Christmas 1968
Ahh, December! Cold temperatures, festive foods, holiday decorations inside and out, seasonal shopping, and Christmas is right around the corner!!
So what was Christmas like forty years ago? What musical gifts did you get (or give) in December 1968? Let’s see…I was a freshman in high school, 15 years old and really excited about the music and groups I was listening to that year.
The Beatles had just released the white album, so that was the big one. But there were so many other phenomenal albums and artists that debuted that year, or were just releasing their second records. In 1968 it was LP’s baby, the long players were king then. The world revolved at 33 and 1/3 RPM for most of us deeply into the music revolution that was unfolding around us.
“Born To Be Wild” was Steppenwolf’s first hit single, and it was a monster for me. I sat-in on drums for a friend of mine’s garage band at a VFW dance, and when we played that song, it changed the world for me. Suddenly I was cool instead of a nerdy geek because I could play drums, and the bad kids stopped pushing me around. That’s when I became a Steppenwolf fan, and stepped aboard their “Magic Carpet Ride.”
What else happened in December 1968? Police confiscated 30,000 copies of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Two Virgins album at Newark Airport, saying that the cover was pornographic. Detective Sgt. Pilcher busted John and Yoko for drugs at Ringo’s flat in London, after busting the Rolling Stones. This detective was on a roll, you might say, by busting all the high profile musicians in and around London. Even Donovan got busted that year. I guess that’s why he was “Mellow Yellow.”
There’s so much more that went down that year, we’ll just have to tune in for our next post about Christmas 1968.
What do you remember?
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Written by: Mike Withrow
Related Posts
Tags: 1968 Music, Christmas 1968, Donovan, John Lennon, LP, Records, Ringo, Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, The Beatles, Yoko OnoeShop: 1968 Music Christmas 1968 Donovan John Lennon LP Records Ringo Rolling Stones Steppenwolf The Beatles Yoko Ono
