Kuhl-cha in the civilian world
The Navy might have been at the center of our small universes much of the time, but it wasn’t everything. The late Sixties/early Seventies were among the most turbulent years of post-WWII America . . . in politics, music, technology, movies, and more. When you consider how much changed, from fall 1968 to summer 1971, it is quite astounding.
On this page are some examples of the culture around us 1968-71.
“1968: How We Got Here”
NPR’s collection of radio reports about “the incredible year”
Music
#1 hits from the Billboard weekly Hot 100. (Seem to be perpetually catching up. Sorry.)
On January 23, 1971, Dawn featuring Tony Orlando took Knock Three Times to #1.
George Harrison brought us into 1971 with My Sweet Lord at #1.
In mid-December, soul made a return to #1. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and The Tears of A Clown.
Teen heart-throb David Cassidy, perhaps backed by the rest of The Partridge Family, knocked The Jackson 5 out of first place the week of November 21 with I Think I Love You.
The Jackson 5 came back to #1 in the week of October 17 with I’ll Be There, and held the top spot for several weeks.
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After a few weeks with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and War flip-flopping as #1, Neil Diamond took the top spot in the week of October 10 with Cracklin’ Rosie.
Later in September 1970, Diana Ross (sans Supremes) took #1 with Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. It was her first #1 hit as a solo act.
In the second half of August into September, the tone changed with Edwin Starr’s War.
In mid-August, the focus continued smooth as Make It with You by Bread reached #1.
Late July continued the shift to pop with new #1 (They Long to Be) Close to You, The Carpenters.
Mama Told Me (Not to Come) by Three-Dog Night went to the top in mid-July.
The Love You Save by the Jackson Five took over from the Beatles for the next several weeks.
The Beatles came back to #1 in mid-June with The Long and Winding Road.
Change of pace at the end of May with Ray Stevens’ Everything is Beautiful in the top spot.
Guess who knocked off previous #1 ABC. Yes, The Guess Who with American Woman in mid-May.
The Jackson 5 kept it simple with ABC and they took #1 in May. Michael is way young in this video.
The Beatles (duh) took back the #1 spot in April, with Let It Be. This is the official music video and it’s a little “formal.” Music starts about 35 seconds in and video soon thereafter.
Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water took the top spot last week of February 1970 and held as #1 for six weeks, into April.
On Valentine’s Day February 1970, Sly and the Family Stone took the top music spot with Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin. Dig the duds!
After just a week, the Jackson Five were knocked out of the top spot by The Shocking Blue and Venus. Can you say one-hit wonder?
The Jackson Five (and Michael) hit it big with their Motown debut — I Want You Back — taking #1 at the end of January 1970.
Big change starting off 1970 with Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head by B.J. Thomas, signature song from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, holding #1 for the month of January. Here’s the scene from the movie.
Lots of changes in the last few weeks of 1969.
Ending 1969 at #1 was an old standby — The Supremes — with Someday We’ll Be Together.
Folk made a return in the third week of December, with Peter, Paul & Mary’s Leaving on a Jet Plane hit #1.
#1 in the first half of December was Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam.
The Beatles went to the top at the end of November with Come Together.
A week after the King was on top, #1 went to The Fifth Dimension’s Wedding Bell Blues.
The King got back to the top of the charts briefly at the start of November 1969. Elvis’ Suspicious Minds was #1.
Back to soul music at #1 in mid-October. The Temptations!
The Rolling Stones took the top spot the week of August 23 with Honky Tonk Women and held it until September 20, when bubble-gum raised its ugly head again and Sugar, Sugar by The Archies went to #1.
Romeo and Juliet left after a couple of weeks, to be replaced by a song I puzzled over. Deployed at the time and out of touch with current music, I was surprised later to learn that In the Year 2525, by Zager and Evans, a duo I had never heard of, was #1 from July 12 to August 23, 1969. Personally, I’m glad I didn’t have to hear it often.
By the end of June 1969, the Beatles had left the #1 spot, to be replaced by Henry Mancini and His Orchestra. Wha?? His Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet built on the popularity of the then-current film of the Shakespeare play, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The clip below plays the tune over a video clip from the film.
We got back to rock-and-roll in late May. The Beatles came back to #1 with Get Back.
Moved from bubblegum to pop, if at all, in mid-April, as Aquarius took the lead. The Fifth Dimension had a massive hit with Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In. Whatever happened to rock n’ roll?!
