Welcome to Boomtown America
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Welcome to Boomtown America. The only place on the web designed by and for Baby Boomers and ALL our passions and interests.
Our music mix is unique. It was created by radio professionals who went beyond a 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s “oldies” mentality. We have created nothing less than a mix of ROCK & ROLL’S GREATEST HITS – everything from the dawn of rock right up through today!
Our Challenge to You: Listen when you’re working or relaxing. Take a couple of days to experience the incredible depth and variety of music we offer. If you like what you hear (and we know that you will), PLAY IT FORWARD!
Invite 2 of your friends or family members to give it a listen in the same way. Spread the word. The Baby Boomers have a home on the Internet – Boomtown America!
1971: New York radio station WNBC bans the Brewer & Shipley song “One Toke Over the Line” because they are shocked – shocked I tell you – to discover that the song may refer to drug use!
The ban doesn’t hurt sales as the song eventually reached the Billboard Top 10.
Lou Reed is a giant in rock & roll history. As one of the key members of the Velvet Underground in the late 1960s, commercial success may have eluded him; but the Velvets were a huge influence on both the punk and new wave movements of the 1970s.
Yet, the failure of the band to find a mass audience led Reed to temporarily abandon rock music to work as an accountant at his dad’s business. Fortunately, that didn’t last long and Lu soon strapped on his guitar again and embarked on a solo career. With his second solo LP, "Transformer," in 1973, Lou found the commercial success the Velvets missed with one of the most unlikely pop hits of that era – “Walk on the Wild Side” produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson. As the song deals with transsexualism, drugs and male prostitution, to say nothing of Reed calling out “And the colored girls go…,” that the song found acceptance on Top 40 radio – let along climbing into the Top 20 (and the Top 10 in the UK) – is remarkable.
Predictably, Reed was never able to repeat that Top 40 success, but continued to release albums through 2007. He is a double member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (both as a member of the Velvet Underground and as a solo performer), which makes him somewhat unique among “One-Hit Wonders.”
Reed passed away in 2013, leaving an estate valued at the time at over $10 million dollars. Imagine if he ever had had a second hit record!
What could be funnier than men having to discuss bras and panties, right? Ah, the much more innocent 1950’s came to an end at movie theaters with this extremely popular WWII-themed sex comedy.
Operation Petticoat was made at Universal Pictures in 1959, apparently because Navy veteran Tony Curtis really wanted to co-star in a submarine movie with his idol, Cary Grant.
In one of those ironic little twists, Curtis’ other big picture for 1959 was Some Like It Hot, which also involved women’s underwear (this time, him wearing it) and Curtis performing a hilarious impression of Cary Grant as part of that film’s plot.
The film was directed by Blake Edwards, who would go on to much greater fame with the Pink Panther series and so many more movies. Paul King, Joseph Stone, Stanley Shapiro, and Maurice Richlin wrote the script, incorporating many actual incidents from World War II (including the accidental torpedoing of a bus and women military members needing to be evacuated by submarine). Looking at this lightweight bit of fluff today it’s hard to see how their screenplay was nominated for an Oscar, but it was.
Some things to check before you downsize to the retirement condo you think might be perfect:
Now it can be told! A dep dark secret from the 60s. Clark better hope the age of consent in California is 16!
Gluten-Free is all the rage now, but doctors warn it might not be s healthy as you thought.
If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease or other symptoms of gluten sensitivity, then go the gluten-free route. But if you don’t, going gluten-free can actually raise the risk of heart disease.
As always, consult your doctor before you decide to drop glutens from your diet.
What was Fats Domino's real first name?
