Of Glory, Of Praise

              Tastes in Music Run the Gamut
1^ 7hile music majors focused their I /\ / studies on classical music, opera, instrumental instruction, theory and techniques, they, along with most of America's young were absorbed by rock 'n' roll, the continuing dominant popular music genre of the '60s. Rock, as it came to be known toward the end of the decade, was itself dominated�by the Beatles. In spite of the fact that the most successful recording in 1964 was the simple folk-like tune "Dominique" sung in French by Belgian nun Sr. Sourire, the arrival of the Beatles in New York that same year solidified the preeminence of rock in American music.
The impact of John, Paul, George and Rmgo was virtually cataclysmic. "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You�Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" and "Can't Buy Me Love" are but a few of their early recordings creating such a stir. The output of the Beatles over the decade was both massive and popular.
Of course the Elvis phenomenon did not wane and there were many who tried to mimic his success. But most budding young "rockers" preferred the singing, instrumental group style. Many tried, but only a few had the staying power to compete with the mega-stars from England. The Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark 5 and the Beach Boys clearly had the inside track, but there were also groups that "made it" for a time, including Herman's Hermits and The Monkees. All, in one way or another, seemed to have mastered accurately and effectively American rhythm and blues which were foundational to rock.
Other music styles won support. In folk music, Peter, Paul and Mary topped the charts with a number of hits including "Puff, the Magic Dragon," with its not so subtle implications. The New Christy Minstrels, the Serendipity Singers and the
single performer Woodie Guthrie were all popular choices during the decade. Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" captured the romantic and musical imaginations of young America, but it was Joan Baez and Buffie Sainte-Marie who used their music to mount support for an anti-war protest theme, pricking the social and political conscience of the nation.
Somewhere between rock and pop were The Mamas and The Papas featuring the powerfully rich voice of Mama Cass Elliot who was able to combine the old with the new with virtual perfection. This was especially evident in the group's rendition of "Dream a Little Dream of Me." Pop music was categorized as "easy listening music" and kept alive by vocalists such as Dean Martin, Al Martino, Barbra Streisand, Steve Lawrence, Edyie Gorme, Tony Bennett and Dionne Warwick. Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime," Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and Warwick's rendition of prolific songwriter Burt Bacharach's many songs were standard fare during the decade and beyond.
Broadway successes replicated in film helped re-establish widespread popularity for melodies from My Fair Lady and Camelot among others. But it was rock, always rock, which remained the overriding influence of the period. In fact, rock, by the end of this transition decade, was no longer regarded merely as noise or a youthful aberration, a view strongly held at the start of the '60s. It had become, in spite of the continuing opposition of its detractors, an art form worthy of serious discussion. The Beatles, once again, were in the forefront of those who generated rock's new depth and significance with their album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Letting loose in an era of rock V roll
Rock music was, by 1969, the undisputed king. It had absorbed nearly every element of non-classical music and was so all-pervasive with its beat and its message, it could no longer be dismissed as a fad. Loud, with its drumbeat and electric guitars, the music of the '60s was a far cry from the "lively" music enjoyed by the Pioneer Class at its sophomore soiree. Saxophoneless because that instrument was "too noisy and might disturb the neighbors," the orchestra nonetheless was quietly appreciated by the dancers in St. Edmund Hall.
By the 1960s, however, noise was part of the accepted music scene. Rock's widespread appeal and impact could not be reversed and was demonstrated at the famous gathering at Woodstock in Bethel, New York, just about an hour's drive south of the Saint Rose campus. In August 1969, more than three hundred thousand people jammed into three hundred acres of farmland. Woodstock was a music festival, but it also came to symbolize the protest atmosphere of the late '60s. Music and politics had become partners and the young women at Saint Rose were as much affected by that coupling as were young Americans everywhere, including those fighting on the battlefields of Vietnam.