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 BILLY THE KID He has become one of the most infamous outlaws of the Old West.....and one of New Mexico's biggest tourist draws! Billy the Kid unwittingly shot his way to superstardom over 125 years ago. And his legend lives on today more than ever. Now there's word that Gov. Bill Richardson is considering a pardon. This would finally fulfill a long-ago promise given to Billy that he would receive a pardon if he testified in a Lincoln County War case. But should a known murderer who shot his way out of jail several times be pardoned? If he had gotten his pardon would he have had to shoot his way out? Click here for more info on Billy and then TO YOUR LEFT YOU CAN VOTE ---Should Billy be pardoned?? The jury is still out!  ALEX CHILTON
THE BOX TOPS
1950 - 2010
Alex Chilton fronted one of the more popular blue-eyed soul groups of the late 60s. The Box Tops had several hits but it is the 2 minute song "The Letter" that has retained its popularity for over 40 years. Listening to the gritty vocals of Alex Chilton, it is hard to believe that he was only 16 years old when he recorded it. Read More... Here are the 31 daring Baby Boomers ranked from #31 to #1 who have shown their stuff on the popular ABC dance competition/reality show. Soon we will see how the 11th season boomers fare--David Hasselhoff, age 58; Michael Bolton, 57; and Jennifer Grey, 50. Read More... BILLY THE KID LOCATIONS 
FORT SUMNER, NEW MEXICO
A visit to Fort Sumner is vital in any Billy the Kid odyssey. This rural town is where Sheriff Pat Garrett killed Billy in 1881. There are 2 museums plus Billy the Kid's actual gravesite. Read More...
  THE “GHOST TOWN” OF LINCOLN,NEW MEXICOIt was the site of Billy the Kid’s most infamous escape and the turbulent Lincoln County War. It now stands bizarrely frozen in time, enabling you to literally touch the history of the Wild West. Read More...  FESS PARKER
1924 - 2010
It was March 18, 2010 when both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone died. Or so it seemed when Fess Parker, the actor who gave us the definitive portrayals of the two frontiersmen, passed away at age 85. Ironically, Parker’s image is so entrenched on the minds of baby boomers that the two frontiersmen’s lives have inadvertently become confused over the years. Read More...  VEGGIE CANOES
Labor Day is another one of those Bar-B-Q holidays. But here's an unusual addition to your party for your vegetarian friends and anyone who just likes to eat well. It will have your guests talking about how original their hosts are. Wouldn't you like that? Read More...  A JAUNT THROUGH HAIGHT- ASHBURY
The Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco played a unique part in the history of baby boomers. The attraction culminated in the Summer of Love in 1967, as throngs of teenagers flocked to the area. Peace, Love, Flower Power. Tune in. Drop out. The counterculture seems so long ago. Fast-forward 40+ years, and a jaunt down Haight Street is definitely in order for baby boomers who want to reminisce about a time that has passed. Read More...  DOUG FIEGER
THE KNACK
1952 - 2010 He wrote and sang the song that drove disco to its early grave. In the summer of 1979, Doug Fieger led his group "The Knack" into New Wave territory with "My Sharona," the #1 hit of the year and a 6 million selling album "Get The Knack." The group knocked Chic's disco flavored LP out of the top slot and suddenly thin ties and white shirts were replacing polyester prints and wide collars. Read More... "THE BOOMERHEADS"
Bob & Barb Boomerhead are 21st Century baby boomers trying to get up-to-speed. Read More... THE BOOMERHEADS GO SHOPPING
 LORENE YARNELL SHIELDS & YARNELL 1944 - 2010
Did anyone ever see them blink? I don't think so! In the 70s, Shields & Yarnell suddenly made "robot-mime" cool. Their breakout characters "The Clinkers" became one of the most innovative and certainly unusual couples of the era. Their comedic bag of tricks made them a mainstay on variety shows and in Vegas showrooms. Combining mime, dance, youth, and good-looks, the talented Robert Shields and Lorene Yarnell were a match made in heaven. Read More... THE
SWINGIN’ MEDALLIONS
