Aug. 8, 1969

BORN-TO-BE-WILDBIKERS Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper rev up the countercultural revolution with Easy Rider; a graying Fonda, his hippie hair cut short, plays a beekeeper grandpa in 1997's indie Ulee's Gold. 'CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION,' Tommy James' seventh and last top 10 hit with the Shondells, enjoys its third week at No. 2, its peak position on the pop chart. After battling drugs, James got religion and released a 1971 solo LP called Christian of the World. 20 years before 'dilbert,' authors Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull create a buzz phrase with their best-selling nonfiction analysis of incompetent business management, The Peter Principle. AND IN THE REAL WORLD, pregnant actress Sharon Tate (left), a.k.a. Mrs. Roman Polanski, would be one of the seven Manson family massacre victims found dead this week in Los Angeles. Denied parole earlier this year, Manson is working on his own website.