Back to bubblegum in mid-March, as Dizzy by Tommy Roe took the top spot, which it held until nearly mid-April.
Ugh.
Sly and the Family Stone took the top spot in mid-February with Everyday People.
February saw a break in the string of soul songs and went to “bubblegum.” Top song for the first two weeks was Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells.
In mid-December, I Heard It through the Grapevine, by Marvin Gaye, hit the top of the charts and stayed there all through January 1969. A soul revival.
Television
Television shows ranked in the top 20 during the 1970-71 season:
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- Marcus Welby, MD
- The Flip Wilson Show
- Here’s Lucy
- Ironside
- Gunsmoke
- ABC Movie of the Week
- Hawaii Five-O
- Medical Center
- Bonanza
- The F.B.I.
- The Mod Squad
- Adam-12
- Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In/The Wonderful World of Disney
- Mayberry R.F.D.
- Hee-Haw
- Mannix
- The Men from Shiloh
- My Three Sons/The Doris Day Show
1969-70
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- Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
- Gunsmoke
- Bonanza
- Mayberry RFD
- Family Affair
- Here’s Lucy
- The Red Skelton Hour
- Marcus Welby, MD
- Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color
- The Doris Day Show
- The Bill Cosby Show
- The Jim Nabors Hours
- The Carol Burnett Show
- The Dean Martin Show
- My Three Sons, Ironside, The Johnny Cash Show
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- Hawaii Five-O
- The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, Hee-Haw
1968-69
- Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
- Gomer Pyle, USMC
- Bonanza
- Mayberry RFD
- Family Affair
- Gunsmoke
- Julia
- The Dean Martin Show
- Here’s Lucy
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- Mission Impossible
- Bewitched
- The Red Skelton Hour
- My Three Sons
- The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
- Ironside
- The Virginian
- The FBI
- Dragnet
- Tuesday Night at the Movies
Movies
Among movies released in the US, 1969-70, according to IMDb:
1970
December
Brewster McCloud, Bud Cort, Shelley Duvall
The Aristocats, Disney animation
Little Big Man, Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway
There’s a Girl in My Soup, Peter Sellers, Goldie Hawn
The Wild Country, Steve Forrest, Vera Miles
Love Story, Ali McGraw, Ryan O’Neal
Rio Lobo, John Wayne
November
The Owl and the Pussycat, Barbra Streisand
Ryan’s Daughter, Robert Mitchum
Dirty Dingus Magee, Frank Sinatra
October
The Great White Hope, James Earl Jones
I Walk the Line, Gregory Peck
C.C. & Company, Joe Namath, Ann-Margret
I Never Sang for My Father, Melvyn D0uglas, Gene Hackman
Little Fauss and Big Halsy, Robert Redford, Michael J. Pollard
Rabbit, Run, James Caan
September
Five Easy Pieces, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black
Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came, Tony Curtis
R.P.M., Anthony Quinn, Ann-Margret
Tora! Tora! Tora!