It sounds like you’re in the middle of a frat party. With a cheap organ and a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’, this South Carolina band is responsible for one of the biggest party records of all time. And believe it or not, the one-hit-wonder group still swings on stage today. Grab a beer, it’s the story of the Swingin’ Medallions and their 1966 smash hit “Double Shot (of My Baby’s Love).” Read More...  BOBBY HEBB1938 - 2010Bobby Hebb wrote and performed “Sunny,” a song that has always been associated with optimism and hope. But it was born out of tragedy. Hebb wrote the song coming out of a deep depression… a depression caused when learning his older brother had been violently stabbed to death. Months later, a warm smile of a stranger caught his eye and his mood finally turned around. The result was a song that has been brightening our spirits for the last 5 decades. Read More… MR.ED What do George Burns, Francis the Talking Mule, and Studebaker have in common? They were all instrumental in bringing the first of the fantasy sitcoms of the ‘60s onto our TV screens. Before Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and My Favorite Martian, Mr. Ed had us suspending our belief, by making us accept a talking horse as a reality. Read More...  GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP He is blessed with a rich and distinctive voice that can soar over lush orchestrations. He fronted a band decked out in Civil War regalia that produced 6 songs dripping in melodrama. In 1968, the group actually sold more records than the Beatles! Just a year earlier, they had been headlining at a San Diego bowling alley lounge. It’s the tale of Gary Puckett & the Union Gap! Read More... Besides “I Love Lucy” there are very few black and white sitcoms from the ‘50s that are still actively seen on TV. This chestnut is one of them. “Leave it to Beaver” has quietly gone into iconic stature leaving fellow family sitcoms (Father Knows Best, My Three Sons, Ozzie & Harriet, & Donna Reed) in the dust. Why is that? It’s got to be more than its catchy title. Read More.... MITCH RYDER & THE DETROIT WHEELS
They scorched up the charts circa 1965-1967. Their brand of rock-pop craziness could yank you out of your seat and throw you into a frenzy. They specialized in revved-up re-tellings of old rocker songs. Their signature song and biggest hit was the wild and crazy “Devil With A Blue Dress On”. The song is a classic. Read More...  THE SPINNERS This group has successfully changed their lead singer 4 times and gone on to obtain Top 40 hits with each one of them. Going from ‘50s doo-wop, to ‘60s Motown soul, to the ‘70s R&B “Philly Sound,” to two Disco hits in 1980, the Spinners fall into an unusual category. But as they changed musically with the times, seamless harmonies were always their most prominent trademark. Languishing under the super-groups (The Four Tops, Temptations, & Miracles) for years at Motown, they finally broke through in the 1970s establishing themselves as the leading R&B group of that decade. Read More...  CHARLES M. SCHULZ MUSEUM From coon skin caps to macramé to 3-D glasses, Charles M. Schulz made reference to pop culture in his Peanuts comic strip for five decades. The Charles M. Schulz Museum’s newest exhibition, Pop Culture in Peanuts, delves into the fads, trends, and contemporary influences on the Peanuts comic strip and how those references changed over the 50 years of the strip. This exhibition, running May 19 through September 20, 2010, will include over 70 original Peanuts strips.
© United Feature Syndicate, Inc. ... courtesy Schulz Museum
*********************** REPORTING THE 2010 DEATHS OF MEMORABLE TV LEADING MEN John Forsythe 1918-2010 He honed his skills in early TV anthology (“Alfred Hitchcock”, ‘Studio One”). His smooth debonair style was the perfect fit for early 60s “Bachelor Father.” He really hit his stride in the 1980s as the patriarch on mega-hit “Dynasty.” And of course he was the voice of Charlie in “Charlie’s Angels. He even had a movie career. Pernell Roberts 1928 -2010 He started in TV westerns "Sugarfoot," "Zane Grey Theatre," and "Cimarron City," but he soon rose to international fame as Adam –one of the famous Cartwright brothers—in the legendary “Bonanza.” After quitting prematurely, he battled back to become the star of another hit “Trapper John MD.” Robert Culp 1930 – 2010 Starting in the forgotten Sam Peckinpah directed 1950s TV western “Trackdown,” Robert Culp went on to huge success as part of the famous interracial duo of “I Spy” starring with Bill Cosby. After the show ended, he appeared in motion pictures (“Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice,” “Hannie Caulder”) and then came back to TV for the successful miniseries “Lonesome Dove” and the rousing “The Greatest American Hero.”
