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Elizabeth Crook| Songs of 1966 That Make Me Wish I Could Sing
June 16, 2014
All right, so I was only seven in 1966 -- not a child of the sixties, but a
child in the sixties. And I wasn't one of those kids who knew about popular
music. I spent most of my early years in the small Texas town of San Marcos,
hardly on the cutting edge of pop culture. Music came to me in a spotty,
haphazard and completely disjointed way, and it wasn't until a few years ago,
when I started writing the novel MONDAY,
MONDAY, a novel that begins in 1966, that I found I had suddenly
tapped into one of the richest veins in American music. I was, of course, a few
decades behind everyone else. I had arrived at the sixties in my fifties. It's not that music was unimportant to me as a kid: I liked singing. I sang
along to Burl Ives records. I could sing as loud as the next kid. I remember
standing shoulder to shoulder with other children on small bleachers in a small
room at Crockett Elementary, belting out a song in French that none of us knew
the meaning of. I thought the words were "Allawetta, John T. Allawetta." My dad was a politically liberal Baptist preacher who had resigned as the pastor
of First Baptist Church in Nacogdoches to run for congress on a civil rights
platform in 1961, and had lost, and had taken a job as president of the San
Marcos Baptist Academy. When Lyndon Johnson became president he appointed my dad
director of VISTA and then Ambassador to Australia, which for me meant a
departure from San Marcos in 1967 to Arlington, VA and then, in 1968, when I was
nine, to Canberra. In Arlington I was hooked on watching the Monkees and was really into their
theme
song, along with “Snoopy vs. the Red
Baron” by the Royal Guardsmen and “Honey” by Bobby
Goldsboro. But it was in Canberra that I first experienced a real adrenaline
rush from music. One of the guards at the embassy was a marine named Gary Metcalf who
guarded the embassy during the day and would come back in his blue jeans in the
evenings to join the crowd outside that was protesting the Vietnam War. He had
served in Vietnam and knew what he was talking about. My Dad would get him to
come inside. Gary and I were buddies; we would hang out in the living room
listening to music. We listened to a lot of Bob Dylan, but the songs I remember
most from those times are the Beatles’ “Yesterday” and
Jimmy Durante’s “One of Those
Songs.” Gary found out that the butler was hiding the pantry
key under the candelabra in the dining room, so we started raiding the
pantry—Gary would take the cigarettes and I would take the chocolates.
After Nixon was elected and sent my family packing back to Texas, Gary came
to see us in San Marcos. He showed up with a monkey on his shoulder and the word
“LOVE” embroidered on the fly of his jeans. I was totally smitten. He borrowed
my dad’s saddle to ride horseback through Mexico, and came back without it.
Later we were informed he had died in a tragic skydiving incident. I miss him to
this day, and have tried to track down family or friends but can’t find any
connection. “Yesterday” still brings a flood of tears.
Read more at FSG's Bookkeeping Blog and comment to win your own copy of MONDAY,
MONDAY.
Comments
14 comments posted.
Re: Elizabeth Crook| Songs of 1966 That Make Me Wish I Could Sing
Your book sounds like a very interesting book to have. Your memories of the sixties are similar to mine, only I was a teenager listening to those same kind of songs, that bring back good and sad memories especially the loss of a friend in Vietnam. Some songs are such a sad reminder and bring tears but the good memories we all can find solace in.
(C Culp 6:48am June 16, 2014)
I was slightly older than you were in the 60's, but have 2
older Sisters, so had a lot of exposure to the music. My
Husband is also a few years older than I am, and he loves
the music from that era. To relive that era, is to step
back in time, both good and bad, and to reshape a Country
that needed a bit of fine-tuning at the time. The music was
a hodge-podge of Soul, Rock, and British Invasion. Even the
people were different. There were those that wanted free
love, those that went to war, and those that were in power,
that wanted to put a stop to it all. I would love to read
your book, and relive those days again, and pass your book
on to not only my Husband, but a few other people who I know
would enjoy reliving the past - tears and all!!
(Peggy Roberson 9:55am June 16, 2014)
I was 11 in 1966 and a lot of our memories are the same. I love that you
can still hear these songs on satellite radio or on the music channels
through cable TV. Every time there is an anniversary date of all the
tragedies from then, I can still hear some of the songs. I had two older
brothers, so I listened to the music. Your book is one I would love to read.
(Susan Falkler 10:48am June 16, 2014)
Your thought provoking post was fascinating since I was a teen
during the sixties and enjoyed the music which is my favorite.
What an interesting book which I would enjoy. This was very
nostalgic.
(Sharon Berger 10:50am June 16, 2014)
since i was reading alot in 96 and raised the kids but the book sound good and theni love to read all and any kind of book i can get my hand on
(Desiree Reilly 1:59pm June 16, 2014)
Your post was really thought provoking. I was actually born in 1966, barely,
on December 30. But I still feel like the whole year belongs to me because
I always use it in my DOB. It is interesting to learn what was going on then.
Like when I was small and I would ask my mom to tell me stories from
when I was young.
(Shelley Maier 2:54pm June 16, 2014)
I already read Monday, Monday, and felt like it was going to be a book with "good vibrations" but instead it was a largely sorrowful story....check my review on Goodreads. I would love to win this as a gift for a close friend of mine who went through the 60's with me.
(Susan Coster 5:09pm June 16, 2014)
The book sounds great. I was not born in the 60s but that was my parent's music so I really love it.
(Pam Howell 8:35am June 17, 2014)
I was just starting my teens in '66... I would love to go back to that time.
(Becky Ledkins 11:37am June 17, 2014)
I loved that song!
(Denise Austin 6:26pm June 17, 2014)
The 60s was a great decade. Love the music from that era.
(Bonnie H 9:39pm June 17, 2014)
Wow, Congrats on your new book: MONDAY, MONDAY. I like the
book cover too! Yes, I was age 10 in 1966 and there was a
bunch of fantastic music during that time. I have lived in
Austin, TX since 1985 where the Deadly Tower at UT is
located. Many changes have come to Austin, TX since I first
moved here. I would truly love to win and read your
fantastic book in 2014. Thank You very much. Cecilia CECE
(Cecilia Dunbar Hernandez 11:11pm June 17, 2014)
What an adventure. Hope the book is a good a read as the blog!
(Laura Gullickson 11:59pm June 17, 2014)
I was a teen in the 60's and enjoyed all the music during that time. That was some of the best music and still enjoy it to this day. This book sounds very good, and I love the title. Now, I've got the song going on in my head!
(Linda Luinstra 6:44pm June 18, 2014)
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