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"THE BOOMERHEADS"
Bob & Barb Boomerhead are 21st Century baby boomers trying to get up-to-speed. Read More... "Bob Gets An I-Pod" Part 1  Click on picture panels for more comics ******************************* INTERVIEW with TOMMY JAMES One of the giant groups of the 60s/early 70s, Tommy James & the Shondells had an impressive string of hits from 1966 to 1971. The group stayed on top going through several style changes -- garage-band (Hanky Panky), bubble-gum (It’s Only Love), commercial pop (I Think We’re Alone Now), party rock (Mony, Mony), and then incarnated into a band that produced some lasting pieces of psychedelia (Crimson and Clover). At the heart of the group has always been Tommy James himself. Boomerhead.com had the opportunity to speak with him. Read More... THE GRASS ROOTS Sad to report lead singer, Rob Grill, passed away at age 67 on July 11, 2011
A baby boomer favorite, The Grass Roots had over 20 hits from 1966 to 1972, being on the Billboard charts for a record-breaking 307 consecutive weeks (1967-1972). Quite a nice run for a group with such an unusual genesis—the band name was registered even before the actual band was formed! Read More... DANCING WITH THE STARSTHE 39 BABY BOOMERS OF DANCING WITH THE STARS
In the current season 14, two of the three baby boomers --Martina Navratilova & Jack Wagner-- have already been eliminated . Melissa Gilbert remains. Meanwhile see how the former 39 daring Baby Boomers contestants are ranked. Read More... ************************ TRANSFORMING YOUR TREASURES Need to downsize, but you just hate to throw away that sentimental knick-knack or piece of furniture? Sometimes it just has to go! However, some baby boomers are re-inventing their "treasures." Read More...
CREATIVE RE-IMAGINING Cleaning out your garage, attic, or closet? Find an interesting piece of junk while out on a stroll? Unleash your imagination! Read More... ***************************** THEY COME IN 3's!!!!!!THREE HARD ROCK FRONTMEN
With the death this year of Warrant lead singer Jani Lane ("Cherry Pie") we are reminded of 3 of the best! RONNIE DIO
Did you know that Ronnie Dio, the voice of Heavy Metal, began in the 1950s sounding like a teen idol wannabe? The diminutive Italian with the golden voice who first sang of young love, evolved into a major hard rock player with a howl that could shatter ear-drums while weaving fantasies of dungeons and dragons. One of the most powerful voices in any musical genre is the amazing Ronnie James Dio. Read More... DICKIE PETERSON
"BLUE CHEER" One of the first “acid rockers.” Dickie Peterson (front) was the lead singer and bass player in the San Francisco-based group known in the late 60s as The Loudest Group on the Planet. He named his psychedelic blues band after a potent strain of LSD—Blue Cheer. The group recorded six albums from 1968 to 1972 and one unforgettable single “Summertime Blues” —blazing the early trail of the metal scene. Read More... KEVIN DUBROW"QUIET RIOT" The explosive voice of Quiet Riot’s Kevin DuBrow ushered in the Heavy Metal movement of the 1980s. The group’s massive 1983 album Metal Health, containing the anthem Cum on Feel the Noize, made them the first heavy metal band to hit #1 on the Billboard album charts, eventually selling over 4 million copies. DuBrow embodied the menacing attitude of the genre with his gravelly, decibel-splitting voice and slithering bad-boy persona. Read More... *************************** THREE 'Remember the'60s' ACTORS MICHAEL BLODGETT One of the "beautiful people" of the '60s, cult movie actor and author/ screenwriter Michael Blodgett is best known as playboy Lance Rocke in the nutso Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. But his cult creds go beyond that. He made appearances in The Trip, The Velvet Vampire, and Swingin' Summer. But those in 60s So Cal remember him best in the teen beach dance show, Groovy. Read More... STEPHEN OLIVER Known for playing rugged hotheads in B-movies and TV, Stephen Oliver had his most acclaimed role early in his career in the enormously popular TV series Peyton Place. Unfortunately, he was unable to parlay this success onto the A-list like fellow co-stars Mia Farrow, Ryan O’Neal, or Barbara Parkins. But even though he languished in B-movies, his portrayals always brought the quality of the film up a notch. Read More... DEL MONROEAfter multiple episodes of being clobbered, crushed, thrown, burned, frozen, zapped, attacked by sea monsters, and possessed by aliens as Seaman Kowalski in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Del Monroe finally succumbed in 2009 to leukemia. He was one of only 2 actors to have a featured part in both the series and 1961 film--a major feat after accidentally falling into the lagoon on one of his first days at work. Read More... *********************** THREE "ONE-HIT WONDER" NOVELTY ACTS OF THE 60S MRS. MILLER sang rock tunes in the operatic warbling style of your Aunt Mildred at a music recital. It was 1966 when the 59-year-old (Is that all?!) choir lady/housewife released 2 of her off-kilter pop albums. Her cringe-worthy songs became one of the first successfully marketed “so-bad–it’s-good” commodities. Read More... NAPOLEON XIV , aka songwriter/sound engineer/singer Jerry Samuels, made one of the wildest and weirdest novelty records of all times—“They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” The song skyrocketed up to #3 on the charts in the summer of 1966. But when a number of radio stations stopped playing it after protests from various groups, it promptly zoomed back down. Read More... BOBBY "BORIS" PICKETT was responsible for the perennial Halloween song that will never die, MONSTER MASH! Until his death in 2007, “The Guy Lombardo of Halloween” would dig himself up every October 31 and perform “a medley of his hit” for the goblins and ghosts at revival concerts around the country. Read More.. ************************************* STEPPENWOLF Even though some baby boomers consider Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” the property of their generation, (after all it played a big part in the soundtrack of the landmark baby-boomer flick “Easy Rider”), the song has been embraced by people of all ages from many walks of life. Quite a turnaround from when the song first came out in 1968 and parents were threatened by its aggressiveness. The song speaks to the rebel in all of us. Read More...
