It’s September 1966 – You’re A Teenager – You’re In L.A. – You’re A Freshman – There’s The Sunset Strip – Life Is Complete

KBLA – Bobby St. James – September 25, 1966 – Rob Frankel Collection –

Best of all possible times. Best of all possible places. And to think; only a year earlier you were smack in the middle of Junior High, hearing stories and begging your parents to let you go to The Hullaballoo on Sunset. They wouldn’t let you out of the house at night, especially a school night. Your parents heard stories, they saw the news – they stared at you out of the corner of their eyes and wondered.

But a year went by, you turned 16 and it was your first semester in High School. Kids had cars – you could get your learner’s permit. You signed up for Drivers Ed. You made lots of promises.

And then your parents split up and your dad moved out. Life up and changed and suddenly you were able to go places and do things. Your dad promised you a car – your mom gave you her Bullock’s card on the weekends – she let you go out at nights, even school nights. Just as long as you got home by 10:00, did your homework and didn’t slip below a B in any of your classes. You couldn’t nod your head fast enough.

Freedom – it was sweet. The Sunset Strip – it was paradise. The Trip was your home away from home. Everybody knew you, even the bouncers. Roger McGuinn gave you his guitar pick – Kim Fowley gave you his phone number – you got invited to parties in Laurel Canyon – your dad got an apartment in Malibu.

Your life was perfect – it was the best it was ever going to be. You were convinced if you dropped dead in the middle of it you would have died happy.

But lately there’ve been a lot more Police around the Sunset Strip and people talking about Pandora’s Box and curfews. . .

And if you were just coming home late on a Sunday night that September, you might have heard KBLA on somebody’s car radio – and on the 25th, it sounded just like this.

As you know, we’ve suspended our ads in order to make Past Daily a better experience for you without all the distractions and pop-ups. Because of that, we’re relying more on your support through Patreon to keep us up and running every day. For as little as $1.00 a month you can make a huge difference as well as be able to download all of our posts for free (news, history, music). You’ll see a banner just below. Click on that and become a subscriber – it’s easy, painless and does a world of good.

Liked it? Take a second to support Past Daily on Patreon!