California Dreamin': Singapore Boy Henri Gann (2)

               Light My Fire: The Doors. Video: The Doors Remastered.
Part 2

By 1967, I had settled down to a life typical of many of the college students in LA. I was managing three part time jobs and commuting between school and work. With the jobs, I was able to afford a new Ford Mustang, the iconic rock and roll car of the 60's. The Mustang was an innovation of its time in car technology much like the Tesla car is today.

Cruisin' along Sunset Blvd on a Friday or Saturday night was a relaxing thing to do after a stressful week. Generally I would hangout with my college friends, who also had Mustangs, at a drive-in restaurant. The popular ones near us were Bob's Big Boy in Glendale or Tiny Naylor in Hollywood. 

After the drive-ins, we would all go for a drive through Sunset Boulevard to the Whisky A-Go-Go or the Gazzaris Club in Hollywood. The drive generally took 2 hours or more in a bumper to bumper traffic, with loud music emanating from many of the automobiles. 

George Lucas had reenacted this scene in his movie American Graffiti released in 1973. My best memories were the continuous organ and guitar solo accompaniment of the Door's: Light My Fire and the announcing of the group,  "S-t-o-n-e-s" in a studio altered echo delay voice prior to playing, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction."

Exploring clubs was another thing we did  on weekends. At the Whisky-A-Go-Go we witnessed an unforgettable performance of Jim Morrison and the Doors. 

However, at the Odd House, a soul hits club in Santa Monica, it was the music of James Brown and Wilson Pickett. We even drove as far as Hermosa Beach one night to the Lighthouse, a popular jazz club, just to see the legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. He had a unique guitar style of soloing his music with chords which is still widely imitated by jazz guitarist today. 

Towards the end of the 60's, many of the music had a psychedelic beat to it. Most notable of these were Sgt Pepper by the Beatles and Good Vibration by the Beach Boys. 

The 5th Dimension also had a few hits from the popular musical "Hair" shown at the Aquarius Theater in Hollywood. My favorites were White Rabbit by Jefferson Starship, California Dreamin' by the Mamas and Papas and If You're Going To San Francisco by Scott Mackenzie.

The end of the 60s were happy moments in my life when I met my wife, Christine.  I was visiting my friend Aziz at his uncle's club, the Fez in Hollywood. She and her friend Bernie were trying to catch a bus home near the Fez late one night after visiting the Aquarius Theater. 

Being from UK and having just been in LA for a few days, they did not know that there was no bus service after midnight in LA. My offer to drive them home led to a new life for all of us. First, my friend Aziz and Bernie tied their knot and than we did in 1970 when I left LA for Amherst, Massachusetts to do my post graduate studies.

In a short period of 5 years in the 60's, I had accomplished my American dream. To this day, the 60's music still bring back wonderful memories of my journey to America. My interest in cars continued through the 80's when I bought two Ferraris.

Spotify for connection:
https://open.spotify.com/user/henrig1234/playlist/3thAFtgXGIpoPIop4fYOFA

Read Part 1: Singapore Boy Makes Good: Henri Gann:

Article and Images from: Henri Gann (Copyrights Reserved).

                California Dreamin': Mamas n Papas Video by: acyrgodoy