THE SWINGIN' MEDALLIONS
It sounds like you’re in the middle of a frat party. With a cheap organ and a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’, this South Carolina band is responsible for one of the biggest party records of all time. And believe it or not, the one-hit-wonder group still swings on stage today. Grab a beer, it’s the story of the Swingin’ Medallions and their 1966 smash hit “Double Shot (of My Baby’s Love).” Read More...
GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP He is blessed with a rich and distinctive voice that can soar over lush orchestrations. He fronted a band decked out in Civil War regalia that produced 6 songs dripping in melodrama. In 1968, the group actually sold more records than the Beatles! Just a year earlier, they had been headlining at a San Diego bowling alley lounge. It’s the tale of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap! Read More... MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS
They scorched up the charts circa 1965-1967. Their brand of rock-pop craziness could yank you out of your seat and throw you into a frenzy. They specialized in revved-up re-tellings of old rocker songs. Their signature song and biggest hit was the wild and crazy “Devil With A Blue Dress On”. The song is a classic. Read More... THE BUCKINGHAMS
The Buckinghams soared to Number 1 in February of 1967 with their classic hit, “Kind of a Drag”. The five teenagers from Chicago were originally named “The Pulsations”. But in the midst of the British invasion, they were told that their band name needed to sound more English. So they adopted the name of “The Buckinghams”. Read More... ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS he Animals had their beginnings as the blues-based Alan Price Combo. But things started to change when deep-voiced Eric Burdon joined in 1962 as lead singer. The band’s name was switched to The Animals. Eric became a dynamic front man as he would howl and growl his way through the group’s repertoire. "House of the Rising Sun" remains one of the true classic rock and blues songs of the era. Read More... THE STANDELLS The Standells snarled their way up the charts in 1966 with the enduring smash hit “Dirty Water.” The swaggering bravado of lead singer and former-Mouseketeer (!) Dickie Dodd’s vocals, along with the bluesy and raunchy arrangement make this a favorite among current garage and punk bands and baby boomers twice their age. Read More... THE SPINNERS This group has successfully changed their lead singer 4 times and gone on to obtain Top 40 hits with each one of them. They were the leading group of the “Philly Sound,” with seamless harmonies being their most prominent trademark. Languishing under the super-groups (The Four Tops, Temptations, & Miracles) for years at Motown, they finally broke through in the 1970s establishing themselves as the leading R&B group of that decade. Read More... TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA The TV Western was at its peak in the 1950s and 60s. Westerns became ingrained in our psyche. So for me, a recent visit to TOMBSTONE, Arizona was not only a link back to the Old West, but also a link back to the old Western. As I watched the re-enacted gunfights and walked down the dusty streets of Tombstone, I wasn’t sure if I was being transported back to 1880 or to the set of “Gunsmoke.” Read More... ************************************ 2010 BOOMER HEADSTONES The Passing of Baby Boomers & Their Favorites Here is the top 10 list of baby boomers we lost compiled by boomerhead.com. Plus some favorites of baby boomers who will be missed. Read More... ****************************** BILLY THE KID LOCATIONS
FORT SUMNER, NEW MEXICO A visit to Fort Sumner is vital in any Billy the Kid odyssey. This rural town is where Sheriff Pat Garrett killed Billy in 1881. There are 2 museums plus Billy the Kid's actual gravesite. Read More...
THE “GHOST TOWN” OF LINCOLN,
NEW MEXICO
It was the site of Billy the Kid’s most infamous escape and the turbulent Lincoln County War. It now stands bizarrely frozen in time, enabling you to literally touch the history of the Wild West. Read More... ***********
CHARLES M. SCHULZ MUSEUM (Santa Rosa, CA) Snoopy’s most famous road trips will be revisited in Hit the Road, Snoopy!, the newest exhibition at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California from November 30, 2011 to April 2, 2012. Fifty six original Peanuts strips capture that determined beagle and his numerous travels—including striking out for a visit with Spike in Needles, California; walking south with Woodstock during the migration season; and his ill-fated travels to the Grenoble Olympics in France.
To 2007 Boomerhead Museum Visit
To Schulz Museum website © United Feature Syndicate, Inc. ... courtesy Schulz Museum MR.ED
What do George Burns, Francis the Talking Mule, and Studebaker have in common? They were all instrumental in bringing the first of the fantasy sitcoms of the ‘60s onto our TV screens. Before Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and My Favorite Martian, Mr. Ed had us suspending our belief, by making us accept a talking horse as a reality. Read More...
LOST IN SPACE
What started as a space-age family adventure series quickly evolved (some say devolved) into one of TV's campiest of classics. Mid-way into the first season, the show shifted focus. The initial realistic gismos and probable plots gave way to outlandish aliens and comic situations. The show was hijacked by the clever stowaway (Dr. Zachary Smith) who had been written into the revised pilot. Read More...
LEAVE IT TO BEAVER Besides “I Love Lucy” there are very few black and white sitcoms from the ‘50s that have been actively seen on TV continuously since then. This chestnut is one of them. “Leave it to Beaver” has quietly gone into iconic stature leaving fellow family sitcoms (Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, Ozzie & Harriet, & Donna Reed) in the dust. Why is that? It’s got to be more than its catchy title. Read More... PETTICOAT JUNCTION Sitcoms ruled in the 1960s. Come
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