Part of my morning routine, as I prepare for work each day,
is catching up with news headlines on National Public Radio (NPR). On April 10th, the weekly American
Anthem series covered: Beyond the Summer of Love, ‘Get Together’ is an Anthem
for Every Season.
YouTube makes it so easy to access video renditions. I, therefore, included two that struck
me. Of course, it includes the most
recognized version which was sung by the Young Bloods and released in 1967.
The NPR link is provided here and their anthem coverage is summarized below:
https://www.npr.org/series/622671774/american-anthem
NPR’s article mentions that the Kingston Trio was the first
to record Get Together in 1964. My parents played Kingston Trio records quite a bit. So, I
may have heard the song before the Young Bloods’ iconic release. NPR also mentions that Jefferson Airplane,
The Carpenters and Lizz Wright also recorded Get Together. NPR also states that one of the reasons why
this song become so popular is because it was used in a public service announcement
for the National Conference for the Catholics and Jews in 1969.
The NPR broadcast includes an interview with one of the Young
Bloods’ band members, Jessie Colin Young.
He first heard Get Together in Greenwich Village, New York City, when Buzzie Linhart was singing it during open mike
in Café A Go Go. Young said, “The song
just stopped me in my tracks.” The Vietnam war was in its depth and he thought
that this song emitted hope. Young also shared in his interview that he was
struck by the two lines, “Love is but a song we sing and fear is the way we
die.” To him, those two lines sum up the
human condition. Young also mentions how
he thinks that it is rather uncanny that New York provided one of the songs
that has strong ties with San Francisco’s Summer of Love.
I have also included Lizz Wright’s recent release of GetTogether, which is included on her album titled, Dream Wide Awake. Lizz Wright is also interviewed as part of NPR’s
broadcast. She thinks the song should be
considered a hymn. “In our uncertainty,
we’re still choosing learning how to live by love or fear.”
After spending some time reflecting on how Get Together influenced me, I decided to pull down my 5th grade school portrait –
school year 1967-68 -- and did a little bit more research on history.com.
Grandpa had made frames for all four 8 x 10” school portraits that Mom and Dad gave to them Christmas 1967. My maternal grandparents hung my 5th grade school
portrait in their main floor guest room, along with my three siblings (my youngest sister arrived in 1969). That guest room is the room that I shared with my sisters, whenever we visited Grandma Martha and Grandpa Joe. Grandpa gave the framed portrait to me, when he and Grandma were preparing to move into assisted living. I have always enjoyed how poised I am in the
portrait and that I appear to be “ready for the world.”
My family lived on an 80-acre potato farm outside of a very small, yet vibrant, town. We had a town doctor, who made house calls, a large grocery store, a Drug Store with an ice cream counter, and a Variety Store downtown. It was a fun place to wander, whenever we went into town.
I continue to be proud of the education that I received at Jeanette Evans Elementary. Some of my top memories: a real hip Art Teacher in 4th grade, health class included graphic documentary films that showed the terrible impacts of shooting up heroine (which still sends shivers up my spine), Sex Education in 5th grade was highly controversial but still covered as part of health class, our Social Studies teachers in grades 4, 5, and 6 dedicated every Friday to current events. In fact, Junior High and High School continued that practice, which then included debating groundbreaking topics that arose as a result of state, national, and world-wide events.
My family lived on an 80-acre potato farm outside of a very small, yet vibrant, town. We had a town doctor, who made house calls, a large grocery store, a Drug Store with an ice cream counter, and a Variety Store downtown. It was a fun place to wander, whenever we went into town.
I continue to be proud of the education that I received at Jeanette Evans Elementary. Some of my top memories: a real hip Art Teacher in 4th grade, health class included graphic documentary films that showed the terrible impacts of shooting up heroine (which still sends shivers up my spine), Sex Education in 5th grade was highly controversial but still covered as part of health class, our Social Studies teachers in grades 4, 5, and 6 dedicated every Friday to current events. In fact, Junior High and High School continued that practice, which then included debating groundbreaking topics that arose as a result of state, national, and world-wide events.
I look at that young girl in the picture and am amazed with
all that shaped my life. I will never forget when President John
F. Kennedy was assassinated when I was a Kindergartner. Our school and entire town was shut down the
day of his funeral. I remember watching
his funeral procession with my family on our black and white TV. I don’t remember Dad struggling with the antennae
on the roof that day, which was a common part of preparing for big television
events. I do remember that we treated
the day with sacred respect – like a traditional Catholic Sunday, a day dedicated to prayer and family.
What a fascinating era for an adolescent! Here is a quick summary of a few events that influenced the
5th grader that is pictured to your right.
History.com begins its article with:
The year 1968
remains one of the most tumultuous single years in history, marked by historic
achievements, shocking assassinations, a much-hated war and a spirit of
rebellion that swept through countries all over the world. Occurring at the
dawn of the television age, the historic events of 1968 also played out on TV
screens across the country, bringing them home in a way that had never been
possible before.
1968 Highlights on history.com:
- PRAGUE SPRING
- NORTH KOREA
- TET OFFENSIVE
- LBJ BEDEVILED BY VIETNAM
- MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ASSASSINATED
- STUDENTS PROTEST ALL OVER THE WORLD
- ROBERT F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATED
- CHICAGO DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
- OLYMPIC PROTESTS (photo included to the right)
- NIXON WINS THE WHITE HOUSE
- APOLLO 8 ORBITS THE MOON
Citation Information
Article Title: 1968 Events
Author: History.com Editors
Website Name: HISTORY
URL: https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/1968-events
Access Date: April 20, 2019
Publisher: A&E Television Networks
Last Updated: August 21, 2018
Original Published Date: January 5, 2018