1956- Bardot- Brigitte Bardot was a French actress, jetsetter and animal rights activist. Bardot was the precursor of the swinging sixties. She had a gorgeous suntanned body, blonde hair, and who can forget those pouting lips. She was sexually liberated ten years before it became fashionable. After a stint as a teen model, and roles in some ordinary movies, she brightened the 1957 screen. She spawned an army of lookalikes, including Catherine Deneuve, Jane Fonda, and Julie Christie who came to symbolize the new generation of the free, sexually adventurous, and healthy good lookers. The picture comes with permission from BB@60.

 Budapest- In October 1956, the Hungarian people revolted, installed a liberal government, and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Instead of complying, the Soviet army launched an attack on the Hungarians and crushed the rebellion. In response to this, the American people joined the worldwide protest against the Soviet Union’s action and welcomed thousands of Hungarian refugees to the United States.

 Alabama- In January 1956, Autherine Lucy received a letter granting her permission to enroll for classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. On January 30, the home of Martin Luther King, Jr. was bombed in Montgomery. He then proceeded to lead a bus boycott. On February 1, motions were filed in U.S. District Court calling for an end to bus segregation. On February 4, violence erupted on the campus of the University of Alabama and in the streets of Tuscaloosa, which continued for three days. On February 11, Autherine Lucy was forced to flee the campus and the university’s Board of Trustees barred her from returning. On February 22, warrants were issued for the arrest of 115 leaders of the Montgomery bus boycott. On February 29, Autherine Lucy was ordered by the courts to be readmitted to the university, only to be expelled by the Board of Trustees. On November 13, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of Montgomery bus boycotters, by ruling bus segregation illegal. On December 21, African-Americans first boarded buses in Montgomery, Alabama, according to a first-come, first-serve basis.

 Khrushchev- In 1956, in order to gain popularity with the people after Joseph Stalin's brutal reign, Soviet party leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the dead dictator as a cruel tyrant. This denunciation led people in the Soviet-dominated countries of eastern Europe to demand greater freedom in managing their own internal affairs.

 Princess Grace- In 1956, actress Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III were wed. Prince Rainier of Monaco headed the House of Grimaldi, Europe’s longest-ruling princely family, which was established in 1297. Kelly was 25 and an Oscar-winning actress and world-renowned beauty. Alfred Hitchcock recently featured her in To Catch a Thief. The Prince’s domain included only 370 acres, smaller than the back lot at Kelly’s studio, but it had space enough for his 200-room pink palace and his private zoo. He also had his Monte-Carlo Casino, which still pumped out so much revenue that none of his 20,000 subjects paid any personal income tax. T his was a dream marriage to many that followed it.

 Peyton Place- This movie won 9 Academy Award Nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress—Lana Turner, and Best Screenplay. The love lives going on behind closed doors in a small New England town created a sizzling saga of passion and scandal.

 Trouble in the Suez- Along with the Hungarian revolt, a serious world crisis developed over control of the Suez Canal. Since its completion on Egyptian territory in 1869, the canal had been operated by an international company, mainly British and French in origin. In July 1956, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the nationalization of the canal. The Western powers tried in vain to reach an agreement with Egypt on a new form of international control by the 18 nations that regularly used the Canal. Then in October, against a background of increasing border clashes, Israel accused Egypt of planning an attack against her and sent the Israeli army across the Sinai Peninsula toward Suez. The British and French saw this development as a threat to shipping in the Canal, so proceeded to land troops in the canal zone. The United States responded by opposing this action of its NATO allies as a violation of the principle of self-determination. The American delegation at the UN voted in favor of a General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of the invading troops. Great Britain, France, and Israel accepted these terms. In March 1957, under the supervision of a UN police force, the Suez Canal was cleared of wreckage and opened to shipping.

1957- Little Rock- On September 26 1957, in Little Rock, Arkansas, federal paratroopers escorted African American pupils to Central High School. 1,000 paratroopers had been called by President Eisenhower to restore order and escort nine black students safely to class.

