Summertime 60s
Back in the 60s
Not the Beatles 60s and
before Carnaby Street
and Twiggy and Verushka
The Roger Miller 60s
Peter, Paul, and Mary
Nat “King” Cole
Peggy Lee still made the charts
Radio was on all day
Mom was calmer then
Her heroes had not
been gunned down yet
“Trailer for sale or rent”
Most songs, we’d sing along
Drinking coffee and
listening for the mailman
“Is that all there is?”
Yep. And it was enough
© 2014 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
dverse Poets asked for the theme about each poet’s hisTORY. I poked along on this one and missed the chance to link this poem there, but do visit dverse and read some amazing poets!
Sure, there were difficult aspects to my childhood. Many of you can relate to parts of THAT story. But this felt right for the prompt, and it’s good sometimes to accentuate the positive. Peace, Amy
Sharp Little Pencil 
http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com
Amy you’ve picked my favourite musical era, and I can still sing King of the Road!
Sharp Little Pencil
Hit it, band! Viv, what key?
http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com
lower than it used to be!
kaykuala
Yes it was enough! Even before Cliff and Elvis.
Those were the days, no TV no nothing!
Just song and dance and a lot of imagination
until B/W TV made the scene.
Then things moved fast, flower children, LSD
and Dr Timothy Leary everything so fluid and cheery.
Then disaster, Rock Hudson brought it into prominence,
the scrounge of mankind.
until today we are as yet a cure to find!
Great write Amelita!
Hank
Roger Green
This will undoubtedly shock you, but I had a musical love of Roger Miller:
In the summertime
When all the trees and leaves are green
And the redbird sings, I’ll be blue
‘Cause you don’t want my love
Some other time
That’s what you say, when I want you
Then you laugh at me and make me cry
‘Cause you don’t want my love
You don’t seem to care a thing about me
You’d rather live without me
Than to have my arms around you
When the nights are cold and you’re so all alone
coalblack
When I was about ten, I had an Andy Williams record with that song, “In The Summertime” on it! My father had forbidden rock and roll records. (I guess my mom’s radio was excepted.) When i finally had my own money, the first rock album I bought was Chicago II. Ugh! But then i bought Rita Coolidge’s first solo record, and I still have it today. Great music! She hadn’t gone totally easy listening yet, then.
Sherry Blue Sky
Oh how I used to love Rita Coolidge back in the day – not since the easy listening, me, too.
georgeplace2013
Yes, you’ve captured it. A small moment between WWII and Viet Nam craziness. I also am a huge fan of Big Band and swing.
coalblack
My mother, who was in her 40s at the time, and not anyone’s idea of a hipster, nonetheless played the radio at home and in the car, that played what might now be called “light rock”, plus household tips and what have you. So, when I think of those days, the soundtrack is “Windy”, “Winchester Cathedral”, and “Along Comes Mary”. I can even remember the era just before that, that you’re talking about, being in the car with my high school age brother as mom drove us to school, and the radio playing “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime”, “Blue Velvet” and “Walk Right In”.
Of course, by the time *I* was in high school, I was riding with friends and the songs were “Bang A Gong (Get It On)”, “Panic In Detroit” and hey babe…take a walk on the wild side!
brian miller
music calms….that is for sure…and it also defines generations….i like how you differentiate between the beetles 60s but more the roger waters 60s…but these soundtracks of our lives…yes….
Sherry Blue Sky
Oh how you took me back, Amer! Sigh…..I so resonate with “Her heroes had not been gunned down yet” – those times broke my heart. Love the comments and the memories evoked by all the music mentioned…sigh Music was everything to me, back then.
journalread
Humming along to ‘King of the Road’ – ‘trailers for sale or rent…’ – my time too, Amy 😉