Bear in mind that, when he was first popular, in the early '60s, a lot of relatively-young people weren’t necessarily hugely into rock music; “traditional pop” (what Jones sang) was still a very popular style on the music charts, even among younger people. All of that rapidly changed as the 1960s went on, with the Beatles and the British Invasion, Motown, etc.
I mentioned upthread that my parents went to see Jones on one of their first dates, in 1961 or 1962. My dad was born in 1933, my mother in 1940, so when they saw Jones, dad was 28 or 29, and mom was 21 or 22. Neither of them were ever big fans of rock music, even when they were in their 20s – they were both big music fans (my mother, in particular), but their tastes were towards traditional pop (which is what both of them grew up listening to), and folk music; my mother was also a big fan of Nina Simone when she was that age.
Exactly! More often than not, your future musical taste is at least somewhat dictated by the music you enjoyed when you were a teenager, before you had adult responsibilities on your mind and music slipped down a notch or two from your list of things to pay close attention to. I knew a fellow who graduated high school in 1954. He had absolutely no interest in rock & roll music. None. He didn’t relate to it at all. However, one day he was visiting and he absolutely flipped when I put on “Come On-A My House” by Rosemary Clooney (a 78rpm disc and a major hit from 1951), and a few others of similar vintage. Those are the people who, while still young (late 20s or 30s) who enjoyed singers like Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, Sinatra, Frankie Laine, the Tijuana Brass, the Kingston Trio and the like. Jack Jones was never in that league, 2nd tier as someone observed, but he had a good run.
That line-up is a big part of the record collection that my parents had; much like the guy you knew, my dad graduated from high school in 1954, and my mother in 1958.
Agreed. “Roses and Lollipops” is certainly infantalizing to a grown-ass wife (one day she’ll smile, next day she’ll cry, minute by minute, you’ll never know why).
“Wives and Lovers” is much worse, blaming a husband’s infidelity on his wife’s not having makeup on 24/7.
But I can’t deny liking the music. I’m gonna listen to it now.
My mother adored Al Martino. She must have played ‘Spanish Eyes’ on the Mediterranean style hi-fi in the early 60’s a thousand times.
She had a friend who went to see Frank Sinatra, Jr. a few times, her friend thought he was just the greatest. So the B-list singers had a pretty good fan base.
Me, I was all for the Beatles, etc. in mid-60’s. But I also ecretly loved the big band sounds and even the 30’s depression era ditties. Today I listen to a wide variety of music, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Michael Buble and Harry Connic Jr. as well as Duran Duran and Led Zeppelin.
That was one of the earliest hits for Burt Bacharach and Hal David. David wrote all the lyrics for the pair. Bacharach’s music was as beautiful as anything he wrote; and David’s lyrics were as stupid as anything he wrote. I wonder how that pair kept pairing.
Indeed. We have an occasional table/cabinet, which we inherited from my wife’s grandparents 35 years ago, which is pretty much exactly like #4 in that picture.
We still have it, but it’s in storage in the basement. Too ugly to actually use.
Well, this was a slight aberration from the OP, but I see a correlation in kitsch value between this style of furniture and the kind of music we’re talking about.
Wow, what a blast from the past. The ‘hi-fi’ was made this style, a rectangular box on legs, containing a record player and I think a radio. Speakers were built in on the sides. You could play your vinyl crooner albums while sipping a highball… That’s it, a very popular decor. Thank you for the photo.
Hehehe, my dad built one himself in the 70s to house his Dual/Pioneer/Akai system. I inherited some Kingston Trio records from him (and a original pressing of Time Out!). It honestly sounded great. It eventually got destroyed in a house fire. I’ve still got the components (pilfered them long before the fire), but the drivers were built in, and I never knew what they were.
It was a complete bitch to move it, though. Giant ass piece of furniture.