 Pasternak- Boris Pasternak faced the censorship of the Soviet Union during the twentieth century. He was a poet and known intellectual who remained loyal to his anti-Stalinist ideas yet managed to survive the bloody era. This was a dangerous time for Russian intellectuals. They were often forced to abandon their art if it turned politically unpopular and faced persecution and even death if they defied the party line set by Joseph Stalin. Pasternak survived Stalinist rule but had to "stop writing because he couldn’t compromise himself." Pasternak is best known for writing Doctor Zhivago, a novel in which he wrote about his own life. This book was banned from Russia. Pasternak was offered the Nobel Prize for literature after Doctor Zhivago was published in 1958, but he was forced to deny it under political pressure. He valued individualism over community, and freedom over forced ideology. When he died at age 70, the state prohibited anyone from going to his funeral. Nonetheless, 2,000 people attended.

 Mickey Mantle- On March 1, 1969 Mickey announced his retirement from baseball at a press conference in New York. Mickey played in 2,401 games during his career, all for the Yankees, the most games ever played for the Yankees. He broke Babe Ruth’s series homer record in October 1964.

 Kerouac- Jack Kerouac was a writer who started the "Beat Generation." The Beat Generation, as Kerouac himself deemed it, was composed of intelligent young men and women who rejected the societal norms of their time. Worn down by their Depression-era childhoods and World War II influenced adolescence, the "generation’s" members did not fit into traditional molds, preferring to w ork odd jobs and hitchhike across the country. Kerouac was the unofficial leader of this movement, whose novel On the Road was considered to embody Beat ideals.

 Sputnik- Sputnik, Russian for "traveler," was the first satellite launched by the former Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. It shocked the United States and propelled Washington and Moscow into a long space race. Sputnik was the first object fired into space at orbital speed. Its mission was to send radio signals to Earth and determine the density of the upper atmosphere. Sputnik had enough speed to stay in orbit for 21 days. It carried only one instrument, a thermometer. Its bleep-bleep could be heard by amateur radio operators worldwide. Sputnik burned up on re-entering the atmosphere January 4, 1958. Sputnik II was launched November 3, 1957, which carried a dog by the name of Laika, which was put to sleep after a week in orbit. The mission of Sputnik II was to return biological data. It remained in orbit 162 days. Sputnik III was launched in 1958.

 Chou En-Lai- Not much information on this guy, except he worked under Mao’s rule under the Communist Chinese Government.

 The Bridge on the River Kwai This movie was a World War II drama about British POW’s forced to construct a railway bridge in the Asian jungle. This epic is regarded as one of the all time Great War films. In 1957, it won 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Alec Guinness), Best Director (David Lean), Best Screenplay Based On Material from Another Medium, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.

1958- Lebanon- With internal problems in Lebanon between the Lebanese Christian and Moslem inhabitants and the threat of invasion by the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria), the Lebanese president requested the UN Security Council to send an Observer Group to Lebanon. The UNOGIL headquarters was in Beirut with 49 observer posts throughout Lebanon and reached a peak of 591 troops, 77 of them Canadian officers and men. The crisis ended with the presence of 14,000 USA soldiers and the election of a new president in July 1958. UNOGIL was ended after just 6 months.

 Charles de Gaulle- In 1958, Charles de Gaulle of France led a vote in his country to oppose being a part of NATO. He succeeded.

 California Baseball- In 1958, the Brooklyn Dodgers moved and became the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 Starkweather Homicide- Charles Starkweather (17 years old) was one of the most brutal criminals of the 50s. He fell in love with Caril Ann Fugate (14 years old). He killed a gas station attendant and when he got in an argument with her parents he brutally killed them. Then, in front of Caril, he killed her 2-year-old sister by ramming his gun barrel down her throat. Caril responded by watching television for a while with him and putting a sign on the door, "Stay away everybody sick with the flu". After a cross-country chase, Caril turned on him and they were caught. Starkweather got the electric chair in 1959 and Caril was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was out on parole in 1976.

