He wrote both tunes the same day. After getting the idea for “Old Hippie” and taking off writing it, David found that in short order he had composed fifteen verses to the song! Well, of course that was way too lengthy, do he proceeded to trim it up. One of the lines he edited out mentioned something about “kids of the baby boom.”
David liked that line and didn’t want to just discard it, so he worked on trying to get another melody going and maybe another idea that was the same – but different. What resulted was “Kids Of The Baby Boom.”
Whereas “Old Hippie” came close, “Kids Of The Baby Boom” went all the way to the number one position of Billboard’s country chart on April 18, 1987, marking the Bellamys’ tenth and last single to make the top spot.
Seventeen months later, what might be called “Old Hippie III” appeared, better known as “Rebels Without A Clue.” That tune, by reaching #9, completed a nostalgia trilogy that resulted in three Top Ten singles.