Do you think Silent youth culture end in the mid 1960s when the early baby boomers come of age and the Beatles become popular among Baby boomers.

I don't think we have anyone born before '45 in this forum. I'd love to be proven wrong though. I wonder if people born in the early '40s were young enough to get into the Beatles, or were they married with kids back when that was a normal thing to be doing in your mid-20s?

I don't think we have anyone born before '45 in this forum. I'd love to be proven wrong though. I wonder if people born in the early '40s were young enough to get into the Beatles, or were they married with kids back when that was a normal thing to be doing in your mid-20s?


I personally think people born in like '42,'43, '44 or something are basically boomers tbh. 1940 maybe are still kinda silent and might have a little memory of the end of WWII and became adults in the '50s. As I said these years ranges thrown around really mean nothing to me. If you were born in like 1944 I personally consider you a baby boomer in reality, even though you're born slightly before the most common range, you're still a boomer for all intents and purposes. People born in say 1963 or 1964 are essentially Generation X too tbh, but maybe 1960 are still boomers just barely probably similar to 1940 maybe still being silent... Obviously everyone is different but that's how I see it.

... maybe 1960 are still boomers just barely ...


I'm a 1960 born.  I consider myself a Boomer, not Gen X.  We late Boomers are sometimes referred to as "Generation Jones".  Whenever I read the "Generation Jones" description, I usually relate completely.  :)

I think Silent youth culture ended in 1963, with the emergence of The Beatles and the growing popularity of surf-rock. The target audience of 1963 was completely different to the people who were listening to Elvis and other rock-'n-roll acts in the Mid-Late '50s.


I don't think we have anyone born before '45 in this forum. I'd love to be proven wrong though. I wonder if people born in the early '40s were young enough to get into the Beatles, or were they married with kids back when that was a normal thing to be doing in your mid-20s?


It's hard to say really. I think people born in the Early '40s could have gotten into The Beatles. All four of The Beatles themselves were born in the Early '40s, so it is possible. However, like you pointed out, societal norms at the time may have discouraged a lot of people that age from taking any real interest in the music. For instance, my Grandad was born in 1947, however he never liked the music of the Late '60s, which was when he was in his early-20s.

I'm a 1960 born.  I consider myself a Boomer, not Gen X.  We late Boomers are sometimes referred to as "Generation Jones".  Whenever I read the "Generation Jones" description, I usually relate completely.  :)


Yeah I do think you are a very late boomer moreso than being a very early Gen X. I have much more doubt about 1964 borns being called "boomers" than 1960 borns. I don't really believe in drawing "exact" years on generations but I'd say you have much more solid boomer arguments than people a bit younger than you. My parents are solid boomers born in 1949 and 1952. You're only 8 years younger than my 1952 born boomer dad, and closer to his age than a typical 1970 born Gen X. You have some real memories of the '60s probably (at least late '60s) and graduated high school in 1970s. You were over 30 already when the whole "grunge" thing took off too.

Yeah I do think you are a very late boomer moreso than being a very early Gen X. I have much more doubt about 1964 borns being called "boomers" than 1960 borns. I don't really believe in drawing "exact" years on generations but I'd say you have much more solid boomer arguments than people a bit younger than you. My parents are solid boomers born in 1949 and 1952. You're only 8 years younger than my 1952 born boomer dad, and closer to his age than a typical 1970 born Gen X. You have some real memories of the '60s probably (at least late '60s) and graduated high school in 1970s. You were over 30 already when the whole "grunge" thing took off too.
  I think one of the biggest differences between Gen Xer's and Boomer's is that the majority of Boomers were children ages 3 to 17 (1946 to 1960)  when John F Kennedy was shot while the oldest Gen Xers were either babies or not born yet when that happened. 1960s borns were also old to remember bands like the Beatles and the Monkees and cartoons like Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Rocky and Bullwinkle which were major hallmarks of Boomer youth culture.

... I do think you are a very late boomer moreso than being a very early Gen X...



...You have some real memories of the '60s probably (at least late '60s) and graduated high school in 1970s...



