video jukeboxes from the early 1960s

These are Scopitones. They're video jukeboxes that were invented in France in the early 1960s. They were made from surplus WWII airplane parts and only lasted a few years. Here are a bunch of Scopitones. The colors were very vivid and the costumes and dancing were somewhat risqué for the day, as evident in one of the most well-known Scopitones: Nancy Sinatra performing Boots. Shake it ladies.



Check out the Scopitones at 1:58 in the video above from 1963.

The Wrecking Crew

If you enjoy rock and roll history, especially 1960s music, you'll love this film. Just as the Funk Brothers were the backbone of Motown, The Wrecking Crew were the studio musicians behind many hit records coming out of 60s LA. It's a blast to watch. Check it out.

Helen Shapiro

Helen Shapiro was huge in England starting in the early 1960s.  

The Beatles were her opening act before they became humongous. She sings to them here. Check her out doing a great version of Carole King's It Might As Well Rain Until September.
I love her version of The Miracles' Shop Around. Groovy organ.

regrets, I've had a few

When my mom finished nursing school in 1948, flight attendants were required to be RNs (registered nurses). She was 21 and living with her parents outside Boston, so why not travel and see the world even though many cities were still in ruins from the war? Jet travel was an extreme luxury then and it would be part of her job. She applied, was hired, but eventually turned it down. She told me it was her only major regret in her life. Here's the schmaltz. Now go do something, damn it.

• 1940s stewardess training film
• A 1960s British Air Hostess
• Austrian stewardess training film, 1964
• American Airlines Stewardess College, 1968
• American Airlines commercial, 1968
• white go-go boots
• The Naughty Stewardesses, 1973

WABC in NYC

From December 1960 to May 1982, WABC in New York City was the definition of Top 40 radio. It was the most influencial music radio station of its day and had the power to make hit records. Check out the website music radio 77 and listen to the actual deejays, jingles, promos, contests, slogans, commercials and music. What a gas to hear what rock radio sounded like from the 1960s through the 80s.

Can I help to cheer you?

Take a trip through the 1960s and explore with The Who. Live.

Paul McCartney at Fenway Park

My friend Glenn was in the 5th grade when The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Like many kids then, his world changed after that broadcast. He bought a cheap organ, then eventually bought a Hammond organ, then started singing in a band at 16 in 1969. The name of it was "The Sidewalk Society." How 1969 was that? 😆 We finally saw Sir Paul in person. Click on pic to make it big.

Glenn still has his Beatles scrapbook and Beatles bubble-gum cards.

Here are school pictures of Glenn in the 1960s during Beatlemania.



Above, Glenn and the crowd sing along with Paul and his band.

They performed my favorite Wings tunes from my grade-school years:


Jet, Wings, 1973


Listen To What the Man Said, Wings, 1975


Let 'Em In, Wings, 1976

Man, those colors

We deal with heavy stuff at times, but if you can still laugh and try not to take yourself too seriously, groovy. Skimming through videos from past eras that give me a chuckle helps to do that. While watching, I'll often think about how old the people in my life were at that time. For instance, this clip is from 1947. My mom was in nursing school and my parents were dating. Was this how it was when my parents got a malted? Bummer about the music but the colors are blowing me away.

I've never seen a color photo of my parents
before the 1960s. My mom would show me a
photo and tell me what color her clothing was
in the picture but I just saw black and white.
After my mom graduated from nursing school in
1948, she and her school friends rented cottages
at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. My dad
and his buddies went up to visit. My parents loved
to dance and were good at it. I'm sure they did
a lot of jitterbuggin' at the ballroom there.

My mom told me that her bathing suit in this picture was bright red.

My parents are front and center in July 1949 on their honeymoon drive to Canada. Click to make big. It was taken at The Allen "A" Camp on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire while watching fireworks. They stayed in a little cottage. Where's the snuggling?

bossa nova baby

The Kessler Twins sing Quando, Quando, Quando in a Scopitone film from the early 1960s. Here's the original by Tony Renis.

The Shangri-Las

Have a listen to one of the original "tough girl" groups of the 1960s.


Heaven Only Knows, The Shangri-Las, 1964


The Dum Dum Ditty, The Shangri-Las, 1965 


The Train From Kansas City, The Shangri-Las, 1965


I Can Never Go Home Any More, The Shangri-Las, 1965

Shangri-La is the fictional, Himalayan, tropical paradise in the 1937 Frank Capra film Lost Horizon. It was remade as a musical in 1973 with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David.

1960s Vespa commercial

Hop on and let's go. Vroooooooooooooooooooooooooom!

1960s Beatles-inspired commerical

It's a firecracker treat that's fun to eat. Wooooohooooooooo!

Where are you?

There you are. Put that hamburger down and join me in a little shake.
If you love 1960s soul music, you'll dig Funky 16 Corners radio.


Hide and Seek, Lillian Dupree, 1965

Vintage Fiats

A highlight of a recent trip to Florence, Italy was bombing into the Tuscan countryside via a 1960s Fiat. For many a passersby, seeing a caravan of vintage cars and Vespas elicited constant waves and smiles. Arrivederci! VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

South Dakota Rocks!

The Beatles had a huge influence everywhere. Who knew that South Dakota had such a groovy, mid-1960s music scene?

Mini-Me

Which hat are you wearing to the tennis match? That's swinging.

Can you believe the uproar minis caused in the mid-1960s? Hmm.

Billy Preston

Learn about Preston and the Hammond. 1950s: with Nat King Cole; 1960s: on Shindig!; 1970s: Will It Go Round in Circles

jingle jangle jingle

I love the mid-1960s jangly sound dominated by The Byrds.


Have You Seen Her Face, The Byrds, 1966

Boston, The Byrds, 1964/65

The Dusty Springfield Show

Here are some performances by Dusty from her 1960s tv show:

• The Real Thing
• Heat Wave
• Show Intro, Get Ready
• Nowhere to Run
• ending and closing credits 
• Anna (El Negro Zumbon)

Pink Martini does a fabulous version of Anna (El Negro Zumbon). I've seen them many times. One of the best shows out there.





Check out Anna being sung in the 1951 film of the same name.

1968 dancing

Boogaloo and Shing-a-ling along with the kids on Teen Time from Stubenville, Ohio in 1968. Culottes, big hair and a Nehru jacket. Check out the album commercial at the end. Money back if not delighted.

Groove along to one of the coolest songs of the 1960s. What a gas for these people to see their teenage selves. Or maybe they're cringing.