Seven-in-ten people remember Woodstock, reports a study by the Pew Research Center.
The age group most familiar with Woodstock is adults ages 50 to 64; 85 percent of them remember Woodstock. They’re baby boomers who came of age during the activist era of the 1960s.
Familiarity with Woodstock falls to 71 percent among two adjacent age groups: adults 30 to 49, and those 65 and older. Among the youngest age group in the survey – ages 16 to 24 – just half know what Woodstock was.
The survey also looked at the generational differences in American life.
The public today says there are big differences between younger and older adults in their values, use of technology, work ethic, and respect and tolerance for others.
However, this modern generation gap is much more subdued than the one that raged in the 1960s. Few Americans of any age see it as a source of conflict – either in society at large or in their own families, according to survey results.
Around the time of Woodstock, rock and roll wasn't very popular. In a 1966 Harris Survey, it was near the very back of the pack among 11 musical styles tested.
Nearly half the public – 44 percent – said in that survey that they actively disliked rock; the next highest genre on this "dislike" scale was opera at just 17 percent.
Rock and roll today is the most popular music in the country, with nearly two-thirds of the public in the Pew Research survey saying they often – 35 percent – or sometimes – 30 percent – listen to it.
Interesting stuff. I guess we can go back to Bob Dylan and say “The times they are a changin’” – still.
