Author: John O'Leary

It’s the holidays and once again I’m arguing with classmates and friends about the latest Beatles’ release!  Plus ça change.  This time, it’s about Peter Jackson’s 8-hour miniseries on Disney+, studying the Fab Fours’ creation of the Let It Be album.

Back in our school days, The Beatles seemed to dominate our Decembers, beginning in freshman year when Rubber Soul could […]

On Saturday afternoon of Reunion Weekend, in Sprague Hall, several of us from the Class of 1969 regaled an audience of appreciative classmates, significant others, and passing bystanders with a program of original songs and classics from the 60s. If “writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” then let me not expound in text, but take you right to the goods:

Come to Sprague Hall just after lunch on Saturday to experience a great concert put on by some of the professional musicians in our Class: The Real Stormin’ Norman Zamcheck (ES), Rick Drost (BR), and host John O’Leary (SM), accompanied by Mat Kastner (SY). 

Between them, they have played national venues such as NY’s The Bitter End and Carnegie Hall, LA’s Hollywood Bowl and Troubadour, and Cambridge’s Passim.  They will perform their own songs as well as several 60s classics, including the song YOU chose in our survey as your favorite song.

We have the results of our music survey!  You have chosen your favorite artist, album, and song from the 1960s—which was arguably the greatest pop music decade ever.   Here is what you decided. 

The Morning was a Yale folk-rock band, birthed in the campus basements in the winter of ’67. Within six months it was playing the major coffeehouses in Greenwich Village and within 18 months it was sharing stages with Joni Mitchell, The Grateful Dead, Cream, Sly & the Family Stone, Jackson Browne, The Smothers Brothers, and Muddy Waters at the top nightclubs and concert venues on both coasts.

We’ve created a simple 3-question survey, asking you to choose your favorite musical artist, favorite album, and favorite song from the 1960s. 

So please take a moment to respond. (You don’t even need to be logged into Yale1969.org to use this link!)   Taking the survey is guaranteed to give you a dopamine rush of nostalgia.

I think many of us would agree that the 60s was the all-time best decade for popular music. In fact, during our three years and nine months at Yale a lot of history’s best rock and pop was blasting out of our hi-fi’s into the college courtyards seven days a week. So it’s time to ask that all-important question, “What is YOUR favorite music of the ‘60s?” We have a quick, 3-minute survey for you to take.

Derek Huntington (1947 – 2011) was a singer/songwriter/musician/producer—and cabinet-builder who launched a successful boutique carpentry business in Manhattan. In the 1970s he was Stormin’ Norman & Suzy’s first record producer and a first-rate recording artist himself, as you will hear.

Branford College’s Rick Drost has been a lifelong singer but in recent years has become a much-sought-after singer/songwriter/guitarist. With the release of his solo album, Turning the World, he has begun performing in national venues such as Passim in Cambridge, MA.

Norman Zamcheck has played piano professionally for most of his life—with Polydor, as part of recording artists “Stormin’ Norman & Suzy” and as “The Real Stormin’ Norman.” Check out one of his most requested ballads — and a couple of his music videos.

Maureen and Michael have been together since 1983, although Michael has been writing songs since 1965. And it may be more of a lucky coincidence that her voice perfectly matches his material. Listen to their CD.

John O’Leary has been a musical performer since his Yale days as the drummer for The Morning. He has appeared on national television three times, played top clubs and concert halls on both coasts, fronted numerous bands as a singer/pianist, and played in acoustic guitar groups. These days he mostly plays solo in coffeehouses and concert halls. READ MORE