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Wanna-Beats: In 1959, Café Bizarre Gave Straights an Entree Into Beatnik Culture

By Ben Marks — America hit peak hippie in 1967, thanks to the avalanche of media hype that accompanied the Summer of Love. In contrast, there was no single catalyzing event to mark the moment when our nation reached peak beat, although one could make a good case for 1959. "At t…

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