MONDO LOUNGE CELEBRATES SPACE AGE TO COMING OF AGE
The period between 1957 and 1963 were those of ultimate optimism, outstanding architectural, fashion, car and industrial design. The social climate was filled with cocktails and stylish ultra living. It truly was a Golden Era of American Culture – and era we affectionately call the "Mondo Lounge Era."
Why 1957?
1957 was the dawning of the Space Age. The first earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched into space on Oct. 4, 1957, by the Soviet Union. The satellite, with its signature spikes that extended out from a cylindrical center had a diameter of 22 inches and became a visual icon of the time. In Disneyland, a new home opened in Tomorrowland, the MIT designed the Monsanto House of the Future! 1957-1958 was also known as the IGY (International Geophysical Year) a time when scientists from 67 countries participated in comprehensive study of global geophysical phenomenon. Remember Donald Fagan's song, "What a beautiful world this would be – What a glorious time to be free!"
Around the World in 80 Days produced by Michael Todd for United Artists won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1957. "Whatever Will Be, Will Be” ("Que Será, Será") from Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much beat out Cole Porter's True Love from High Society a film that starred Princess Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. "Leave It to Beaver" premiered on CBS, ushering in an era of television that depicted the ideal American and Elvis Aaron Presley had 3 top ten hits that year with "Too Much" "All Shook Up" and "Teddy Bear." And finally, 1957 was also the year of birth for 'Exotica' music named after Martin Denny's debut album release "Exotica" which features the quintessential tiki track "Quiet Village."
1957 truly marks a time of heightened promise: cool jazz, Playboy clubs and bachelor pad living, progress and robotics, cruising to your neighborhood Googie coffee shop in your '57 Chevy, James Bond novels and bomb shelters, cocktail parties and tiki bars, Dior's New Look was still a favored silhouette, and there was a fabulous future on the horizon: The Kennedy Era...
Why 1963?
The Mondo Lounge era ends in 1963. It was the end of the innocence for Americans when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas at the end of 1963. The first telecast murder happened when Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby on NBC - quite a stretch from "Leave it to Beaver." 1963 was also the year that saw Martin Luther King delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech during the "March on Washington," a civil rights rally attended by 200,000 blacks and whites in Washington, D.C. And finally popular music took a turn in 1963 when the seeds of the British Invasion were sown. Beatlemania took the British Isles by storm and a new era had begun.
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