1971

1971

Woodbine Avenue

Overbrook

Philadelphia, PA

My age: 15- 16

School- Merion Mercy Academy- 11^th grade.

• ·      I became a bit more studious in 11^th grade.  I picked up Latin which seemed to make sense to me.  I failed French and called it quits on this language at the end of this year.  I became a smidge more interested in my English class.  We started reading American literature and that seemed more relevant to me.
• At the end of 11^th grade, one of my classmates convinced me that I would never get in to college because I didn’t take Chemistry.  I took Typing II instead.  So, I enrolled myself in summer school in the nearby public school for Chemistry.  My parents wouldn’t pay for it because they had already paid an expensive tuition bill which they seemed to think I had squandered with my poor academic choices and poor academic results.  So, I coughed up the money.  My mother did agree to drive me to Lower Merion High School every day for six very long weeks. I never comprehended anything that very kind teacher taught.  Mr. Harkins seemed to like me because I was also Irish and I seemed to be a little bit politer than the other kids. For this gesture, he kindly gave me a D as my final grade. And that grade never made it on my transcript but I did get in to college.

Work: I babysat for $1/hour.  Sometimes I would have five or six kids to watch.  I had to get dinner ready and clean up afterwards.  This was a shit job.

Music- my older sister, Kathy, introduced me to her world of music.  We listened mostly to singer/songwriters rather than rock and roll bands.

Favorite Albums of this year

• o   Blue – Joni Mitchell
• o   Tapestry- Carol King- this was a stunning album.  Every song was a hit. I listened to it repeatedly.  I took my album over to Helen Dougherty’s house and her father recorded it for her on his reel to reel tape recorder.  I was stunned because didn’t know this was even possible and I couldn’t believe how thoughtful her father was to do this for her.
• o    

     Songs of This Year- it seems like there were a million songs this year.  Every one of these songs has a memory attached to it.

• o   Joy to the World- Three Dog Night
• o   Maggie May- Rod Stewart- OMG, I LOVE THIS SONG.
• o   How Do You Mend A Broken Heart- the Bee Gees
• o   Indian Reservation- Paul Revere and the Raiders
• o   Go Away Little Girl- Donnie Osmand
• o   Take Me Home, Country Road- John Denver- This guy sang the songs of America.
• o   Just My Imagination- the Temptations
• o   Knock Three Times- Tony Orlando- dork
• o   Me and my Bobbie McGee- Janice Joplin- This was a wild song and she was a wild performer.
• o   You’ve Got A Friend- James Taylor- This guy had one hit after another and every song was deep and something that united friends.
• o   Brown Sugar- The Rolling Stones
• o   Do You Know What I Mean by Lee Michaels
• o   The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down- Joan Baez
• o   What’s Going On-  Marvin Gaye- the beginning of funk.
• o   Uncle Albert- Paul McCartney- I hated this song and I was still mad that the Beatles broke up.
• o   Ain’t No Sunshine- Bill Withers- I loved this song and it’s on my list of top 100 songs of all times
• o   Signs- Five  Man Electric Band- this was a stupid, stupid song.
• o   She’s a Lady- Tom Jones
• o   Temptation Eyes- the Grass Roots
• o   My Sweet Lord- George Harrison- he was under the influent of Ravi Shatar and every song reflected this influence.
• o   Chick-A-Boom- Daddy Dewdrop- another stupid, annoying song
• o   Rainy Days and Mondays- the Carpenters- I don’t know anyone who liked this group.
• o   If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot- I didn’t like this artist when I was in high school but after college, I really liked him.
• o   Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves – Cher- I still like to sing and listen to this song.
• o   It Don’t Come Easy- Ringo Starr- I was never a fan of Ringo’s.
• o   Mr. Bojangles by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band- I was never a big fan of this rendition of the song but I love to hear David Bromberg sign and tell the story of this song.
• o   That’s the Way I’ve Always Hear It Should Be- Carly Simon-
• o   Spanish Harlem- Aretha Franklin
• o   I Don’t Know How to Love Him- Helen Reddy- this song was part of the soundtrack of Jesus Christ, Superstar show.  We weren’t allowed to listen to this song when my father was around because he thought it was blaspheme.
• o   Proud Mary- Ike & Tina Turner
• o   Color My World – Chicago
• o   Sweet City Woman- The Stampeders
• o   If- Bread
• o   Mercy, Mercy Me- Marvin Gaye
• o   One Toke Over the Line- Brewer & Shipley- I thought this was a drug song and I wasn’t in to drugs so I didn’t like it.
• o   I Just Want to Celebrate- Rare Earth
• o   Where Do I begin (Love Story)- Andy Williams
• o   Wild World- Cat Stevens- I loved cat Stevens until he turns anti-American.  Now I don’t like to listen to him.
• o   Watching Scotty Grow- Bobby Goldsboro- this guy just sand sappy, sad songs.  Someone usually died in the song and it was so sad and I could only take so much of this genre.
• o   Lonely Days- Bee Gees
• o   Here Comes the Rain Again- The Fortunes
• o   Won’t Get Fooled Again- The Who
• o   There from Shaft- Isaac Hays
• o   If I Were Your Woman- Gladys Knight
• o   I Am I Said- Neil Diamond
• o   The Wedding Song- Paul Stookey- Everyone loved this song and it became a standard at every wedding for the next five, ten years.
• o   Love Her Madly- The Doors
• o   Here Comes the Sun- Isaac Hays
• o   One Less Bell to Answer- The 5^th Dimension
• o   Riders of the Storm- the Doors- This group was too hip for me.

