American Heartbeat 1960

'The world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do… The problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won. We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier – the frontier of the Sixties. A frontier of unknown opportunities and perils – a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.' The words came from President John F. Kennedy, whose election as President of the United States in November 1960 promised a brave new world. It seemed the era of grey postwar austerity, in which rock'n'roll had shone like a beacon, would be transformed. The teenager, invented in the Fifties, could look forward to a brighter future. As Neil Sedaka, Dion, Chubby Checker, Bobby Ridell and the Drifters – all artists included here – starred in the Brooklyn's Theatre's Christmas Rock 'n' Roll Show, John F. Kennedy contemplated his forthcoming inauguration. An eventful decade was just beginning...