A few years ago I was tossing around the idea of starting a blog entitled "What Is and What Isn't Baby Boomer Music." Now that I have this site on Blogspot, thought I'd give this half baked thought a whirl.
History: Generally speaking, the term "Baby Boomers" refers to people born between the years 1946 and 1960. I've seen that definition stretched to include those born through 1969, though I generally don't accept that. A kid born in 1969 could indeed have had parents who were bona fide boomers themselves. I refer to those kids as "echo boomers." In my mind, those born after 1963 are Generation X-er's, and the one's born between 1960-63 are "shadow boomers" (whose politics are usually quite different from the original boomers.)
As such, the music of the 50's would include all from Bill Haley and Elvis to Fabian and Freddy Cannon. You could stretch the point for older boomers to include Johnnie Ray, Patti Page, Kay Starr, Rosie Clooney, etc. On a personal note, my first favorite artist from the 1950's was Perry Como. By the end of the decade that had changed to Brook Benton.
The 60's would include just about everything from Bobby Rydell and Dion through the Beatles, the whole British Invasion thing right up to the end of the decade's diverse acts to include CSNY, Hendrix and Blood, Sweat and Tears.
The 1970's is where it gets contentious. The following is MY idea of what is "Baby Boomer Music" and what is not. Nowhere near complete and not necessarily politically correct, but how I personally perceive things and play it...
70's Baby Boomer Music (almost any song)
James Taylor
Billy Joel
Elton John
Carole King (hell, she wrote half the 60's hits)
Three Dog Night
The Carpenters
Guess Who/Bachman Turner Overdrive
Rod Stewart
John Denver
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Jim Croce
Barry Manilow
Linda Rondstadt
The Eagles
Abba
Fleetwood Mac
The Doobie Brothers
Jimmy Buffett
The Steve Miller Band
Harry Chapin
Bread
Chicago
The Grassroots
Peter Frampton
Not Baby Boomer Music (some had 1 or 2 boomer-type hits)
Aerosmith
Bad Company
Boston
Cheap Trick
Kansas
The Knack
Cars
Journey
Pink Floyd
Blondie
Queen
Meatloaf
Alice Cooper
Foreigner
Heart
Jethro Tull
Chaka Khan
ELO
The Police
Styx
REO Speedwagon
Yes
Kiss
Deep Purple (Frampton alone yes, but w/Deep Purple, no)
Then there are some artists I consider to be borderline, such as:
Grand Funk Railroad
Steeley Dan
Kool & the Gang
Lynyrd Skynrd
Earth, Wind & Fire
Bob Seger (I always admired/recognized the fact that he was among the first to realize that boomers were no longer teenyboppers, but still wanted to rock out to something heavier than Shaun Cassidy)
Additionally, there are artists who enjoyed 60's-70's hits like Neil Sedaka, The Bee Gees, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, Gordon Lightfoot, any of the solo Beatles, Johnny Rivers, Rick Nelson and many others.
Feel free to agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you and see your ideas on the subject.
