Boomers Listened To Future Classics in 1963

Mister Boomer has mentioned many times what he has dubbed, Morning Jukebox Syndrome; that “affliction” characterized by waking up with a song playing in your head as if you were listening to a radio station. Mister Boomer has since discovered other boomers have experienced this phenomenon, including his brother. What is most fascinating about it is the songs that pop up are often ones that have not been heard in decades.

This past week, Brother Boomer told Mister B he had an MJS experience with a song that stayed with him from morning into the evening. He did not remember which group recorded the song, and ultimately looked it up: it was Then He Kissed Me by The Crystals (1963). Being curious of nature, Mister B wondered what other songs boomers were listening to in 1963. What he found was surprising in its scope, and amazing to think about how many classic songs were on boomer transistor radios before the Beatles hit the airwaves. Here is a sample of some of them:

Girl Groups Had Quite A Year
1963 was a big year for girl groups. Check out a partial list of popular girl group songs and surely it will jog a few memories.
My Boyfriend’s Back by The Angels
Be My Baby by The Ronettes
Tell Him by The Exciters
Foolish Little Girl by The Shirelles
He’s So Fine by The Chiffons

Folk Was in the House
Folk music mixed right in with popular music of the day.
Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul & Mary
Blowin’ In the Wind by Bob Dylan (also released by Peter, Paul & Mary that year)
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right by Bob Dylan
Walk Right In by The Rooftop Singers

Motown Was Moving’ On Up
Founded as Tamla Records, Motown became the company name in 1960. In 1963, several of its artists frequented the charts.
Fingertips, Part 2 by Little Stevie Wonder
You’ve Really Got A Hold on Me by The Miracles
Pride and Joy by Marvin Gaye

Young Girls Making Hits
It was quite a year for Lesley Gore, but there were also other solo girl artists under the age of 18 who made it big.
It’s My Party by Leslie Gore
She’s the Fool by Leslie Gore
It’s Judy’s Turn to Cry by Leslie Gore
I Will Follow Him by Little Peggy March
Losing You by Brenda Lee

Crooners Were Crooning
Love songs released by new names and established artists were heard in 1963.
Can’t Get Used To Losing You by Andy Williams
Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence
Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton

Novelty Songs Hit the Airwaves
Unique, often one-hit-wonders made the cut.
Martian Hop by The Ran-Dells
Dominique by The Singing Nun
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh by Alan Sherman

The Four Seasons Were Going Strong
The group had two Top 50 hits in 1963.
Walk Like A Man by The Four Seasons
Candy Girl by The Four Seasons

Surfing the USA
Surf music was part of the boomer listening lists of 1963.
Wipe Out by The Surfaris
Surfin’ USA by The Beach Boys
Surf City by Jan & Dean

But Wait .. There’s More!
The list of classics from 1963 goes on and on.
Louie Louie by The Kingsmen
Sugar Shack by Jimmy Gilbert and the Fireballs
So Much In Love by The Tymes
Easier Said Than Done by The Exciters
I’m Leaving It Up to You by Dale & Grace
Sukiyaki by Kya Sakamoto

… and more. It’s remarkable that now, 60 years later, we still recall these songs with nostalgia and affection. What are your favorites from 1963, boomers?

Boomers Knew What Time It Was

The way we tell time is very telling. If you remember picking up a handset and dialing a number to get the time, then you are indeed a boomer.

Nowadays, time travels with you on your phone, but it’s not just any time, it’s synchronized to an atomic clock. Cell phones send a signal to a satellite with GPS, and the satellite has an atomic clock to keep incredibly accurate time. (The sticklers for detail among us may quibble about the misstep by most Android phones that makes time on an Android slightly off. As knowledge of time has evolved since the software for the satellite was produced in 1984, scientists learned they needed to add 15 seconds of “leap time” to the atomic clock. Apple iPhones adjust for this leap time, but most Android phones do not, resulting in a 15 second discrepancy.)

Meanwhile, back in the Boomer Generation, there were several ways boomers could get an approximation of the current time (if not the more exact time). As just mentioned, you could literally call for the time. Mister Boomer didn’t do that call much, but did find it helpful when setting the time on a wall clock or wristwatch. Then, as now, boomers’ lives were geared to time schedules, so an accurate clock in the house was essential for school, work or social functions. Consequently, no matter where you went, there was a clock. Retail stores, the Post Office, doctors’ offices and every classroom had a clock on the wall.

When you were out and about, many buildings displayed large clocks. Sometimes they topped tall towers, while others appeared on the sides of retail buildings such as department stores, and sometimes clocks were perched atop lampposts on a town street.

A personal wristwatch was another way to tell time. Mister Boomer got his first watch in second grade, and had one throughout his school years, into college and beyond. In the days before digital time, the watch had a spring that needed to be wound each day. The physical mechanism created its own limitations that meant some watches were more accurate than others. Mister Boomer’s early Timex watch would “lose time” each day, which would require the time to be manually reset periodically.

Still, for Mister B and most boomers he knew, a wristwatch was not worn while playing, especially outdoors. In the early 1960s, not every watch was shock resistant or water resistant. That meant a boomer needed to rely on other methods to tell time. In Mister B’s neighborhood, no one was all that good at guessing the time based on the shadows cast by the sun.

If Mister B was playing baseball near the church his family attended, he had another way to tell time. The church bells rang once for each hour, from 7 am to 7 pm; count the number of chimes, know the hour. It came in handy to inform kids when it was time to head home for dinner. As the 1960s progressed, more cities passed noise ordinances that limited, among other things, the ringing of church bells. At that point, Mister Boomer’s family church reduced the bell ringing to celebrate weddings, mark funerals, and as a 15-minute warning that a Sunday service was about to begin.

In 1970, the song Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? by Chicago was released as a single. For boomers, the answer was, yes, we did, and we cared about it. The song, of course, was suggesting people take the time to stop and appreciate the little things in life, but boomers had places to go and things to do. Whether at school or at play, boomer lives were scheduled by time; baseball practice at 9 am; English class at 11 am; family dinner at 6 pm, and so on.

If all else failed, boomers could ask someone they passed if they knew the time. At a time when a great many people did not carry the time with them, boomers found ways to get what they needed.

How about you, boomers? Did you ever call for the time on your family’s phone?