BABY BOOMERS have had it good


For the most part, Baby Boomers have had it good. No, not just good. Great. Not exactly ‘silver-spoon’ good or great like being born into a family worth millions, but ‘good’ in that well-paying jobs were plentiful in the post-war years when the Boomers were moving into the work force. That non-pressurized employment situation helped set up most Boomers for a life of comfort, for which we are grateful.


But we also had it good when it came to music. For some reason — maybe it was the population boom that just naturally created a larger base of potential musical talent — the music created in the 1960s and ‘70s was the greatest ever and lives on today.


McCartney and the Beatles are still relevant. The Stones are still touring, despite Mick and the lads being in their 70s, not to mention in and out of hospital surgical suites. Movie theatres were inundated this summer with fans of all ages watching shows about Freddie Mercury and Queen (‘Bohemian Rhapsody’), Elton John (‘Rocketman’) and the Beatles (‘Yesterday’).


This may sound like a statement from an old grouchy guy, but c’mon, today’s music, comparatively speaking, stinks.Young people prefer today’s music because it’s ‘theirs’ and they’ve come to appreciate rap and its anti- establishment lyrics but old folks like me just shake our collective heads, and say ‘what a pity,’ and with good reason.


How do we know the music of the ’60s and ’70s is far superior to today’s junk? Just watch TV on any given night and listen to some of the music associated with commercials. (OK, you folks with PVRs who watch your favourite programs on your own schedule skip right through the commercials, of course, but if you’d listen to a few commercials from time to time, you’d discover the great music from days gone by is ubiquitous.)


A commercial for Facebook extolling the virtues of ‘groups’ has “To Love Somebody’ by the BeeGees (1967) as its theme music. On one particular TV- watching night recently, that commercial was followed


20 BOOMERS | FALL 2019 BRUCE PENTON


by a Rolling Stones song (‘She’s Like a Rainbow’— 1967) that through the years has been used to plug iMacs, Acura cars and Dior fragrances.


The list is long of rock songs from that great era that continue to plug products to this day. Buick used ‘Dream On’ by Aerosmith (1973); California Raisins famously used ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ (1968), using animated raisins to make their point. Carnival Cruises had Bobby Darin’s ‘Beyond the Sea’ (1959) as its come-on song. (Can you imagine a product being advertised today with songs from Five Finger Death Punch like ‘War is the Answer’ or ‘Watch You Bleed’ playing in the background? Doesn’t work.)


The Baby Boom-music list goes on, as Madison Avenue uses the great tunes and uplifting lyrics to sell products 40 and 50 years after the songs were fi rst popularized. Cialis, a product aimed at Boomers for obvious reasons, uses the Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’ (1964) as its theme song, double entendre fully intended. ‘Happy Together’ by the Turtles (1967) is a feel-good song that Heinz used to show its ketchup being poured onto a plate of french fries. Want more? How about Gatorade’s use of ‘I Just Want to Celebrate’ by Rare Earth (1971)? ‘Lean on Me’ by Bill Withers (1972) helps sell Dawn dish detergent. Winnipeg’s Bachman- Turner-Overdrive continues to get royalties from their 1973 release of ‘Takin’ Care of Business’, used to sell offi ce furniture by Offi ce Depot.


It’s almost impossible to get through an evening of TV watching without being exposed to a number of commercials featuring songs originally embraced by the Baby Boom generation.


Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to Mark’s Work Wearhouse to buy a new pair of Wrangler’s. I just heard the greatest rock and roll song of all time, Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys are Back in Town’ (1976) telling me I just had to have a new pair of jeans.


Bruce Penton, a former News editor, just can’t help himself; he breaks out singing Baby Boom-era songs at any given time, for no apparent reason. People in close proximity usually fl ee or cover their ears.


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