News Events

• China was admitted to the UN.  They were stepping back in to the world. 
• The IRA bombed the Post Office Tower in London.  It seemed as if the IRA bombed London on a regular basis now. My family voiced support of the IRA's cause to be freed from England.
• Prison riot and prisoners took hostages at Attica Prison in New York, resulting in the death of 10 hostages and 29 inmates. The video footage on the news was horrifying.
• Women are granted the right to vote in Switzerland. What took them so damn long? We were continuing to fight for an Equal Rights Amendment here.
• Harris public opinion poll showed that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam. It seemed as if this war was never going to end and every day, there was more and more desent about our participation.
• The US table tennis team visits to the People's Republic of China (PRC) known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy".  A part of me wanted us to beat them but another part wanted them to win so that they saved face and made more efforts to connect with the world.
• Greenpeace formally comes into existence. As the rest of the world started to recyle.
• Cigarette Advertising ended on Television in USA. There was lots of controversary around this decision.  But people were finally admitting that smoking caused cancer. 
• To control inflation President Nixon implements 90-day freeze on wages and prices, he also removed the gold/silver backing from the US Dollar. I don’t remember if the final analsysis was favorable or unfavorable.
• General Idi Amin became the leader of Uganda and frightened the world. 
• National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasted for the first time and there were fundraising efforts to support this radio.  I couldn’t believe that producers thought anyone would pay to listen to the radio.
• Charles Manson and his followers receive the death penalty and we all sighed a moment of relief and justice.
• Jim Morrison was found dead in bath tub in Paris.  He was only 27 years old. 
• Texas Instruments releases the first pocket calculator and they cost a fortune.
• The Aswan Dam is completed in Egypt.  The day it opened, it made international news.
• Apollo 14 lands on the Moon. 
• Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover a day after landing on the surface. It seemed like we were always going to the moon now.
• Soft Contact Lens became available commercially and the thought of putting an object on my eye repulsed me.  No way would I ever wear contacts. 

Movies

• Love Story – Everyone saw this movie and everyone cried.
• Summer of '42 
• Ryan's Daughter 
• The Owl and the Pussycat 
• The Aristocrats 
• Carnal Knowledge- I wasn’t allowed to see this movie 
• The Andromeda Strain 
• The French Connection – I was on the edge of my seat during this movie.

TV Programs

• All My Children- this show took up too much of my time. 
• Mary Tyler Moore – I loved this show.  I watched it every day week for the entire run of the show.  I went through a few days of sadness when the show finally ended.
• McCloud – I’m not sure I ever watched this show.
• The Odd Couple – I thought this show was so damn funny.
• The Partridge Family- I was in love with David Cassidy but so was everyone else. 

Family

September 1971:  Kathy is a sophomore in college; Jimmy is in 12^th grade; I am a junior: Sharon is a high school sophomore; Chris is in 10^th grade; Tricia is in the 8^th grade and Brian is a one year old.