...You were over 30 already when the whole "grunge" thing took off too...


Agreed on all fronts  :)


... to remember bands like the Beatles and the Monkees and cartoons like Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Rocky and Bullwinkle...


Yes, I grew up with all of these  :)

About the Beatles, I became a fan at age 5 1/2 due to the Beatles' kiddie cartoon (King Features) that aired on Saturday mornings - it became a fast favorite.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/Beatlescartoons1.jpg

About the Monkees - I was about six when they hit the scene.  I think (especially given I already liked the Beatles) I was ready  :D

Agreed on all fronts  :)

Yes, I grew up with all of these  :)

About the Beatles, I became a fan at age 5 1/2 due to the Beatles' kiddie cartoon (King Features) that aired on Saturday mornings - it became a fast favorite.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/Beatlescartoons1.jpg

About the Monkees - I was about six when they hit the scene.  I think (especially given I already liked the Beatles) I was ready  :D


Do you also remember The Monkees cartoons?

Do you also remember The Monkees cartoons?


I'm afraid I don't remember any Monkees cartoons  :-\\

When we watched the Monkees, they weren't animated - they were themselves.  Plus it wasn't on Saturday morning (at least not the first run) - it was in the evening, around the same time of evening that we watched shows like Batman.  I liked the Monkees right away!  (I liked Batman too...)  :)

I'm afraid I don't remember any Monkees cartoons  :-\\

When we watched the Monkees, they weren't animated - they were themselves.  Plus it wasn't on Saturday morning (at least not the first run) - it was in the evening, around the same time of evening that we watched shows like Batman.  I liked the Monkees right away!  (I liked Batman too...)  :)


OK, then what about and I'm pretty sure you can remember The Jackson 5 cartoons? ???

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59889e226b8f5b0e211cc0c4/t/5997a7e009e1c42f29ee6e4f/1503111136820/1000w/

OK, then what about and I'm pretty sure you can remember The Jackson 5 cartoons? ???

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59889e226b8f5b0e211cc0c4/t/5997a7e009e1c42f29ee6e4f/1503111136820/1000w/


Yes!!!  :D  I watched the Jackson 5 and Osmond cartoons regularly (I had "outgrown" cartoons by then but made an exception for these...)

Do you think Silent youth culture end in the mid 1960s when the early baby boomers come of age and the Beatles become popular among Baby boomers.

It's hard to say because a lot of people born in 1940-1945 (late Silents) still liked the Beatles.

It's hard to say because a lot of people born in 1940-1945 (late Silents) still liked the Beatles.

And a lot of them were likely to be hippies and were young enough to fight in the Vietnam War like the early Baby Boomers.

And a lot of them were likely to be hippies and were young enough to fight in the Vietnam War like the early Baby Boomers.


I thought the maximum age to be drafted was 25 in 1969?

It's hard to say because a lot of people born in 1940-1945 (late Silents) still liked the Beatles.


Especially their pre-Rubber Soul stuff IMO, and a few softer songs afterwards that were targeted at a more universal audience like Let It Be and Something, but would likely find "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Revolution" to be too raucous for them. The thing is, even into the late 1960s and early 1970s, you still had songs like Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" and Perry Como's "It's Impossible" that the pre-Boomers really enjoyed, but at that point, they were on the wrong side of the generation gap, and the '70s only intensified this with even soft artists like Elton John and Carole King being Boomer-oriented.

