My take is that 1963 was a pivotal year for those of us living in the U.S. The Sixties weren’t quite in full force, but the assassination of our President was first in a tragic trio of murders that changed the way we looked at our lives. Civil Rights had finally punched through to the national conscience. And soon we would discover we were escalating a foolish and immoral war in Vietnam that would divide the nation. The Beetles and Stones had just reached our shores and hadn’t introduced the wonderfully shocking “Summer of Love.” Culturally, speaking though, Americans had not yet grasped what the decade was all about in 1963. For the most part, we were still holding onto our innocence and ignorance. The following lists may provide some insight into what we were thinking just before the world changed.
Best Selling Fiction (As of December 29,
1963, NYT)
1. The Group,
Mary McCarthy
2. The Venetian
Affair, Helen MacInnes
3. Caravan,
James Michener
4. The Shoes of
a Fisherman, Morris L. West
5. The Living
Reed, Pearl S. Buck
6. The Hat on
the Bed, John O’Hara
7. On Our
Majesty’s Secret Service, Ian Fleming
8. The Battle
of Villa Fiorita, Rumer Godden
9. The Three
Sirens, Irving Wallace
10. Ice Station
Zebra, Alistair MacLean
Top Ten Grossing Movies (1963)
1. Cleopatra
2. How The West
Was Won
3. It’s A Mad,
Mad, Mad, Mad World
4. Tom Jones
5. Irma La Deuce
6. Sword in
the Stone
7. Son of
Flubber
8. The Birds
9. Dr. No
10. The V.I.P.s
Top Ten Rated TV Shows
1. Beverly
Hillbillies
2. Bonanza
3. The Dick Van
Dyke Show
4. Petticoat
Junction
5. The Andy
Griffith Show
6. The Lucy
Show
7. Candid
Camera
8. The Ed
Sullivan Show
9. The Danny
Thomas Show
10. My Favorite
Martian
Top Ten Best Selling Records (1963)
1. Sugar Shack,
Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs
2. Surfin’ in
the USA, Beach Boys
3. The End of
the World, Skeeter Davis
4. Rhythm of
the Rain, Cascades
5. He’s So
Fine, Chiffons
6. Blue Velvet,
Bobby Vinton
7. Hey Paula,
Paul and Paula
8. Fingertips
II, Little Stevie Wonder
9. Washington
Square, Village Stompers
10. It’s All
Right, The Impressions
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