The Forgotten Joy Of 1960 Presidential Campaign Jingles

The Forgotten Joy Of 1960 Presidential Campaign Jingles
Senator John F. Kennedy smiling during campaign. (Photo by Hank Walker//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
Senator John F. Kennedy smiling during campaign. (Photo by Hank Walker//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

The pep was palpable. As scenes from the 1960 presidential campaign flashed by during a screening of JFK hosted in partnership with The Atlantic, the addictive, saccharine soundtrack was mesmerizing. Political jingles cheerfully urged listeners to vote for Kennedy, then Johnson, then Nixon—men, each song manically assured, who could lead America. It felt like a rogue a cappella group had taken the auditorium hostage.

For some reason, today's campaign songs don't quite capture this quality—Springsteen and Kid Rock lack that special perkiness. To revive a little of our republic's former campaigning joy, The Atlantic has dutifully assembled a sample of the political earworms unleashed on the unwitting American public in 1960.

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