"The 1960s Pop-Rock Music and TV Shows Net" Monthly   Roundup for May 2009

Welcome to "The 1960s Pop-Rock Music and TV Shows Net" Roundup report for the month of May. Weather-wise, this was an unusually hot month with 14 consecutive days of temperatures 100* or higher here in the metro Phoenix area with clouds, gusty winds, dust storms, rain, and an overall appearance of monsoon nearly every day even though it was not. May is normally always one of the driest and clearest months of the year with little to no precipitation; obviously this was NOT the case this year.

The Net aired each week of the month with moderate participation. A total of 12 different stations checked in at least once or more during the month. A number of Net members did not participate this month for a variety of reasons. K7UNL (Bob) and KC7Y (Bob) both experienced major radio malfunctions to the extent that their radios were inoperable; each member is currently looking to find a replacement radio. K7JHK (John) was visiting Germany nearly the entire month, however, should be rejoining the Net on June 3. KB8YYA has recently moved into his new home in north Phoenix and will hopefully be able to install a 220 Mhz. antenna very soon and once again be able to check into the Net. We look forward to the return of all these stations on the Wednesday night Net and always welcome new check-ins, as well.  
 
Three stations earned a "Gold Medal" for participating every week on the Net. The three hams making the "PA (Perfect Attendance) List" this month are:

N7CLG (Doug in Mesa)
K7SLS (Shel in north, north Phoenix)
N7PHX (Jim in Tempe)

As always, there were a lot of great trivia questions covering both '60s pop-rock music and TV shows. The three featured segments of the Net each week, "This Week In 1960s Rock and Roll History", "#1 Hits For The Week Of.....", and "This Week In 1960s Television History" continued to be an integral part of the Net. One particular 1960s music trivia question stumped all the members and gave rise to quite a discussion surrounding the answer. The question was, "A band formed in Los Angeles and named after an American tractor, this group had one major hit in February 1967 entitled, "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)". What is the name of this group featuring Stephen Stills and Neil Young"? The answer, of course is The Buffalo Springfield (shown on left). K7SLS (Shel) stated that he had never heard of a tractor company by the name of Buffalo Springfield. Others on the Net said that they had heard of the company, but did not have a clear picture in mind of the manufacturer's tractors. I later became a bit curious as to why there was so much uncertainty about this American company for which the band took their name and learned the following after doing some research. Here is the DEFINITIVE information on the Buffalo-Springfield, both the company and the influential folk rock band that served as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young and Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), and Richie Furay and Jim Messina (Poco).

* Two members of a newly formed rock band, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay, noticed a steamroller parked on the street outside the home of Los Angeles record producer Barry Friedman with whom they were staying at the time and decided to take their band name from the side of the steamroller - made by the Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company

* The new group debuted on April 11, 1966 at The Troubador in Hollywood. A few days later, they began a short tour of California as the opening act on a bill featuring The Dillards and The Byrds

* In November 1966, Stills composed his landmark song, "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)", after witnessing police actions against the crowds of young people who had gathered on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles to protest the closing of a nightclub called Pandora's Box. The song was recorded in December, and by February 1967, The Buffalo Springfield had a #7 hit with the song that stayed on the Billboard Top 40 Chart for 11 weeks

* The Buffalo-Springfield Roller Company, located in Springfield, Ohio, made steamrollers to smooth newly poured roads. Today, the rollers are a collectors item by those interested in 20th century heavy machinery

The Net membership would like to congratulate KB4VYM (Clarke in Tucson) on the recent purchase of his new Harley Davidson Trike motorcycle. Clark is already out and about riding the highways and byways of the greater Tucson area enjoying his new "toy". Clarke, we hope you get millions of miles of joy on your bike, but as was always said on the TV series "Hill Street Blues", "Lets be careful out there"!   
                 
Please don't forget that your comments, suggestions and questions for the website, "CQ Hams Still Groovin' In The 60s" are always welcome!

If you live in southcentral Arizona, are visiting, or just passing through, please join us on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm for the Net on the 224.500 repeater (N7EOJ) located at 9,100' above Tucson in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Everyone "into the '60s" is welcome!

73',
John  N7LQR
Maricopa, Arizona