Planning for the 50 year anniversity of ??? ... WAIT ...wait ... the Summer of ....

[DaveNV]

And the next morning .. .we all had to play TOTALLY DUMB about the most important event EVER in our lives .. we saw it live on that tiny, tiny TV screen, listened to the famous words, "One small step for man, one large leap for mankind" ....

DANG, I still remember THAT QUOTE without looking it UP!!!!!!

Actually, I think it was "One giant leap for mankind..."

Dave

 

[vacationhopeful]

Corrected my post. THKs.

 

[bluehende]

I was draft number 326. Of course by that time the draft had actually been stopped so it did not matter. For a few years they gave out numbers as they may have needed it again. As I said I had an older brother that went through the Alice's Restaurant scenario at the draft board so it was definitely on my mind. For a 13 yr old in 1969 it was a scary prospect.

 

[SmithOp]

I ended up #3. I enlisted in the Navy rather than give them the satisfaction of drafting me. It worked out. No regrets.

Dave

Same here, had a low number in 71 so I enlisted in USAF, worked out great. When I got out I worked with a swabbie, called him rustbucket. He called me zoomie, we got along great.


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[DaveNV]

Same here, had a low number in 71 so I enlisted in USAF, worked out great. When I got out I worked with a swabbie, called him rustbucket. He called me zoomie, we got along great.


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I remember those kind of nicknames, and I went through a few of those, too. The most annoying was when Billy Joel’s song Piano Man was released. The lyrics include the phrase, “And he’s talking with Davy, who’s still in the Navy, and probably will be for life.” Aarggh! How many people thought it was hilarious to start calling me “Navy Davy”? I hated that. LOL!

Dave (please never, ever call me Davy. )

 

[Luanne]

I remember those kind of nicknames, and I went through a few of those, too. The most annoying was when Billy Joel’s song Piano Man was released. The lyrics include the phrase, “And he’s talking with Davy, who’s still in the Navy, and probably will be for life.” Aarggh! How many people thought it was hilarious to start calling me “Navy Davy”? I hated that. LOL!

Dave (please never, ever call me Davy. )

Okay, Dav...............................

 

[DaveNV]

Okay, Dav...............................

Hardy har har.

Dave

 

[sun starved Gayle]

This is a timely thread for me as I just spent last weekend with 18 people I have been friends with for 50 years. We all met in the 7th grade or earlier when we were 12 years old, and went all through jr. high and high school together. We have a picture of all of us together, with one of us holding a big gold "50". I am still sore from laughing so hard hearing old stories.

 

[#1 Cowboys Fan]

Earlier reference to Bryan Adams---"Summer of '69" is my FAVORITE song of ALL TIME.

As far as how old I was----similar to QUITE an amount of others who have posted.

I was 13, and several others on this thread were pretty close to that.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I was 14, probably spending the summer on my grandparents' farm near Shelton, NE, my favorite place in the entire world. I never got over the love of that place and think of it fondly. It was hard work and lots of fun. I wish I could take my grandchildren there to see it and experience irrigating with tubes, splashing in the irrigation ditches, getting muddy on purpose, and showering in the basement with that well water that was so hard, it felt like someone was throwing gravel on you.

We ate cinnamon rolls and drank orange juice in the morning. We would eat big lunches at exactly 11:30 AM, and the oldest girls (my aunt Glenda and me) had to wash, dry and put the dishes away. Then we would go into the living room with the room air conditioner and find a place on the floor to watch Let's Make a Deal with Grandpa, who always fell asleep for a good hour.

Grandpa had a stroke three years later and they moved into town. He did buy a John Deere riding mower for his small yard. That was funny. He died in 1978. Sad.

Those were the days. It was a way different world back then. I remember so many summers of staying there and not wanting to go back to school in Denver. I wanted to go to my aunt and uncle's one-room schoolhouse for 1st-8th grades. That was a lot of fun. I went there a couple of times as a visitor. There were four people my age. That was it.

 

[DaveNV]

I wanted to go to my aunt and uncle's one-room schoolhouse for 1st-8th grades. That was a lot of fun. I went there a couple of times as a visitor. There were four people my age. That was it.

My Dad was military, and we moved a lot, (I went to thirteen schools in twelve years.) When I was in second grade in Ketchikan, Alaska in 1960, there were about fifteen kids in my class, which was a half and half split class, with Second and Third graders in the same room, because there weren't enough students to fill a single classroom. I had two more years of being in the lower grade in split classes, (a 3rd/4th, and then a 5th/6th split.) By the time I got to 6th grade they wanted to skip me to 7th because I already knew what they were planning to teach me.

Dave

 

[baf99]

I turned 13 that summer. So much was going on, but what I remember most is standing in the Atlantic at Daytona Beach and watching the Apollo 11 launch. I'm sure you could see a lot more on television, but that sight gave me chills. Not an easy thing in Florida during July.

