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 * THE 60s **

In the 1960s there was the first televised debate for presidential election, many bands that influenced our culture became popular, Sesame Street first aired, and lots more that has affected our world. It was an amazing time in history. With the new medium of television taking hold at the time, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon, agreed to debate each other for the first time on national television. 70 million U.S viewers tuned in to watch Senator Kennedy and Vice President Nixon for the first ever televised presidential debate. It was the first of four televised “Great Debates” between Kennedy and Nixon. The first debate focused on domestic issues. The second debate on October 7, was a disagreement over U.S involvement in two small islands off the coast of China. On October 13, Nixon and Kennedy continued their argument. On October 21, the final debate, the candidates focused on American relation with Cuba. In August, Nixon had suffered a serious knee injury and was hospitalized for two weeks. On September 26, 1960 he was still twenty pounds over weight, he was tired looking, and had the pallor that accompanies pain and hospital stays. On September 26, 1960, Kennedy had just finished a month long campaign in California. He was tanned, fit, looking young, confident and well rested. Kennedy and Nixon presented similar ideas. Both spoke of progress and change. Kennedy talked of a “New Frontier”. He wanted to develop new technologies and make advancements in space exploration. Nixon repeated similar messages of a brighter future, but he did so through Republican themes such as increased emphasis on private industry and decreased government pending. Unfortunately the audience focused on physical appearance rather than the messages and Kennedy was thought of as the winner by a vast majority. In 1961, the Beach Boys became famous; the band consisted of Mike Love who did vocals, Brian Wilson who did vocals and also played piano, keyboards, guitar and bass guitar, Carl Wilson who did vocals and also played lead guitar and keyboards, Dennis Wilson who played drums, percussion, keyboards and guitar, And Al Jardine who did vocals and bass guitar. Music had always been a family affair in the Wilson family. Three brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, were joined by their cousin Mike Love and classmate Alan Jardine which formed a band named the Beach Boys. From 1962 through 1966, the Beach Boys charted 22 hit singles in a highly competitive Top 40. They had 36 U.S Top 40 hits with four of them being number one this is more than any other U.S rock band. The Beach Boys soon were made part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1970, the Beach Boys changed labels, moving from Capitol who originally signed them in 1961 to Reprise, where they established their own Brother Records imprint. In 1962 the film “The Music Man” was developed in color and was 151 minutes long. The film was directed by Morton DaCosta at Tuner Classic Movies. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical. The film was released on June 19, 1962 in the U.S. On February 25, 1963 in Sweden. On May 17, 1963 in Finland. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year. The film had its world premiere in Mason City, Iowa. Before starring in “The Music Man”, Robert Preston had never sang before. Warner Brothers Studios was also concerned that he would be too old to play the lead. During production, Shirley Jones discovered she was pregnant with her son, Patrick. “The Music Man” also won the first Grammy ever presented. Beatlemania lasted from 1963 to 1966; the word was spread in the UK and soon spread all over the world. During this time people mimicked all that the Beatles did, including haircuts, clothing, and outlook. At the time of Beatlemania the band was named “Beetles.” John Lennon changed the spelling to “Beatles” as a pun for “beat music” another name for rock n’ roll. They also spent most of this time period touring. Beatlemania ended when they announced they would stop touring on August 29, 1966 at a concert at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. Beatlemania started again when the group arrived in the U.S. When the band split in 1970, a small Beatlemania erupted and again when John Lennon was assassinated in 1980. The Beatles first arrived in the U.S. on February 9, 1964. When they arrived at the New York airport they were greeted by 5,000 screaming fans, on January 17, 1964 “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles was the number one hit in America. On February 16, 1964 The Beatles made their second appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show”, live from the Pueville Hotel in Miami Beach Florida. They performed the songs “She Loves You”, ”All My Loving”, “This Boy”, “I Saw Her Standing There”, “From Me to You”, and “I Want Hold Your Hand”. On March 28, 1964, Capitol Records reported sales of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at 3.4 million copies. The Beatles originally started with six band members: John Lennon who did vocals and played guitar, harmonica and piano. Paul McCartney who did vocals and played rhythmic guitar and piano, Ringo Starr who did vocals and played drums and percussion, George Harrison who played lead guitar. Pete