Peter Graves 1926 - 2010
He was in prestigious pictures early on (“Stalag 17”) and 50s exploitation (“It Conquered the World”). Baby boomers first remember him as the star of the early TV horse-opera “Fury.” But it was as head honcho Jim Phelps on the wildly popular “Mission: Impossible" that brought him TV stardom. And still later, his deadpan delivery in the 2 “Airplane” movies brought him a cult following. ************************
THE STORY OF
THE FOUR TOPS
Few groups stay together totally intact for as long as The Four Tops--41 years. Starting as a jazz group called The Four Aims in the 1950s, they went on to become one of Motown's top-tier groups--recording some of music's most memorable tunes ever. Read More... LESLEY GORE stands tall in the girl-group category where she is strangely categorized. The diminutive solo artist won over early baby-boomers in 1963 with her #1 smash hit “It’s My Party.” It was the first and biggest song of her career and embodied the trials and tribulations of young teen-age girls across America. Poor Lesley, that evil Judy, and what was Johnny thinking! Read More...  TOMMY ROE Known mainly for memorable bubble gum hits like “Dizzy” and “Sweet Pea,” Tommy Roe’s successful early rocker era (“Sheila”, “Everybody”) is sometimes overlooked—as are his songwriting credentials. He wrote many of his Top 40 records (11 in all) between 1962 and 1971, making him one of the most commercially successful singer/songwriters in the singles market and AM Radio. Starting out in a Billy Holly mode and ending up vying for title of bubble-gum king, Tommy Roe has had a dizzying career. Read More... BEATLES TOUR--LONDON
I was a little nervous as I embarked upon My Magical Mystery Tour. I had gone on other “LondonWalks” tours, but this was different. I had been raised on the Beatles – I can’t remember a time when the Beatles weren’t a part of my life. Who would my fellow walkers be? Would they really be fans? Or just people out for a stroll? Read More... The Passing of Baby Boomers & Their Favorites Here is the top 10 list of baby boomers we lost this year compiled by boomerhead.com. Plus some favorites of baby boomers who will be missed. Read More...
. ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS
The Animals had their beginnings as the blues-based Alan Price Combo. But things started to change when deep-voiced Eric Burdon joined in 1962 as lead singer. The band’s name was switched to The Animals. Eric became a dynamic front man as he would howl and growl his way through the group’s repertoire. "House of the Rising Sun" remains one of the true classic rock and blues songs of the era. Read More....
 ROSWELL UFO MUSEUM! It was 1947. Sightings of “flying discs” were being reported from various sections of the country. The nation was ready and looking..... Read More...  PETTICOAT JUNCTION Sitcoms ruled in the 1960s. Come ride the little train that is rollin' down the tracks to the Junction... where Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) had 3 beautiful daughters who poked out from the water tower in the opening sequence of every episode. Yes, you have arrived in HOOTERVILLE. Read More...  DENNIS COLE1940 - 2009He looked like he had been plucked from the surf of a Southern California beach. Photogenic blond hunk/TV star, Dennis Cole, didn’t have that signature role that would mark him specifically in pop history. Instead, he may be best remembered as 'what’s his name on TV' who was in…well….everything. Read More...  TOMBSTONE ARIZONA  NAPOLEON XIV
One of the wildest and weirdest novelty records of all times—“They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” was performed by songwriter/sound engineer/singer Jerry Samuels, aka NAPOLEON XIV. The song skyrocketed up to #3 on the charts in the summer of 1966. But when a number of radio stations stopped playing it after protests from various groups, it promptly zoomed back down. Read More...
DEL MONROE 1936 - 2009
 "VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA"
After multiple episodes of being clobbered, crushed, thrown, burned, frozen, zapped, attacked by sea monsters, and possessed by aliens as Seaman Kowalski in “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” Del Monroe finally succumbed in 2009 to leukemia. He was one of only 2 actors to have a featured part in both the series and 1961 film--a major feat after accidentally falling into the lagoon on one of his first days at work. Read More...
