For me this is a year jam packed with anniversaries both personal and public. It started last September with the 50th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah, then November 22nd the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, then February the arrival of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and in April 64 I moved from Brooklyn to The Bronx.making this the 50th anniversary of a number of friendships . This brings me to the topic of those born in 1950. This year we all turn 64 and the significance of The Beatles on our collective psyche is captured so well in a song that we all learned when we were 16 or 17. When I'm 64 was the Beatles first real venture into their music hall roots. Especially Paul whose father had played in them. The use of the clarinet harkens a simpler time and it was a significant departure in the context of the masterwork Sgt. Pepper.
This very week is significant to the aforementioned crowd of friends..... there is a plethora of birthdays on June 19,20 and 23... Dave " Pook" Whyne, Art Phelps , Gerry " Egg" Schneider, Mike Moore all turn 64 , along with our younger friends Diane Laxman, Rick Lashinsky, and Bobby Cohen. These folks all went to either Dewitt Clinton High School in The Bronx or SUNY New Paltz... or BOTH !! ... and that is where the cement gelled. Back in our younger days the weekend around June 20 was cause for a serious party. I remember one in a bar on Jerome Avenue in The Bronx where we were thrown out for attempting to play human bowling. Now we have RT in Denver and Mike in Portland Oregon and Egg in Albequerque... the rest of us are here in New York State.
Garndchildren on your knee...Vera Chuck and Dave... Steve Schiff ( who doesn't turn 64 until next year) is the most experienced Grandparent of the crowd... Diane and Glenn were just blessed with twin girls by Corrine and Lael.
You'll Be Older Too...... Here is a rundown of some of the aforementioned 1950 crew who went to Clinton , New Paltz ..or both ( *)...
Jan: Ken Ehrlich *
March: Glenn Laxman
June: Dave Whyne*, Art Phelps, Gerry Schneider, Mike Moore.
July: Barry Schulman*
August: Roger Barnes , Guy Hamilton and Bob Kretsch
September: Me .Stan Beinstein*
October: Mike Beaty
December Martin " Eppy" Epstein*
As I write this , the song continues to rattle around in my head..... I can't help but be reminded of how the song made me feel when I first heard it, not yet 17. It was June 1 1967, before i went to work at Sam Goodies in Yonkers. That was the day Sgt. Pepper was released. I had already cultivated the addiction of being the guy who buys the record first and brings it to the party. I walked to Honigs on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. plunked down an outrageous $4.99 for a stereo album whn most others were $3.99 and mono was still $2.99 . My first reaction to the album cover was to be slightly repelled by the overload of images..I then proceeded to walk the 10 blocks to Pook's apartment on Mosholu Parkway. His dad had the best sound system ..even though it was monophonic ..it was a Grundig ...beautiful 16 inch bass speaker..... We listened end to end in mono.... the richness and texture of Pook's dad's system was fabulous...even though.. I would not discover some of the effects until I got home to my portable Webcor Stereo. We were all getting more attuned to : With A Little Help From My Friends than When I'm 64. Sgt. Pepper established the concept of album as a complete story... a 39 minute journey...or trip if you will.. Taking the album as a whole piece of art and take that trip with the Beatles . Put on Side 2 and you are taken on George's spiritual journey in Within You / Without You... then the spell is broken by When I'm 64 which jars us back to our parents reality. This is the track that would confuse and amuse our parents most. Then it is back to the rock and roll with Lovely Rita and the laziest back beat snare Ringo ever played. Each song develops as many characters as appear on the cover. The album may not be your favorite Beatle album but it still holds a special place in our collective psyche. It ushered in the summer of love. We were 16 going on 17 and it represented the vast open and free world ahead of us.... She's Leaving Home....bye bye... Then there's that novelty song, When I'm 64. We all imagined for a brief moment all the incredible adventures that would lead to our 64th year on this planet. Here we are 47 years later and I am glad and proud to still be friends with that many people who turn 64 this year.
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