SFMA History: 1960's

South Florida had quite a few famous visitors in the 1960's. The AFM Convention was held in Miami in both 1963 and in 1967. The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and Luciano Pavarotti made his American debut with the Florida Grand Opera in 1965. Emerson Buckley joined the Fort Lauderdale Symphony as conductor in 1963, and Alain Lombard became music director of the Miami Philharmonic in 1967.

South Florida gained two universities and an opera company in the 1960's. Florida Atlantic University was founded in 1964, and Florida International University was founded in 1965. Palm Beach Opera was founded in 1961.

Outside of music, work began on Everglades Parkway in 1964, and the highway opened in 1969. And the Miami Dolphins played their first game in 1966. And of course the decade opened in 1960 with the release of the movie, "Where the Boys Are."

The 1960's also saw the growth of the recording industry in south Florida. Criteria Recording Studio was opened by founder Mack Emerman in 1958 and became so popular that by the end of the decade it was booked around the clock. The studio opened Studio A in 1967, a room large enough to hold a 72 piece orchestra and used extensively for recording of the Jackie Gleason Show. James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" was recorded at Criteria in 1965.

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