Boomers . . . and How They Got That Way
Epistle 5 – The Beatles
Elvis was the musical pioneering spirit of the Boomers, but the Beatles defined the generation. There were lots of other icons, of course—the Stones, Smoky Robinson, the Dead, the Eagles, you name it—but the Beatles transcended them all. It wasn’t so much that their music was better—taste is in the eye of the beholder, or something like that.
It was their persona and the worldwide impact of Beatlemania. Take Ringo, for instance, who had the good grace to understand he was the luckiest person on earth and went along for the ride with a smile. Or take Yoko Ono, who didn’t.
Consider that the Beatles vaulted Britain back into world prominence after being overlooked since RAF WWII heroics. I’ll bet you children at home didn’t even know the land of Shakespeare, Henry VIII, Churchill and Eddie the Eagle ever faded from view, but it’s true.
Except for defecting spies and the odd political deviant, not much happened after the war. Then, after the dawn of the Beatles, unemployment was wiped out with singing jobs for everyone with a British accent. With quaint names like Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, Petula and Herman (not related), how could they fail? My wife even has Chad and Jeremy’s album. Talk about a treasure.
After the Fab Four and the British invasion, the Beatles were not content to hold the world in the palms of their hands through talent alone. No sir. Then they got weird. Real weird. It was cute and charming to tell a teenage Boomerette “I want to hold your hand”. Imagine the shock after she grew out of the flower of her youth and was told, “I am the walrus.” Koo koo kachoo to you too, pal.
Well, most of the music was still great and we still get to listen to it just about anywhere and anytime we want. Sadly, George and John are gone, forever young in our minds, but at least we get to see an aging Paul make a fool of himself, just like us mere mortals. Could he really marry a younger woman without a prenup? Sure, Paul, she just married you for the beauty of your soul. Right.
At least Ringo still collects his royalties with a smile. Some things should never change.
We Will Win
Filed under: Boomers . . . and How They Got That Way
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Interesting blog you’ve got here, Jim, but it’s missing an important part of the equation: Generation Jones (born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X). Your reference to Elvis, for example will resonate for Boomers, but certainly not Jonesers.
Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press’ annual Trend Report forecast the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. Here’s a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Here is an op-ed in USA TODAY which underlines the important new role of GenJones:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090127/column27_st.art.htm