Post #553050 by JOHN-O on Thu, Sep 9, 2010 12:07 PM

Actually though, I consider 1963 as the more pivotal year.

This might have been America's last "good" year, especially for adult cocktail culture reigning supreme. (If you were Black and living in the South however, 1963 sucked.)

Here's what I consider the major milestone:

1. Assassination of JFK - Nov 22nd. America loses its innocence with the end of "Camelot". As Bigbro has pointed out, the "1950's" really ended in the early 1960's. I consider this the pivotal date and year.

And on a lesser pop cultural note..

2. Beatles release their first album - March 22. "Please Please Me". It charts at #1 in the UK. The Beatles visit the US the following year ushering in the start of the youth counter-culture. Some might argue that 1964 is more significant for Beatlemania in the U.S., but the seeds were planted in 1963.

And on a much lesser Poly-Pop note...

3. The peak of Surf music - March 22-23. The "Surf Battle of the Bands" at the Deauville Castle Club in Santa Monica. (Source: "Pop Surf Culture", Santa Monica Press, 2008.) This is probably Surf music's last hurrah before the British Invasion changes the game.