The end of the 60s

[seannx]

For me it was in the early seventies. I had gotten into meditation, said goodbye to alcohol and other mind altering substances, and finally finished my BA. By '77 I completed my M.ED, got married, we had kids, and before I knew it the 80's had arrived.

I have a lot of nice memories from that era, but agree with many here that the optimism and hopes for a better society were very idealistic, and got lost along the way. Sadly drugs and excessive, irresponsible behavior became more the norm.

[Fatstrat]

I think it was disco that closed the door. The whole scene was totally foreign to the 60's youth mentality. Frumpy clothes to leisure suits w/silk shirts. It went from Hippie to Yuppie.

[MikeBmusic]

The end of the 60s started in August of 69 (Woodstock) and completed with the beatles breakup in 1970.
I turned 14 in 1970 and during high school I felt like I had truly missed the best decade because I was too young.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by HHP

Most in my circles would peg it to 1974 and the resignation of Richard Nixon.

I was born in 1974 so I'm relieved to know that its not my fault that the 60's ended.

[Neil K Walk]

I'm glad the 60s and 70s are over. The current debate over our medical system notwithstanding if we enjoyed the level advancements in medicine, procedures and medical technology then that we do now then most likely many of my own family members of would have lived longer. That being said, we still have a long way to go.

[bobdcat]

Originally Posted by Fatstrat

I think it was disco that closed the door. The whole scene was totally foreign to the 60's youth mentality. Frumpy clothes to leisure suits w/silk shirts. It went from Hippie to Yuppie.

Agreed. For me, the 60s began on February 9, 1964, when the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Sure, the Beatles' breakup may be a good 60s-ending event for many, but there was a lot of great music after that for several years. So, I would place the end of the "60s" as November 15, 1977 - the date the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack was released. Pop music still has not recovered from that event.

The sixties ended on December 6, 1969, at Altamont, a concert that was to have been Woodstock West but turned into a festival of violence. The peace & love dream ended that day, not far from where it started.

The ideal limped along but went completely sour on December 11, 1987, the day that the movie "Wall Street" debuted. That's the movie in which the lead character, Gordon Gekko, uttered the famous line, "Greed is good; greed works", and a whole new generation bought in.

That's the world we live in today.

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by ewalling

Interesting question.

I think The Band were a little too obscure to carry such weight with Britons.

I suppose that's true of British music fans in general, but if you ask any of the British rock musicians of the time, like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, etc. the Band was enormously influential. In the words of Time magazine: they not only knew "where all those hot licks came from, they know where they should go as well." The Band were standard-bearers, much like the Rolling Stones were -- an indication not only of primary musical principles, but an example of just how good rock music could be if you remained faithful to those principles. Musically, it has been all downhill since the Band dissolved.
Politically, however, there's no question that the 60s ended on Aug. 8, 1974 when Nixon resigned. No matter how you feel about it, we've been paying the political consequences of that act ever since.

[Bluepoet]

For me, the 60s ended sometime around 1977, the year after everyone had painted the fire hydrants red, white, and blue, in honor of the bi-centennial. What, no day-glo hydrants?

Definite signs of the end have been mentioned, by others in this thread. I think, in actuality, the "hippie movement" died, as soon as it was labeled...

By the way, as far as the music, the Golden Age was from 1965--75. That's the explosion of creativity, for me, and the essence of the "sixties". That part? It still hasn't died, because, unlike the song by Don McLean, the music didn't die ("Vincent", is a much better song than "American Pie", imho). Good music just doesn't die...it gets recycled, sometimes, or re-grooved and "discovered", but it's still out there, touching people, and enriching lives. Bad music doesn't stop, either, but it does fade into obscurity, as a balance to the good.

As ya'll may have guessed, by now, for me, the sixties still hasn't completely died. I'm just lucky, I guess!!

[DESERTRAT1]

The 60's ended for me the day I threw out my last pair of bell bottoms which was around +- 1975. I still miss them though. They worked so well with Cowboy boots.

[dirkronk]

Originally Posted by jpd

As Chill Wills said..."What in the wide, wide, world of sports is a going on?"

That was Slim Pickens...in Blazing Saddles. (Unless there's another movie reference that I simply don't know...which is altogether possible.)



Dirk

[Bluepoet]

Originally Posted by DESERTRAT1

The 60's ended for me the day I threw out my last pair of bell bottoms which was around +- 1975. I still miss them though. They worked so well with Cowboy boots.

Me, too...I have noticed them coming back, though it's mostly girls wearing them, this time 'round...(they worked well with any shoes, because they mostly covered them up--shoes are pretty much all ugly!)

[Fatstrat]

Originally Posted by DESERTRAT1

The 60's ended for me the day I threw out my last pair of bell bottoms which was around +- 1975. I still miss them though. They worked so well with Cowboy boots.

I wore Levi's big bell blue jeans until 1982. When my 1st wife bought me a pair of straight leg jeans and explained that bells were "out". They were getting hard to find anyway. Back them my hard partying lifestyle didn't include clothes in the budget. And jeans were my usual B-day and X-mas gifts. So although I had my preferences I wore whatever I was given.

[tbeltrans]

I have always wondered who decides what is "in" and what is not, and why that has to change (unless it is to keep people buying new clothes, trying new diets, trying different philosophies, etc). Why should somebody I don't even know, decide what I am to wear? That has always seemed silly to me. So we shouldn't wear bell bottoms anymore, but instead straight leg pants, and narrow lapels are "in" and then out, same with ties (which fortunately somebody decided are no longer required in most cases). This year "carbs" are bad, but next year it will probably be milk or dairy products in general, and then the next year, it will suddenly be discovered that "carbs" are fine, but meat is bad, and so on and on it goes. To me, fads and styles have always seemed silly. Find what is comfortable for you and stick with it. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find those articles of clothing if they are "out" this season.

Tony

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by Fatstrat

I think it was disco that closed the door. The whole scene was totally foreign to the 60's youth mentality. Frumpy clothes to leisure suits w/silk shirts. It went from Hippie to Yuppie.

Yeah, the whole value system of the disco generation was completely contra to what the 60s were all about -- we went from comfortable dress to dress codes, from democratic ideals to exclusiveness from anti-materialistic to very materialistic, from being community oriented to being self-oriented. We really flipped the coin over between the 60's and the 70s.