 ARTHUR LEE & LOVE Eclectic cult rock group, “Love”, will be of specific interest to older West Coast babyboomers. Even though Love never quite made it big nationally, their influence on the 60s music scene was substantial during their brief heyday. Their third album, “Forever Changes”, is included on many contemporary music critics’ best album lists. Read More...  THE STANDELLS
The Standells snarled their way up the charts in 1966 with the enduring smash hit “Dirty Water.” The swaggering bravado of lead singer and former-Mouseketeer (!) Dickie Dodd’s vocals, along with the bluesy and raunchy arrangement make this a favorite among current garage and punk bands and baby boomers twice their age. Read More...
 TONY ORLANDO & DAWN
It was a very strange start! Tony Orlando & Dawn had 2 huge hits and sold millions of records before the members of the group even got together! Their out-of-the-park smashes, “Candida” and “Knock Three Times”, were recorded separately, with Tony recording in New York and the "background" singers recording their part in Los Angeles. When the group finally melded into a trio (Tony, Telma Hopkins, and Joyce Vincent-Wilson), they went on to become one of the biggest selling pop groups of the 70s. Their popular 3-year television variety show enhanced their improbable success. Read More...  THE GRASS ROOTSA baby boomer favorite, The Grass Roots had over 20 hits from 1966 to 1972, being on the Billboard charts for a record-breaking 307 consecutive weeks (1967-1972). Quite a nice run for a group with such an unusual genesis—the band name was registered even before the actual band was formed! Read More... 25 BOOMERHEADSTONES OF 2008     Here is a list (and their obits too) of the boomerhead.com favorites who we lost in the year 2008. Most are not baby boomers, but we grew up watching, listening, and enjoying them! Click Here for all 25! Read More...    
 BOBBIE GENTRY Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” stands out as one of the greatest narrative recordings of the rock era. Interspersed with mundane dinner table conversation giving this masterpiece an eerie flavor, the song weaves an intriguing tale of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of one Billie Joe MacAllister--circumstances that people still debate 40 years after the record was released! Read More... MIKE SMITH
of THE DAVE CLARK FIVE
1943 -2008
He was the voice of a musical group that rivaled the Beatles in 1964—but his name has gone largely unnoticed. Mike Smith, the rather anonymous lead singer & keyboard player of The Dave Clark 5, displayed his singing or what Rolling Stone called outstanding "soul-shouting” on 17 Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1967. Read More... BOOMERHEADSTONES DENNIS YOST
of THE CLASSICS IV 1943 - 2008
He had a voice that could touch you. As lead singer of one of the very first soft-rock bands ever, Dennis Yost fronted The Classics IV. 40 years after the songs were recorded—“Spooky,” “Stormy,” and “Traces of Love” remain timeless musical pieces that can transport you to a really good place. Read More... BOOMERHEADSTONES
.  TRANSFORMING YOUR TREASURES
Need to downsize, but you just hate to throw away that sentimental knick-knack or piece of furniture? Sometimes it just has to go! However, some baby boomers are re-inventing their "treasures." Read More...
 CREATIVE RE-IMAGININGCleaning out your garage, attic, or closet? Find an interesting piece of junk while out on a stroll? Unleash your imagination! Read More...  MRS. MILLER
The operatic warbling of Mrs. Miller singing the rock tunes of the mid-sixties is truly a bizarre novelty. It was 1966 when the 59-year-old choir lady/housewife released 2 of her off-kilter pop albums. Tackling such songs as "Downtown," the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” she sang in the style of your Aunt Mildred at a music recital. The cringe-worthy results proved hilarious and she extended 15 minutes of fame into a lucrative 18 months of enjoyable parody. In the process, Mrs. Miller would become one of the first successfully marketed “so-bad–it’s-good” commodities. Read More... BOOMERHEADBANDS
2007 DEATHS OF BABY BOOMERS & THEIR FAVORITES
Dan Fogelberg, Evel Knievel, Mr. Whipple, Yvonne DeCarlo and
   the rest.... Here is the list (and obits too) of some of the people we loved and lost in 2007. Read More...
ALSO: BUCKINGHAMS, HARVEY KORMAN, CHARLES SCHULZ'S "PEANUTS", STEPPENWOLF , PETRIFIED FOREST, BOBBY "BORIS" PICKETT , ORIGINAL ERNIE PYLE GRAVESITE MICHAEL BLODGETT AND MORE!
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