 Children of Thalidomide- In the 50s, thalidomide was a drug used for various things including morning sickness. It was even found in cough medicine. Soon doctors discovered that the drug was causing high mortality birth rates and serious birth defects. Because it was not "approved" in the United States, people did not take it as hard as those did in Europe. Today, the drug is being proposed to help with HIV patients.

1959- Buddy Holly- Buddy Holly, the rock and roll legend, was killed in a plane crash in 1959. Richie Valens and the Big Bopper were also killed in the wreck. Buddy Holly began his life as Charles Hardin Holley. He was the fourth child of Ella Holley who decided to call him Buddy, which was traditionally the nickname of the youngest member of the family. The surname Holley became Holly after Buddy’s name was miss-spelt on a recording contract in 1956 and he never changed it. Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers, as well as his two brothers, Larry and Travis influenced him. His hits, such as "Peggy Sue", had totaled 10 both in America and in the UK and his presence was beginning to be felt throughout the music world.

 Ben Hur- Ben Hur, starring Charlton Heston, was one of the most expensive films of the 50s to be made. Winner of a record-setting 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and written by General Lew Wallace, Ben Hur was introduced as an 1880 best-selling novel, developed into a hit Broadway play in 1899 with the first film version launched in 1925, and followed later by the 1959 blockbuster. The film chronicles the political and religious hostilities during the lifespan of Jesus, culminating in the most famous chariot race in film history. (Men were actually killed filming the chariot race.)

 Space Monkey- Whereas the Russians sent dogs into space, the United States sent a monkey into space in 1959. Unfortunately, not much more information was given.

  Mafia- I could find tons of information on the Mafia, including the lives of people such as Capone or Gotti. I also found a plethora of information on how the Mafia is still alive and kicking today. Unfortunately, I could not find the specific event in 1959 that made them so important for this song.

 Hula Hoops- In 1957, when a visiting Australian mentioned to two young Californians that in Australia, bamboo hoops were used for exercises in gym class, Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin, began to get ideas. They had been the founders of the Wham-O Manufacturing Company of San Gabriel, which had specialized in slingshots and boomerangs. As soon as they heard of this new "toy", they began to work on making a perfect hula-hoop that would be easy to play with. They tested it on local playgrounds and found it had the lon gest "play value" of any toy they had ever produced. Soon, other versions from other companies began to come out, such as the "Spin-a-hoop" and "Hoop-d-do". By 1958, these companies competed for their share of international sales of between 60 to 100 million hoops.

 Castro- Fidel Castro has ruled Cuba since 1959, when he overthrew the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Castro established a dictatorship and made Cuba the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere. In the 1950s, Castro emerged as a brilliant political strategist, military tactician, and psychologist. He led the July 26th movement, which led to the defeat of Batista. With Fidel more concerned with results than with theory, he was able to attack problems faster and more efficiently. He has greatly improved Cuba’s living conditions but also destroyed Cuba’s economy in the process.

Edsel Is A No-Go- In 1952 Henry Ford II appointed a committee to investigate the feasibility of a new car line. The line was based on consumer surveys, which included a desire for more horsepower; tailfins, three-tone paint jobs, and wrap-around windshields. An all-around "bigness" was in vogue at the time. The Edsel’s most distinctive feature was the "horse-collar" grille, which included a tall vertical center grille with smaller ones on each side. It also included a powerful V-8 engine and the "teletouch" automatic transmission, which was controlled by push buttons in the center of the steering wheel hub. Before the first car was sold, one Ford Executive predicted 200,000 cars would be sold during the first year. Unfortunately, in the latter part of 1957, the U.S. economy experienced a minor recession, which could have been a factor in the failure of the car sales. Despite a starting price as low as "2,484, buyers were just not enticed to purchase the Edsel. After three model-years of production and 25 months on the market, only 110,847 Edsels were made. Although it did not become the enduring line that Ford would have hoped, it did make a great collector’s item.