That said, the thing about the silent generation is that their era of enjoying this "youth culture" was brief since like I've said, most were married with children just a few years after they had graduated high school, and of course no mama or papa would dare to blare "the devil's music" of rock n' roll, and perhaps the lull in Elvis popularity from 1963-1968 reflects their audience going through childbearing before enjoying some of his more "family friendly" comeback songs afterwards. Plus, most grew up with similar things that their parents had grown up with as kids, such as certain puppet shows, erector sets, and outdoor activities, though arguably those '50s sci-fi b-movies was another key part of their uprising, given that they never were combatants in WWII and only saw a few glimpses, if they were old enough to take it, by going to the theater. Silents also were raised on radio instead of television, not enjoying the "tube with pictures" until either late in their childhood, their adolescence, or even as adults for the older members of that generation, and would often mention radio shows like "The Lone Ranger" or a various variety performer as their shows they grew up with. Depending on where they grew up, some of this "good stuff" was BANNED, including Elvis due to ultra conservative laws. The earlier portion of the Silents (c. 1928-1936 borns) had swing or cool jazz/bop as their musical youth, and in the early 1950s just before rock's explosion, 10-20 year old songs from the peak of the swing era (Glenn Miller, the Dorseys, Louis Armstrong, Sinatra, jazzy female singers, etc.) were often preferred over the mundane ballads that had dominated the charts then for the young breadwinners and housewives at the time based upon the media I've encountered. Speaking of which, women from the Silent generation are also the last generation to primarily identify those that stay home with their husband reporting them as "housewives", Boomers preferred "homemaker", while Gen X and up prefers "Stay At Home Mom" or "Domestic Engineer".

That said, it was a gradual transition between the Silents and Boomers during the early '60s, especially with the release of Psycho and the election of JFK, post-JFK, it rapidly shifted to the Boomers.

It's hard to say because a lot of people born in 1940-1945 (late Silents) still liked the Beatles.
I know two brothers, both around 70 years old, one loves the Beatles, and the other does not.

Especially their pre-Rubber Soul stuff IMO, and a few softer songs afterwards that were targeted at a more universal audience like Let It Be and Something, but would likely find "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Revolution" to be too raucous for them. The thing is, even into the late 1960s and early 1970s, you still had songs like Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" and Perry Como's "It's Impossible" that the pre-Boomers really enjoyed, but at that point, they were on the wrong side of the generation gap, and the '70s only intensified this with even soft artists like Elton John and Carole King being Boomer-oriented.

That said, the thing about the silent generation is that their era of enjoying this "youth culture" was brief since like I've said, most were married with children just a few years after they had graduated high school, and of course no mama or papa would dare to blare "the devil's music" of rock n' roll, and perhaps the lull in Elvis popularity from 1963-1968 reflects their audience going through childbearing before enjoying some of his more "family friendly" comeback songs afterwards. Plus, most grew up with similar things that their parents had grown up with as kids, such as certain puppet shows, erector sets, and outdoor activities, though arguably those '50s sci-fi b-movies was another key part of their uprising, given that they never were combatants in WWII and only saw a few glimpses, if they were old enough to take it, by going to the theater. Silents also were raised on radio instead of television, not enjoying the "tube with pictures" until either late in their childhood, their adolescence, or even as adults for the older members of that generation, and would often mention radio shows like "The Lone Ranger" or a various variety performer as their shows they grew up with. Depending on where they grew up, some of this "good stuff" was BANNED, including Elvis due to ultra conservative laws. The earlier portion of the Silents (c. 1928-1936 borns) had swing or cool jazz/bop as their musical youth, and in the early 1950s just before rock's explosion, 10-20 year old songs from the peak of the swing era (Glenn Miller, the Dorseys, Louis Armstrong, Sinatra, jazzy female singers, etc.) were often preferred over the mundane ballads that had dominated the charts then for the young breadwinners and housewives at the time based upon the media I've encountered. Speaking of which, women from the Silent generation are also the last generation to primarily identify those that stay home with their husband reporting them as "housewives", Boomers preferred "homemaker", while Gen X and up prefers "Stay At Home Mom" or "Domestic Engineer".

That said, it was a gradual transition between the Silents and Boomers during the early '60s, especially with the release of Psycho and the election of JFK, post-JFK, it rapidly shifted to the Boomers.


What are your thoughts on the very early Silent Gen like the 1925-1927 borns?

What are your thoughts on the very early Silent Gen like the 1925-1927 borns?
They were  the Greatest Gen - Silent Gen cusp. They were old enough to fight in World War II. Yet however they were too young to fight in WWII when it started in 1939 and when the Us got involved in 1941. They were young enough to get into Bebop music that the Greatest Geners born before 1920 would tend to dislike.