TexasEscapes.com HOME Welcome to Texas Escapes
A magazine written by Texas
Custom Search
New   |   Texas Towns   |   Ghost Towns   |   Counties   |   Trips   |   Features   |   Columns   |   Architecture   |   Images   |   Archives   |   Site Map

Columns





Books

1966:
The Year the Decade Exploded

by Jon Savage

(London: Faber & Faber, 2015)
Illustrated
672 pages
ISBN: 978-0-571-27763-6
Paperback
$17.95

Reviewed by Dr. Kirk Bane

January 1, 2021


In this superb pop culture history, Jon Savage, discussing the harrowing Charles Whitman/UT Tower massacre of August 1, 1966, observes that "Whitman's rampage in Texas was a shattering event, the sort of crime that, once it has happened, spins the world on its axis. It was graphically stark: the puffs of white smoke emanating from the neoclassical tower, white against a blue summer's sky; the lightly dressed students, workers and teachers clustering for cover behind the extravagant chrome tail fins; the photographs of the dead and wounded laid out like tombstone grids."

The former Marine's brutal and unprecedented attack is just one incident in an important, unforgettable year. Certainly, 1966 was a period characterized by violence: Whitman, race riots, escalation in Vietnam, and the horror of Richard Speck. However, 1966 also gave rise to brilliant and groundbreaking music, including such iconic LPs as Dylan's BLONDE ON BLONDE, the Beach Boys' PET SOUNDS, the Beatles' REVOLVER, and the Rolling Stones' AFTERMATH.

Savage constructs his terrific volume around twelve landmark singles, examining the social and political context in which these songs were written, recorded, and released. "The premise throughout," he asserts, "is that music did reflect the world during 1966; that it was connected to events outside the pop culture bubble and was understood to do so by many of its listeners; that there was something more than image and sales at stake." Savage continues, "So much is packed into the 45s from this period: ideas, attitudes, lyrics and musical experimentation…Condensed within the two-to three-minute format, the possibilities of 1966 are expressed with an extraordinary electricity and intensity. They still sound explosive today, fifty years later." The author focuses on such significant singles as the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror," the Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown," Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler's "The Ballad of the Green Berets," Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1000 Dances," the Tornados' "Do You Come Here Often?," Love's "7 And 7 Is," the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," and the New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral."

Numerous players populate Savage's pages, including Timothy Leary, Donovan, Joe Meek, Diana Ross, the Byrds, Andy Warhol, Nancy Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Jacqueline Susann, the Monkees, Brian Epstein, Otis Redding, Gloria Steinem, the Who, MLK, Buffalo Springfield, Tom Jones, Marlo Thomas, Joe Orton, Andrew Loog Oldham, Dusty Springfield, Ike and Tina Turner, Grace Slick, Simon & Garfunkel, Twiggy, Berry Gordy, Truman Capote, Charles Radcliffe, the Kinks, Sonny Bono, Martha and the Vandellas, Stokely Carmichael, Edie Sedgwick, the Austin-based psychedelic rockers the 13th Floor Elevators, and El Paso-born "taboo-busting novelist" John Rechy. And, of course, LBJ, "a Texan who combined crudity with a sharp intelligence, slippery pragmatism with passionate beliefs," makes an appearance.

Savage presents a strong, thought-provoking argument: 1966 was the peak of the Sixties, "the year when the decade exploded." Pop culture enthusiasts will relish his impressive study.

Review by Dr. Kirk Bane,
Central Texas Historical Association


More
Book Reviews by Dr. Kirk Bane

Texas Books

Columns

 


Texas Escapes Online Magazine »   Archive Issues » Home »
TEXAS TOWNS & COUNTIES TEXAS LANDMARKS & IMAGES TEXAS HISTORY & CULTURE TEXAS OUTDOORS MORE
Texas Counties
Texas Towns A-Z
Texas Ghost Towns

TEXAS REGIONS:
Central Texas North
Central Texas South
Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Panhandle
Texas Hill Country
East Texas
South Texas
West Texas

Courthouses
Jails
Churches
Schoolhouses
Bridges
Theaters
Depots
Rooms with a Past
Monuments
Statues

Gas Stations
Post Offices
Museums
Water Towers
Grain Elevators
Cotton Gins
Lodges
Stores
Banks

Vintage Photos
Historic Trees
Cemeteries
Old Neon
Ghost Signs
Signs
Murals
Gargoyles
Pitted Dates
Cornerstones
Then & Now

Columns: History/Opinion
Texas History
Small Town Sagas
Black History
WWII
Texas Centennial
Ghosts
People
Animals
Food
Music
Art

Books
Cotton
Texas Railroads

Texas Trips
Texas Drives
Texas State Parks
Texas Rivers
Texas Lakes
Texas Forts
Texas Trails
Texas Maps
USA
MEXICO
HOTELS

Site Map
About Us
Privacy Statement
Disclaimer
Contributors
Staff
Contact Us

 
Website Content Copyright Texas Escapes LLC. All Rights Reserved