 

1960- U2- In 1960, Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. He was flying a United States fly plane and was supposed to take cyanide upon capture. He did not and it proved to be a very embarrassing moment for the United States. Incidentally, U2 was also later a very popular Irish rock band. Obviously, that isn't what Billy is getting at here, but hey.

 Syngman Rhee- After the Korean War, the country was beset with many problems, economic, social, and political. The old patriot, Syngman Rhee, unable to see that he had outlived his usefulness, clung tightly to power. This refusal on the part of Rhee and his associates to let democratic processes take their normal course was at least partly responsible for the social and political unrest that followed the war. The spark for revolution began when Rhee’s party used every means necessary to rig the elections in his favor. Demonstrations broke out almost all at once, especially among students. This first occurred in Taegu on February 28, 1960, protesting political interference in schools. On March 15, election day, there were student demonstrations against the election, and police fired into the crowds. The most serious demonstrations were in Seoul. Students poured out into the streets, and again there was bloodshed. Rhee had no choice but to step down. The students had led the people into the first successful democratic revolution in Korea’s history, showing that Korean democracy was alive and healthy. On July 15, 1960, an amendment to the Constitution was adopted by the incumbent assembly providing for a cabinet system of government with a bicameral legislature.

 Payola- This term referred to the quiz show scandal of 1960. It was discovered that contestants were being paid and given the correct answers on the show, 4,000 Dollar Question.

 Kennedy- In 1960, Kennedy is first elected as President of the United States. He was the youngest person ever elected to the Presidency and he was also Catholic. He and his wife Jackie were very popular among the younger generation.

 Chubby Checker- In 1960, Chubby Checker, the rock and roll artist, released his big hit "The Twist." This unstoppable hit was the first to actually hit number one on the charts in two different years, 1960 and 1962, by the same artist!

 Psycho- Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller movie, Psycho was released in 1960. This movie starred Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, who won best supporting actress for the role. Hitchcock frightened audiences with his famous "shower scene."

 Belgians In The Congo- Belgium sent 693 paratroopers to Congo to evacuate the 1,500 Belgians living in the Zairean capital Kinshasa if they had come under attack during the revolution led by Laurent Kabila that ousted President Mobutu Sese Seko. Kabila’s forces, who took up arms in October in a dispute over Zairean nationality for ethnic Tutsis, seized control over Kinshasa’s government and diplomatic districts on Sunday, after a night of sporadic shooting in areas not then under their command.

1961- Hemingway- 1961 marked the sad death of writer, Ernest Hemingway. He committed suicide in Ketchum, Idaho, on July 2. Some of his most famous works include A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea.

 Eichmann- On April 30, 1997, Adolf Eichmann, former Nazi military officer, was put on trial in the first ever televised and first videotaped case. He had been the principal logistics military officer of the Nazis’ mass murder of 6,000,000 Jews during World War II. After the war, he escaped a prisoner of war camp in Germany, and eventually made his way to Argentina. In 1960, agents of the Israel government captured him and transported him to Israel where he was put on trial for his Nazi war crimes. This trial, the first ever televised, was for many people their first education about the Holocaust. Eichmann freely admitted to most of the accusations concerning his participation in a coordinated conspiracy, which sent millions of Jews to their deaths, but claimed that he was powerless to resist orders from his military superiors. His performance in the glass booth caused the coining of the famous phrase "the banality of evil" by the writer Hannah Arendt. Eichmann was found guilty on all fifteen counts of the criminal indictments against him. He was hanged, his body cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Mediterranean Sea.

 Stranger In A Strange Land- This science fiction novel was written by Robert A. Heinlein. The story is about an earthling, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with superhuman powers and a total ignorance of the mores of man. The lead character's name was Valentine Michael Smith, and he was destined to become a freak, a media commodity, a scam artist, a searcher, a sexual pioneer, a neon evangelist, a martyr, and finally, a messiah. This novel was considered "the bible" of the love generation.

