Meet The Beatles, Johnny Carson, James Bond And The Cuban Missile Crisis: October 1962 Brought Not Just The Arival On Screen James Bond, But A History Book Full Of Enduring Pop Culture Icons

 

Joe Neumaier at the New York Daily News wrote an interesting piece that looks back at October 1962.

It’s been noted that 1962 was one of the great years — if not the greatest — in pop culture.

Let’s pinpoint things even more precisely: 50 years ago, October 1962, is when it all changed.

As the Cuban missile crisis brought the world closer than ever to its end, there was an explosion of beginnings whose aftershocks are still being felt.

One of the biggest was James Bond’s debut stroll across the screen — seen through the barrel of a gun — in “Dr. No.” The first 007 film, featuring Sean Connery as the British superspy and the blueprint for every Bond flick and so many other thrillers since, still holds up beautifully.

... Meanwhile, on television, Oct. 1, 1962, saw Johnny Carson's debut as host of “The Tonight Show.” Today, some half a dozen Carson heirs and aspirants stroll onto the air between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. In music, the Beatles released their first single, “Love Me Do,” in the U.K. the same day “Dr. No” opened. (Its flip side: “P.S. I Love You.”) In America, the Beach Boys’ debut album, “Surfin’ Safari,” was released on Oct. 1. (It’s title track, from the previous June, is one of the original “songs of summer.”)

On Oct. 24, James Brown recorded his classic “Live at the Apollo,” backed by the Famous Flames. And on Oct. 26, Motown Records launched “The Motortown Revue” in Washington, D.C.,, featuring Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Mary Wells and 12-year-old sensation Little Stevie Wonder.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/october-1962-brought-arrival-screen-james-bond-a-history-book-full-enduring-pop-culture-icons-article-1.1163940?pgno=1#ixzz27OOmq6BM

Note: I remember October 1962 well, as I was 10-years-old at the time. I became a big fan of the Beatles and Ian Fleming's character James Bond, and I recall that I was frightened of our heading towards a nuclear world war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.