On August 26th of the most significant year of the decade, 1968, ten thousand prtesting youths went to Chicago for the National Democratic Convention. They were there to protest the war in Vietnam. Similarily, national troops were called out to quell uprisings after the mayor had seen what had happened the previous year in riots. Meeting strong resistance from the students, "police riots" ensued, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the Freedom Ride days. These students carried the message of peace, and were met my the message of war, as they had throughout the decade.
1967, the summer of love. The Monterey Pop Festival, for years a relatively quiet festival, was marked by the arrival of a new brand of music, and namely a new brand of musician. Jimi Hendrix had arrived, along with his Experience, and shocked the rock world with what he could do. Guitar skills were one thing, many people had those. Using distortion and effects was fairly impressive, but it also had been done, albeit not to the same degree, before by the Kinks, the Yardbirds, etc. What really amazed was his actions of the stage, destroying amplifiers, sets, the whole deal. He set his guitar on fire, for cryin' out loud! Jimi Hendrix had shown the future of rock to be, and had embedded himself in the minds of everyone present.
In 1959, a plane crashed. No big deal, planes crash all the time, especially in winter, and especially going over the plains. But this plane carried three important passengers, namely Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Immortalized by Don McLean and his song, American Pie, this marked the end of innocence for American youths as they realized that their seemingly immortal idols could be taken away from them, like that. Everyone remembers the Day the Music Died, and probably always will.
December 9, 1980, in New York City, Mark David Chapman came up behind John Lennon, said "Mr. Lennon?" and shot him several times in the chest and shoulders. The exact number or shots couldn't be counted because of the bullets fragmenting, but many say that it was, ironically, 9 bullets that ended Lennon's life. He was pronounced Dead On Arrival at the hospital, and the news send thousands or mourners in New York and across the world went out to the streets to pay a final tribute. In the biographical book about the murder, Let Me Take You Down, Chapman says he had always been a fan of Lennon's, and felt that he was selling out. Chapman indentified greatly with the main character in the book The Catcher In The Rye, and decided that to quell what he felt was the world's biggest problem, he needed to kill Lennon. Strawberry Fields in New York was created to remember Lennon after his murder, and thousands come every year to pay their respects.
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