{"id":1606,"date":"2024-06-12T17:51:55","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T17:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/?page_id=1606"},"modified":"2025-07-07T15:21:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T15:21:45","slug":"graduating-class-of-1964","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/graduating-class-of-1964\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 1964"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Fall of 1963, the senior class of 1964 began the Fall semester with a feeling of optimism after The March on Washington and Martin Luther King\u2019s \u201cI Have A Dream\u201d speech in August of 1963.  The success of that event pressured JFK\u2019s administration to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in congress.  What wasn\u2019t known at the time was the impending national nightmare of November 22nd<\/sup>, 1963 when President John F Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As stunned students returned back to campus in January of 1964, just 5 weeks after the assassination of JFK, it felt like everything was called into question.  From our relationship with our government and the military to our notions of free speech and individual freedoms life as we knew it had changed forever and split along ideological lines – old vs. young, hip vs. square, poor vs. rich and liberal vs. conservative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new presidency born out of tragedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson passed an unprecedented amount of legislation. Beginning with an extension of President Kennedy\u2019s Civil Rights agenda, LBJ\u2019s Great Society, took direct aim at eliminating poverty and social injustice when he signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act on June 2, 1964.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As US involvement in the Vietnam War escalated and a fear of a military draft, college students demanded an end to the war.  On May 2, 1964, organized at Yale University, 1000 students held the first major student demonstration marching through NYC\u2019s Times Square to the United Nations. Demonstrations were simultaneously held at colleges in San Francisco, Boston, Madison, WI and Seattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On February 7, 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London\u2019s Heathrow Airport lands at Kennedy Airport and Beatlemania hits our shores!  The boys from Liverpool were greeted by 3000 screaming fans who caused a near riot. It was the first visit to the U.S. by the Beatles after scoring their first #1 hit ,\u201cI Want To Hold Your Hand.\u201d  Two days later on February 9th<\/sup>, John, Paul, George and Ringo made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to an estimated 74 million people or 40% of the US population. Their 1964 chart-topping streak continued with \u201cShe Loves You\u201d and \u201cCan\u2019t Buy Me Love.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1964 British Invasion was in full swing with the Dave Clark Five, The Animals, The Kinks and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The year also marked a more diverse music chart than ever as Bob Dylan\u2019s \u201cThe Times They Are A Changin\u2019\u201d released an album that dealt with racism, poverty and social change sharing the charts with less heady songs from The Beach Boy\u2019s \u201cI Get Around,\u201d to Martha and the Vandella\u2019s \u201cDancing In The Streets,\u201d The Drifters \u201cUnder The Boardwalk,\u201d and The Four Seasons \u201cRag Doll.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Notable Events<\/strong> (right click on the links below to access video)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act<\/strong> \u2013 June 2nd<\/sup>, 1964, Washington DC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beatles Arrive at JFK<\/strong> \u2013 February 7th<\/sup>, 1964, JFK Airport NYC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beatles First Appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show <\/strong>\u2013 February 9th<\/sup>, 1964<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONCERTS THAT CAME TO CORTLAND 1963\/1964<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE FLAMINGOS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most influential vocal groups in history, The Flamingos were an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago and known for their 1959 cover of \u201cI Only Have Eyes For You\u201d which reached #11 on the Billboard Charts in the US<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs 1963\/1964<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI Only Have Eyes For You\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAYNARD FERGUSON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader, Maynard Ferguson came to prominence with Stan Kenton\u2019s big band before forming his own band in 1957. He was also a composer, arranger, music educator and instrument designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs 1963\/1964<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Fox Hunt\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUDY COLLINS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a career spanning seven decades, Judy Collins is one of America\u2019s premier singer songwriters which a distinctive soprano folk voice. Known for her social activism and themes of protest and equality, by 1964 she mainly covered songs written by other songwriters. She didn\u2019t release original material until 1967.  Her 1963 studio album of covers, \u201cJudy Collins #3\u201d stayed on the Billboard pop charts for 10 weeks. Students that were on campus for the 1963\/1964 school year, were treated to 2 Judy Collins concerts.  She performed on December 3, 1963 and returned on March 8, 1964 for a Hootenanny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs 1963\/1964<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnathea\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBells Of Rhymney\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMasters of War\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFarewell\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – LYCEUM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conducted by Peter Herman Adler in 1963, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra featured 34-year-old Leon Fleisher on the piano.  At the conclusion of the 1962-63 season, the BSO decided to issue a compilation LP of some of the highlights of that year’s concerts. It\u2019s very likely that their concert on November 21, 1963 at SUNY Cortland was recorded for the album. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs 1963\/1964<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRhapsody on a Theme of Paganini\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RONNIE DIO AND THE PROPHETS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ronnie James \u201cDio\u201d Padavona was a hometown Cortland boy and even went to SUNY Cortland for a short time but never graduated.  In a career that spanned many decades, he had one of hard rock\u2019s most powerful and distinctive vocals. He created and fronted a series of hard rock and metal bands eventually becoming the lead singer of Richie Blackmore\u2019s Rainbow and Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne was ceremoniously fired from his own band. But before becoming a hard rock superstar, in 1964, Ronnie Dio and The Prophets performed on campus supporting their album \u201cDio at Dominos\u201d recorded at Dominos Restaurant in Cortland on February 24, 1963.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs 1963\/1964<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. Misery\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove Potion #9\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove Pains\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Times In the Fall of 1963, the senior class of 1964 began the Fall semester with a feeling of optimism after The March on Washington and Martin Luther King\u2019s \u201cI Have A Dream\u201d speech in August of 1963.  The success of that event pressured JFK\u2019s administration to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-1606","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}