August
Performance, Mick Jagger
Diary of a Mad Housewife, Richard Benjamin, Carrie Snodgress
Lovers and Other Strangers, Gig Young, Bea Arthur
WUSA, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward
July
Chisum, John Wayne
They Call Me Mister Tibbs, Sidney Poitier
The Revolutionary, Jon Voight
Cromwell, Richard Harris, Alec Guinness
You Can’t Win ‘Em All, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson
Which Way to the Front?, Jerry Lewis
June
The Executioner, George Peppard
The Strawberry Statement
Two Mules for Sister Sara, Shirley MacLaine
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Dolly Reed, Cynthia Myers
The Hawaiians, Charlton Heston, Geraldine Chaplin
Kelly’s Heroes, Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas
Myra Breckinridge, Raquel Welch
Ned Kelly, Mick Jagger
The Cheyanne Social Club, James Stewart, Henry Fonda
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, Barbra Streisand
Catch-22, Alan Arkin
Soldier Blue, Candice Bergen
May
Taste the Blood of Dracula, Vince Price
The Landlord, Beau Bridges
Too Late the Hero, Michael Caine, Henry Fonda
Beneath the Planet of the Apes, James Franciscus
Pufnstuf
Watermelon Man, Godfrey Cambridge
April
Patton, George Scott
A Man Called Horse, Richard Harris
March
Loving, George Segal
Airport, Burt Reynolds, Dean Martin
Skullduggery, Burt Reynolds
February
The Kremlin Letter, Richard Boone, Orson Welles
Zabriskie Point, Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin
January
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Price
Jenny, Marlo Thomas, Alan Alda
…tick…tick…tick, Jim Brown, George Kennedy
The Dunwich Horror, Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell
The Only Game in Town, Elizabeth Taylor, Warren Beatty
MASH, Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould
1969
December
Z, Yves Montand, Irine Pappas
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Jane Fonda, Bruce Dern
Marooned, Gregory Peck, Gene Hackman
Cactus Flower, Goldie Hawn, Walter Matthau
Hello, Dolly, Carol Channing
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, George Lazenby, Diana Rigg
The Reivers, Steve McQueen
November
The Arrangement, Kirk Douglas, Faye Dunaway
The Undefeated, John Wayne, Rock Hudson
October
The Madwoman of Chaillot, Katharine Hepburn
Paint Your Wagon, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood
Marlowe, James Garner
The Sterile Cuckoo, Liza Minelli
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman, Robert Redford
The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Anthony Quinn
September
The Trouble with Girls, Elvis Presley
The Valley of Gwangi, James Franciscus
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Dyan Cannon, Elliott Gould
August
The Learning Tree, directed by Gordon Parks
Take the Money and Run, Woody Allen
Alice’s Restaurant, Arlo Guthrie
Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?, Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon
Number One, Charlton Heston
Medium Cool, Robert Forster, Verna Bloom
The Rain People, James Can, Shirley Knight
The Gypsy Moths, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr
July
Three into Two Won’t Go, Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom
How to Commit Marriage, Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason
Easy Rider, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper
Castle Keep, Burt Lancaster
June
Hook, Line & Sinker, Jerry Lewis, Peter Lawford
True Grit, John Wayne, Kim Darby
The Wild Bunch, William Holden, Robert Ryan
Last Summer, Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison
Chastity, Cher
The Bridge at Remagen, George Segal, Ben Gazzara
May
Mackenna’s Gold, Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif
Midas Run, Richard Crenna
Winning, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward
Midnight Cowboy, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight
The April Fools, Jack Lemmon, Catherine Deneuve
Che!, Omar Sharif
April
Sam Whiskey
Sweet Charity
Goodbye Columbus
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium
March
The Big Bounce, Leigh Taylor-Young(!) (saw it a few months later while in the Gulf of Tonkin)
Where Eagles Dare, Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton
100 Rifles, Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds
The Illustrated Man, Rod Steiger
Support Your Local Sheriff!, James Garner
February drew a blank. Too cold.
January
More Dead than Alive, Clint Walker
Riot, Jim Brown, Gene Hackman
Novels
Best-selling novels in the U.S., as determined by Publishers Weekly
1970
Love Story, Erich Segal
The French Lieutenant’s Woman, John Fowles
Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stuart
Great Lion of God, Taylor Caldwell
QB VII, Leon Uris
The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, Jimmy Breslin
The Secret Woman, Victoria Holt
Travels with My Aunt, Graham Greene
Rich Man, Poor Man, Irwin Shaw
1969
Portnoy’s Complaint, Philip Roth
The Godfather, Mario Puzo
The Love Machine, Jacqueline Susann
The Inheritors, Harold Robbins
The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton
The Seven Minutes, Irving Wallace
Naked Came the Stranger, Penelope Ashe
The Promise, Chaim Potok
The Pretenders, Gwen Davis
The House on the Strand, Daphne du Maurier
1968
Airport, Arthur Hailey
Couples, John Updike
The Salzberg Connection, Helen Mcinnes
A Small Town in Germany, John le Carré
Testimony of Two Men, Taylor Caldwell
Preserve and Protect, Allen Drury
Myra Breckinridge, Gore Vidal
Vanished, Fletcher Knebel
Christy, Catherine Marshall
The Tower of Babel, Morris L. West
Television Ads
Here’s a compendium of television advertisements from the Sixties (9:54)
Print Ads
Here’s a selection of print advertisements from the Sixties
Beer
The tear is subtle.
Did Falstaff use the same ad agency?
Cars
Fashion
Frank and Dandy Don
Miscellaneous
