Hunter Thompson, Bob Dylan and the Jingle Jangle Morning (1967)

Walking around my Austin neighborhood... and I came across a "Free Books" box standing tall in a neighbor's yard. There were 5-7 books in there and some were not bad. I saw a John LeCarre novel but I cannot keep track of plot twists. Then I spied Fear and Loathing in America (volume II), a collection of Hunter Thompson's letters from 1968-1976. I took it home. The very first letter got to me-- and it starts... "1967 was the year of the hippy."

That was the year I graduated high school-- what kind of chance did  I have? It's okay, Ma, I'm only bleeding... Just kidding, but that was a hell of a time to be 18 years old and trying to make sense of the world.

Hunter said "the word 'hipppy' coined by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen-- who also came up with 'beatnik.' " 

Damn, talk about a man with a talent for branding!

Thompson mentioned that "Bob Dylan was the original hippy" and "Mr. Tambourine Man is both an epitaph and a swan-song for the lifestyle and the instincts that led, eventually, to the hugely-advertised 'hippy phenomenon.' "

Hard to recall a time where things changed so dramatically, based upon things like rock music and a new ideology-- the hippie lifestyle and culture. Where would we be without that revolution...? Still dressing like Mad Men and sipping martinis?

So glad that Hunter mentioned Surrealistic Pillow! I listened to the LP up in my Long Island bedroom on the night before I headed off for college-- wondering what awaited me. That was a powerful album and, as Hunter Thompson said "The Jefferson Airplane is another key sound from that era..." and he goes on to praise the talent of Grace Slick, their lead singer.

Remember this refrain from Mr. Tambourine Man? 
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

That comes from a proto--hipster named Lord Buckley... Don't believe me, Google it--

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Buckley

Lord Buckley died in 1960, just before the big hippie change had a chance to get rolling. He even predated the Beats. And I quote the wiki piece on Lord Buckley: 
"Bob Dylan in his book Chronicles, said 'Buckley was the hipster bebop preacher who defied all labels.' " 

And here's a footnote from the end of the Wikipedia piece on Lord Buckley:
"The jingle-jangle morning" in "Mr. Tambourine Man" is a phrase Bob Dylan claims to have taken from Lord Buckley.^[18] It appears in Buckley's performance of Scrooge.^[19]