 

[ronparise]

I came into the year with a 1A draft status and I was number 202 in the lottery. I dont remember much from 1969 except I saw Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and Country Joe and the Fish at the Baltimore Civic Center and Janice Joplin at the Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia Md) I was either stoned or tripping most of the time... I do know that by the end of the year I was married, with a kid on the way, (I finally told my daughter that she was conceived in the back of a VW Bus, and her parents were both doing LSD at the time). I had a government job (Biologist with Marylands Dept of Water Resources). and I was a cook in the Army National Guard.

The two defining events of my youth were Woodstock and Vietnam, and I didnt do either one.

How did 1969 define my life... looking back Id say the one thing that I did well was being a dad...and that started in 1969

 

[slip]

I was only six. I do remember that I couldn’t wait until the next year so I could play little league baseball.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

I was in HS.
What shaped me was not anything I did, but rather, the incredible amount great music that year.
In my mind, 1969 should be enshrined as one of the greatest musical years.
From Billboard's List of Hot Singles, here's what I spent my time listening to:

№ Title Artist(s)
1 "Sugar, Sugar" - The Archies
2 "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" - The 5th Dimension
3 "I Can't Get Next to You" - The Temptations
4 "Honky Tonk Women" - The Rolling Stones
5 "Everyday People" - Sly and the Family Stone
6 "Dizzy" - Tommy Roe
7 "Hot Fun in the Summertime" - Sly and the Family Stone
8 "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" - Tom Jones
9 "Build Me Up Buttercup" - The Foundations
10 "Crimson and Clover" - Tommy James and the Shondells
11 "One" - Three Dog Night
12 "Crystal Blue Persuasion" - Tommy James and the Shondells
13 "Hair" - The Cowsills
14 "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" - Marvin Gaye
15 "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" - Henry Mancini
16 "Get Together" - The Youngbloods
17 "Grazing in the Grass" - The Friends of Distinction
18 "Suspicious Minds" - Elvis Presley
19 "Proud Mary" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
20 "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
21 "It's Your Thing" - The Isley Brothers
22 "Sweet Caroline" - Neil Diamond
23 "Jean" - Oliver
24 "Bad Moon Rising" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
25 "Get Back" - The Beatles with Billy Preston
26 "In the Year 2525" - Zager & Evans
27 "Spinning Wheel" - Blood, Sweat & Tears
28 "Baby, I Love You" - Andy Kim
29 "Going in Circles" - The Friends of Distinction
30 "Hurt So Bad" - The Lettermen
31 "Green River" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
32 "My Cherie Amour" - Stevie Wonder
33 "Easy to Be Hard" - Three Dog Night
34 "Baby It's You" - Smith
35 "In the Ghetto" - Elvis Presley
36 "A Boy Named Sue" - Johnny Cash
37 "Baby, Baby Don't Cry" - The Miracles
38 "Only the Strong Survive" - Jerry Butler
39 "Time of the Season" - The Zombies
40 "Wedding Bell Blues" - The 5th Dimension
41 "Little Woman" - Bobby Sherman
42 "Love (Can Make You Happy)" - Mercy
43 "Good Morning Starshine" - Oliver
44 "These Eyes" - The Guess Who
45 "You've Made Me So Very Happy" - Blood, Sweat & Tears
46 "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" - Jackie DeShannon
47 "Do Your Thing" - The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
48 "I'd Wait a Million Years" - The Grass Roots
49 "Touch Me" - The Doors
50 "More Today Than Yesterday" - Spiral Starecase

I remember these like it was yesterday.
.

Some more 1969ers from Billboard.

51. I've Gotta Be Me - Sammy Davis Jr.
52. Lay, Lady, Lay - Bob Dylan
53. Atlantis - Donovan
54. Traces - Dennis Yost and The Classics IV
55. It's Getting Better - Mama Cass Elliot
56. This Magic Moment - Jay and The Americans
57. Runaway Child, Running Wild - The Temptations
58. Hawaii Five-O - The Ventures
59. Galveston - Glen Campbell
60. I'm Gonna Make You Mine - Lou Christie
61. Gitarzan - Ray Stevens
62. Can I Change My Mind - Tyrone Davis
63. Time Is Tight - Booker T and The MG's
64. This Girl's In Love With You - Dionne Warwick
65. Color Him Father - The Winstons
66. Black Pearl - Sonny Charles and The Checkmates, Ltd.
67. Indian Giver - The 1910 Fruitgum Company
68. Mother Popcorn, Pt. 1 - James Brown
69. Twenty Five Miles - Edwin Starr
70. Things I'd Like To Say - New Colony Six
71. When I Die - Motherlode
72. That's the Way Love Is - Marvin Gaye
73. Everybody's Talkin' (From "Midnight Cowboy") - Nilsson
74. Worst That Could Happen - The Brooklyn Bridge
75. The Chokin' Kind - Joe Simon
76. Smile a Little Smile for Me - The Flying Machine
77. Polk Salad Annie - Tony Joe White
78. Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town - Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
79. Games People Play - Joe South
80. You Showed Me - The Turtles
81. Tracy - The Cuff Links
82. Oh, What a Night - The Dells
83. Something - The Beatles
84. This Girl is a Woman Now - Gary Puckett and The Union Gap
85. Come Together - The Beatles
86. Ramblin' Gamblin' Man - The Bob Seger System
87. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross and The Supremes
88. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
89. Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' - Crazy Elephant
90. Hang 'Em High - Booker T and The MG's
91. Your Good Thing (Is About to End) - Lou Rawls
92. Baby, I'm for Real - The Originals
93. Oh Happy Day - Edwin Hawkins Singers
94. Love Me Tonight - Tom Jones
95. Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon - Paul Revere and The Raiders
96. Laughing - The Guess Who
97. My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) - David Ruffin
98. Soul Deep - The Box Tops
99. Hooked On a Feeling - B.J. Thomas
100. Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March - The Box Tops

