Lubin join the other 3,719,997
American babies born in 47-the biggest batch of Boomers ever.

1948
- Margaret Chase Smith becomes the first woman Senator
- Israel created
- Transistor invented by Bell Labs
- Ampex gets investment from Bing Crosby to make the first commercial
tape recorders
- NATO formed
- Marshall Plan provides aid to help rebuild Europe

1949
- The 45 rpm record is introduced and becomes the standard for "singles"
for the Boomer Generation, rock radio, juke boxes, slumber parties, and
high school dances.

1950-1953 Korean War

1950
- All schools practice nuclear defence drills with kids getting under desks
when Civil Defence Alarms go off.
- Cold war policy of Mutually Assured Destruction is formalised between
Russia and America.
- Leo Fender starts the Fender Company, and commercialises the electric
guitar and bass.

1951
- Hydrogen Bomb tested
- Les Paul has first hit record using multi-track tape recorders.

1952
- John (Capanna), Charles and Tom enter Kindergarten - the High School
graduating class of 1965 - the largest in American Schools to that point
- DNA is discovered.

1952-1961
- Dwight David Eisenhower (a.k.a. Ike) US President

1952-1989
-Dick Clark begins American Bandstand that is broadcast every Saturday
afternoon until 1989.

1953
- Playboy Magazine begins and men bought it for the articles, boys spent
more time at the barbershops that had a stash of them in a bottom
drawer of the magazine rack.

1954
- The U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1896 decision ending segregated
schools
- The first nuclear sub, Nautilus, is launched

1955
- James Dean dies in a car crash at age 24
- U.S. Supreme Court orders schools desegregated
- Rosa Parks sits at the front of a bus reserved for whites only in Alabama.

1956
-Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1957
- Ike sends troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to allow Black students to enter
Little Rock High School
- U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik, the first artificial satellite.
- Jack Kerouac pens On The Road, the Beat Generation's Bible.
- Russia launches the first satelite Sputnik I -the race for space begins.

1958
- U.S. launches its first satellite Explorer I several months after the
Russian.

1959
- Hawaii and Alaska are admitted as the 49th and 50th states.
- Stereo LP records enter the market.
- 3-track and 4-track tape recorders on 1/2" tape are state of the art in
studios.
- Big Bopper, 22, Richie Valens 17 and Buddy Holly, 22, die in a plane
crash.

1960
- Black students in N. Carolina stage a sit-in when refused service in café.
- Sony introduces battery powered handheld radio. Every kid got one that
year.
- Starting in 1960 colleges could get FM licenses, these stations become
the breakout point for music that AM radio would not play. Also it was
stereo.
- Rocker Eddie Cochran, 21, dies in car accident
- First laser invented.
- Federal Drug Administration approves THE PILL.
- Carnaby Street starts a ten year influence of global fashion for the
Flower Generation.

1961
- John F. Kennedy becomes U.S. President
- Berlin wall is built
- Alan Shepherd becomes the first American in space
- Peace Corp founded
- First ICBM launched
- U.S. launches Apollo Project leading to lunar landing in 1969.
- Early 60s folk becomes mainstream, political, and influential in all
popular rock.
- The Troubadour (opened in '57) in Hollywood is a focal point for
emerging folk/ rock/ comedy acts, and politically influenced songwriters.
All other clubs in LA closed on Monday except the Troub where Monday
evening was "Auditions". These were regularly attended by all the other
club owners who were looking for new acts for their clubs.

1962
- JFK sends troops to U. of Mississippi to enforce Black student admission.
- Andy Warhol introduces the world of Pop Art
- The Cuban Missile Crisis tests Castro and Khrushev's will with Kennedy's.
- Telstar One is launched and inspires the instrumental of the same name
released that same year.

1964
- Three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi
- LBJ signs Civil Rights Act
- North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacks U.S. warships.
- Gulf of Tonkin incident used to justify widening the Vietnam War.
- Johnny Burnette Drowns.
- Sam Cooke is murdered age 33.
- 8- track 1" multi-track is state of the art in professional recording
studios.
- John, Paul, George, Ringo make their first of several television
appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1965
- Malcolm X is assassinated
- Black anger and resentment boil over into rioting in many US cities.
- Wolfman Jack on Mexican Radio station XERB hits the airwaves from the
Mexican border to most of the Southwest of the US.
- Nat King Cole dies of cancer at age 48
- Berkeley political activism is on the move and spreads to many
campuses.
- Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone is released, offending Dylan purists
- Folk becomes folk - rock and amps-up.
- The Byrds release Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn, Turn, Turn, and one of
the first fully blown psychedelic records Eight Miles High.
- Barry McGuire has a hit with Eve of Destruction.
- Bill Graham's Fillmore (San Fran) becomes the focal point for
psychedelic music and counterculture in general, with acts such as The
Grateful Dead, Cream, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson
Airplane, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Janis Joplin getting their start.
- John (Capanna), Chuck, and Tom graduate from high school.
- Tom and Charles share a house for a year, and start working in
coffeehouses that feature politically and socially outspoken folk acts.
-Tom moves to Santa Barbara and DJs late night radio.
-Tom and John Capanna enter university

1966
- Charles Giana gigs in LA until he is drafted to Viet Nam
- The hippie movement erupts out of San Francisco and lasts until about
1969
- Israeli 6-Day War erupts in the Middle East.
- The Association releases their first album.
- The Beach Boys release Pet Sounds.
- Tom moves to Santa Barbara and while going to UCSB gets involved
with local label "Jet Set" to record and produce several acts.
- Tom goes to San Francisco several times staying in the Height with
girlfriend's brother, going to the Fillmore most every night.

1967
-Prudrock was formed and Visions was recorded in that remarkable
summer of 67. For a rundown of 67, and video clips click here.