Hair Lands On Broadway

The year 1968 was tumultuous for many reasons-most notably, the war in Viet Nam. The counter-culture was alive and kicking, the hippie lifestyle making its way into the mainstream media—and the political divide that characterized the so-called “generation gap”—was most universally centered around one aspect of our appearance:

Hair.

The length of hair, particularly on men was an instant category classification tool. Those with long locks were part of the “counter culture”—and those with short-cropped hair were part of “the establishment”.

The Broadway musical “Hair” made its debut on this date in 1968. The New York Times critic Clive Barnes stated that “you don’t have to be a supporter of Eugene McCarthy to love it, but I wouldn’t give it much chance among the adherents to Governor Reagan”.

“Hair” was the first rock musical to make it on the Great White Way. Songs that defined a generation, like “Aquarius” were part of the reason for its success. Even the family pop group, The Cowsills (inspiration for the later TV show “The Partridge Family”) had a mainstream pop smash with the title track. Here is their primitive video of the song “Hair”:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFy-yzj02FE

Funny ,weird and a tad pathetic all rolled into one.

In addition to the controversial references to sex and drugs throughout, “Hair” also featured a much talked about scene at the end of the first act in which the entire cast appeared completely nude on the dimly lit stage.

Not only a huge hit on Broadway, the show generated a million-selling original cast recording , a #1 song by the Fifth Dimension (“Aquarius”)—and became a cultural phenomenon.

I look back to the bell bottoms, the psychedelic colors and wild outfits and ask myself, “Did we REALLY look like that?” Well, unfortunately, the photographic evidence exists for many of us in family pictures from the era, one I do not miss at all. Yeah, we DID look like that.

Yuck.

And while the fashion “statements” made back then are embarrassing to view today, at least know that the alternative to such wild "threads" back then was a little item called the LEISURE SUIT.

I had one of those too.
Corduroy.

I should have been shot on sight, but then, anyone doing so would have had to turn the gun on themselves. “Let the sunshine in”-----INDEED! How about “close the door and turn the lights out”?

The next time somebody suggests that this is the dawning of the “age of Aquarius”, let’s hope that we don’t all arrive in that “new age” wearing Nehru jackets.

If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.co