August 1963 Rocks as I Remember It

The summer of 1963 was the break between my freshman and sophomore year of high school and much of it remains etched in my memory.  The Vietnam issue was beginning to take focus.  Although our presence was only minimal as only advisers, the country started to make headlines.  At the time I did not know where or what Vietnam was.  The country was demonstrating anti-American sentiment and monk Buddhists were committing suicides by burning themselves in protest of Ngo Dinh Diem's government. We know the rest of the story as the years progressed.  All of this did not matter to me as I was more interested in my world of Circleville, Ohio.  We were a small town but it was the entire world to me and my friends.

I do recall the Kingsmen's song Louie Louie was released and was labeled obscene by many radio stations.  The song was not obscene and it leaped up on the charts to the top position because of those rumors. Kids our age just loved to give our parents fits as we made them think it was raunchy.  Even if it did contain the lyrics  suggested, it would be very tame compared to what the kids listens to today.

As far as televison goes, do you recall the TV show What's My Line on CBS? Hosted by John Charles Daly and with panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf, On August 8, the Kingston Trio were the mystery guests.  I recall my mother would not miss an episode of that show so since we only had one TV I was forced to watch that show.

Another great event of the month, looking at it in a teenager' prospective, was the release of Alan Sherman's #2 hit Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah.  Of course there were other great hits for  the month which consisted of  Fingertips by Stevie Wonder, My Boyfriend's Back by the Angels, Martha & the Vandellas' hit Heatwave and of course the Tyme's classic So Much in Love.

The most significant historical event was Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream Speech delivered in Washington DC on August 28, 1963 during the civil rights movement.  It has been labeled one of the best if not the best oratories of all time.

We remember August 1963 on Soundtrack of the 60s of the 60s Official Site as DJ Neal Stevens plays the hits from that month and delivers the key headlines of that period.  Join him to share some of the fun this month as he plays the same songs you listened to in August 1963.