The Baby Boom Years: 1963 View larger

The Baby Boom Years: 1963

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The definitive collection of 1960s American music, news, fashion, fads and kitsch that continues to influence the world.

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BORN

  • Johnny Depp
  • Michael Jordan
  • Quentin Tarantino
  • Charles Barkley

MUSIC

  • New sounds make the Top 10: folk, surf, Motown, girl groups and the Bossa Nova.
  • The Beatles become the most popular musicians in British History.
  • The Rolling Stones surface as the anti-Beatles, unkempt with a lustful blues-based style.

FASHION

  • Dress of the year: Grey wool ‘Rex Harrison’ pinafore dress & cream blouse

SPORTS

  • John Pennel is first to pole-vault 17 ft. using a fiberglass pole.
  • Phillies Tony Gonzalez plays his 200th straight errorless game.
  • Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson in the 1st round tobecome Heavyweight World Champion.

WORLD

  • Pope John XXIII dies, and is succeeded by Cardinal Montini, who becomes Paul VI.
  • British Secretary of War John Profumo resigns in the wake of an affair with teenage showgirl Christine Keeler.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS

  • The Coca-Cola company introduced its first diet soft drink this year. What was it called?
  • In France he is celebrated as “The King Of Craziness” and in America he is best known for his annual telethon. Who is the original “Nutty Professor”?
  • Which of these toys was first introduced in 1963?

a. Easy Bake Oven b. G.I. Joe c. Hot Wheels d. Nerf ball

  • The first disco in the USA is opened in Los Angeles on January 11th. It still stands. Can you name it?
  • Freelance artist Harvey Ball created what soon-to-be ubiquitous icon for the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, MA?
  • She was paid an unprecedented $1 million for starring in this most expensive movie made to date. Her star power couldn’t save this turkey, but her on-set love affair with her co-star became one of tinsel town’s legendary temperamental romances. Name the picture and its two stars whose tempestuous relationship was a fixture of the tabloids throughout the ‘60s.

R.I.P.

  • Robert Frost
  • Patsy Cline
  • Jean Cocteau
  • C.S. Lewis

Billboard Top 10 Pop Hits

  1. Sugar Shack—Jimmy Gilmer &
  2. The Fireballs
  3. Surf City—Jan & Dean
  4. He’s So Fine—The Chiffons
  5. It’s My Party—Leslie Gore
  6. If You Wanna Be Happy—Jimmy Soul
  7. Louie Louie—The Kingsmen
  8. Easier Said Than Done—The Essex
  9. Deep Purple—Nino Tempo &
  10. April Stevens
  11. My Boyfriend’s Back—The Angels
  12. Surfin’ U.S.A.—The Beach Boys