Best who played drums, And Stu Sutcliffe who played bass. The band ended with only four members: John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. They were often known as the “Fab Four”. In 1964 the Beatles had sold over a billion records. It all started to go downhill for the Beatles in summer 1966 when a remark Lennon had made to a British reporter was wildly reported in the U.S. The quote “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue with that; I’m right and will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus.” The band then broke up in April 1970. Malcolm X was a 39-year-old leader of a militant black nationalist movement who was shot to death at a rally on February 21, 1965. At a speech in the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom on February 21 Malcolm was rushed on stage by three gun men and shot at fifteen times at close range. The police said seven bullets struck Malcolm, and three other black men were shot too. The men who shot Malcolm were convicted of first degree murder in March 1966. All three were Nation of Islam members. Malcolm studied teachings of Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society strove to keep African Americans from empowering themselves to achieve political, economic, and social success. Malcolm became a devoted follower of Muhammad. Malcolm’s last name was actually Little but he took the last name of “X” to symbolize his stolen African identity. Later in the year that he was assassinated, his wife, Betty, gave birth to their twin daughters. Malcolm founded the organization of Afro-American Unity along with John Henrik. Malcolm X is now buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale New York. Nat Young traveled to San Diego in 1966 and won the World Surfing Championships. Nat’s real name is Robert Young and because of his small size he became known as “Gnat”. When Nat won the ISA World Surfing Game it was a surprise to most people because he had a much shorter board than his competitors. When he won with such a short board it started a trend to short-boards. Nat was only 19 when he first won the World Surfing Championships. In 1965 Nat placed runner up in the first World Championship in Peru. In 1963 Nat Young won the first Australian Surfing Championship. Nat went on to win many more events in Australia and Hawaii. In 1967 Nat Young and Bob Mctavish packed even shorter “Vee-bottom boards” for Hawaii for Hawaii were their surfing was captured for the movie “The Hot Generation”. Nat is now married to a woman named Ti who is 10 years younger than him. They have four children together, Naomi, Nava, Beau and Bryce. The first Rolling Stones Magazine was issued on November 9, 1967. The picture of John Lennon on the cover was from the set of the movie “How I Won the War” which was being filmed at the time. He was wearing the military uniform, helmet and glasses of the character he played in the movie. The magazine was founded in San Francisco by John Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The first magazine was sold for 35 cents. In the first issue, Wenner wrote that his new magazine was “not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces.” It started out as a strictly music magazine. The magazine got its name from, the old Muddy Waters classic, the popular British rock band and Dylan’s big rock and roll hit. Before Rolling Stone magazine there was no such thing as Rock Music Photography. To this day over 1,000 issues have been made. Apollo 8 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida, at 7:50 am, EST, on December 21, 1968. The purpose of the mission was to progress the landing of men on the moon. Apollo 8 ended the Americans race with the Russians. Bill Anders and his fellow crew members, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman, orbited the moon on Christmas Eve. The three astronauts were the first humans to see the dark side of the moon. They were also the first people to see the entire earth from space. Apollo 8 orbited in the moon in a period of 20 hours. In all the mission was 147 hours. At 89 hours 19 minutes, Tran earth injection was performed from behind the moon. Apollo 8 was the first mission to take humans to the moon and back. The mission was completed on the morning of December 27, when splash down occurred in the Pacific Ocean. Sesame Street first aired on November 10, 1969. Sesame Street is an educational television program designed for pre-schoolers. Sesame Street uses a combination of puppets, animation and live actors to teach young children the fundamentals of reading and arithmetic, as well as geometric forms and classifications. The series has been televised in 120 countries and more than 20 international versions have been made. The main character Elmo was not in the first episode. He did not appear until the 12 season of the show. In the first episode Gordon takes a girl named Sally on tour on Sesame Street. Also, Ernie and Bert appeared for the first time and Kermit the Frog gave a lecture on the letter “W.” When Sesame Street first aired, Grover was actually brown, not blue and Oscar the Grouch was orange, not green. Sesame Street was set in a fictional New York neighborhood and includes ethnically diverse characters and positive social messages. Over the years more than 74 million Americans have watched Sesame Street.