Look at those "lesser singles". Bob Dylan, Glen Campbell, B.J. Thomas, Harry Nillson, Kenny Rogers. . . .

 

[DaveNV]

That Top 100 is quite a list! I was glued to my transistor radio in those days, and knew most all of these songs. Certainly the top 75 or so I can hear in my head just by seeing the name of the song. Even better is remembering where I was and what i was doing when the songs were popular. Kind of like the music in the movie "Forrest Gump," it made a statement in my head, and cemented a memory of a time and place. Pretty awesome, what music does to us. What is the old slogan, "The soundtrack of our lives?"

Dave

 

[SandyPGravel]

Born in October 68, so I'm thinking there wasn't much on my agenda that summer. DH was 10 he remembers the moon landing. Gave me a key chain that commemorates the moon landing (I collect key chains)

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

That Top 100 is quite a list! I was glued to my transistor radio in those days, and knew most all of these songs. Certainly the top 75 or so I can hear in my head just by seeing the name of the song. Even better is remembering where I was and what i was doing when the songs were popular. Kind of like the music in the movie "Forrest Gump," it made a statement in my head, and cemented a memory of a time and place. Pretty awesome, what music does to us. What is the old slogan, "The soundtrack of our lives?"

Dave

And the albums release in 1969. . . For those who remember AOR (Album Oriented Rock)

Abbey Road - The Beatles
In The Court of The Crimson King - King Crimson
Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin I & II - Led Zeppelin
Tommy - The Who
The Band - The Band
Space Oddity - David Bowie
Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago
It's A Beautiful Day - It's a Beautiful Day

And this is just barely scratching the surface. . . I think I'll put on White Bird . . .

 

[bluehende]

And the albums release in 1969. . . For those who remember AOR (Album Oriented Rock)

Abbey Road - The Beatles
In The Court of The Crimson King - King Crimson
Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin I & II - Led Zeppelin
Tommy - The Who
The Band - The Band
Space Oddity - David Bowie
Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago
It's A Beautiful Day - It's a Beautiful Day

And this is just barely scratching the surface. . . I think I'll put on White Bird . . .

Tommy is my favorite album of all times.

 

[DaveNV]

I bought those albums, and a lot more. So many memories!

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

I returned from Vietnam in February, and was roundly vilified for serving. I met and set up housekeeping with a woman with a small son. I went back to college in the fall semester. Can't say any of it formed my later life. I didn't repeat any of it.

Jim

 

[clifffaith]

l was thirteen and leaving 8 years of Los Angeles public education and preparing to go to a Catholic (which I'm not) girls' school for four years of high school. The school had provided a summer reading list. Of course I read all 15 books and got to school and found out few of the other girls had bothered. I also found out I could out score many girls in the religion class because they figured they knew it all and didn't study the material for the tests. St. Mary's did an excellent job of preparing me for college, and is the beneficiary of my will (it now draws from some of the poorest areas of LA where the vast majority of girls need tuition assistance). UCLA, where I got a double degree in the useful subjects of anthropology and geography, won't get a dime!

 

[fillde]

NY baseball fans will never forget an Amazin year. I'll never forget the black cat that walked out on the field while the Mets were playing the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were leading the division by 9 and a half games and things would never be the same after that night.

The Mets would go on to the World Series as a big underdog and beat Boog and the Baltimore Orioles. Still remember watching the World Series during the day on a black and white TV.

 

[Lydlady]

I turned 13 that summer. So much was going on, but what I remember most is standing in the Atlantic at Daytona Beach and watching the Apollo 11 launch. I'm sure you could see a lot more on television, but that sight gave me chills. Not an easy thing in Florida during July.

I also turned 13 that summer.

 

[WinniWoman]

It seems a lot of us here are the same age!