 Dylan- Bob Dylan made his New York City debut at Gerdes’ Folk City on April 11th, 1961. Dylan was the pre-eminent poet/lyricist and songwriter of his time. He re-energized the folk-music genre, brought a new lyrical depth to rock and roll when he went electric, and bridged the worlds of rock and country by recording in Nashville. His biting, imagistic, and often cryptic lyrics served to capture and define the mood of a generation. He was inspired by Hank Williams and Little Richard as a teen, while being raised in Duluth, MN. Some of his hits include "Blowin’ in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall."

  Berlin- 1961 marked the building of the Berlin Wall. In the years between 1949 and 1961, approximately 2.5 million East Germans had fled from East to West Germany. Their loss threatened to destroy the economic viability of the East German state. In response, the East Germans built a barrier to close off access to West Berlin. This barrier was erected on the night of August 12-13, 1961 as the result of a decree passed on August 12 by the East German Volkskammer. The original wall was built of barbed wire and cinder blocks, but was replaced by concrete walls that were topped with barbed wire and guarded watchtowers, gun emplacements, and mines. This wall extended 28 miles through Berlin, and extended a further 75 miles around West Berlin. This wall came to symbolize the Cold War’s division of East from West Germany and of eastern from western Europe. About 5,000 East Germans managed to cross the Wall, while another 5,000 were captured, and 191 more were killed during the actually attempt. East Germany’s hard-line communist leadership was forced from power in October 1989 during the wave of democratization that swept through eastern Europe. On November 9 the East German government opened the country’s borders and East Germans could pass freely.

 Bay of Pigs Invasion- In 1961, the United States CIA backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro. It was a complete failure. The CIA believed that if they supported the former leader, Batista, the people would rise up and help with the revolution, but no such thing happened. The mission was actually planned by Eisenhower, but President Kennedy took the blame.

1962- Lawrence of Arabia- This movie, written by David Lean, swooned the hearts of many women. The hero, a British eccentric named T. E. Lawrence, survived a suicidal trek across the desert and just within reach of shelter and water, turned around and went back to find a friend who had fallen behind. The movie used the desert as a stage for the excentricity of a driven, quirky man. Lawrence was also instrumental in enlisting the desert tribes on the British side to lead a campaign against the Turks. Other stars include Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Quinn.

 British Beatlemania- In 1962, the Beatles released their first single, "Love Me Do". The group had performed previously under different names such as Johnny and the Moondogs, the Moonshiners, and Long John and the Silver Beatles. Their first number one hit in 1963 was "Please, Please Me." On February 7, 1964, the Beatles arrived at Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, met by 1 10 police officers and a mob of more than 10,000 screaming fans. "Beatlemania" had begun in the United States. The Beatles’ music was critiqued as a "near disaster" that did away with "secondary rhythms, harmony, and melody". Despite criticism, the Beatles garnered two Grammy Awards in 1964 along with many other awards.

 Ole Miss- On October 2, 1962, James Meredith was the first African American accepted by the University of Mississippi. His attendance provoked riots. He was escorted to class by U.S. marshals and troops.

 John Glenn- John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. He flew in the "Friendship 7" Mercury capsule in February 1962. His mission seemd to be in trouble when warning lights suggested that the capsule heat shield had become loose. If this had happened, he would have been killed on atmospheric reentry. The warning proved to be false and he became what Dan Goldin, head of NASA, called "one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century." Glenn was one of the nation’s first seven astronauts, along with Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard Jr., and Donald "Deke" Slayton. In fall 1998, Glenn will fly on the space shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest man in space. He will be 77 when he flies this mission. Doctors will be studying the effect of weightlessness on Glenn’s bones and immune system.

  Liston Beats Patterson- Charles Liston became the world heavyweight boxing champion when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in the first round in Chicago, September 25, 1962. He remained in that position until February 1964 when he stopped fighting Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) before the seventh round at Miami Beach, Florida. Liston served two long terms in prison, where he is said to have learned to box. Although he gave his birth year as 1932, there is evidence that he began his ring career as early as 1934, at the age of 17, which would have made him 45 years old when he won the championship. Liston was noted for his punching power and durability.