Darrell Mullins

This is the extended version of Darrell's article that appeared in the June 2008 issue of ME Music Magazine.

MY BACK PAGES: Protest Songs Submitted May 10, 2008

Recently, I was watching the news and began to think of all the problems facing our country, our state, and our state of mind. As I write this column, gas is about $3.70 per gallon, mortgage foreclosures are occurring at an alarming rate, Kentucky’s budget is swimming in red ink causing massive cutbacks, and that is just a sample of what is facing us all. I watched the newscast and realized something was missing. Turning down the TV volume, I strained to listen but heard nothing. The silence was deafening. Then it hit me. Where are all the protest songs?We are in the midst of a presidential race that is unlike any other in our history. Over 4000 Americans have died and thousands more injured in Iraq, a war in its fifth year. In fact, the war in Iraq has lasted longer than World War II, or any other war in America’s history. Our climate is changing, and global warming is now a common phrase that was unknown just a few years ago. What is unusual is that when I turn on the radio, I hear no songs about these issues. It doesn’t really matter which side of the issue you are on. You can be liberal or conservative, red state or blue state, democrat or republican... whatever. Someone should be singing about these issues. If you’re not outraged, you’re not really paying attention!

Initially, I thought maybe today’s Americans are simply apathetic, or self-absorbed in their own narrow world. The me-generation run amok. What’s in it for me? Or, if it doesn’t affect me, why bother? Where were the Bob Dylan’s, Pete Seeger’s, Woody Guthrie’s, Aunt Molly Jackson’s of today’s youth? Upon researching the subject I learned that young musicians are involved. They do care, and they are singing about our perilous state of existence. The problem is that you won’t hear their songs on commercial radio. You must go to the internet to find them.

There is an old Saturday Night Live skit with Chevy Chase doing Weekend Update where he says, “A recent study reveals, the two biggest problems facing America today are ignorance and apathy. When Weekend Update asked the man on the street what the two biggest problems facing America are, they said, 'I don’t know, and I don’t care.'” Each week Jay Leno does a segment called ‘Jaywalking’ where he asks people on the street simple questions that any American should know, or any fifth grader for that matter. It is alarming how many of those questioned cannot name nor identify the Vice President, or state who we fought in the Civil War or World War II. Some are actually college graduates, some are teachers, and some are even lawyers! You have to try really hard to be that ignorant! Sir Francis Bacon said, “Knowledge is power.” If we, as a people, do not become more involved in our world and better educate ourselves, and our children, then we may be doomed!The protest song is firmly embedded in music with a history going back several hundred years. I became interested in music in the mid 1950's, a time when the civil rights movement was born. Folk music was being re-discovered and would eventually embrace this movement and sing its anthems. We may look back on the 1950's as an innocent time when the ideal mother was June Cleaver, but turmoil and unrest were also present under the surface.The 1950's saw the Cold War escalate to the point that for the first time in the history of the world, man had the power to destroy all life on the planet. Indeed, we came close to that result on at least one occasion. We also saw fear and censorship used maliciously as Joseph McCarthy ruined careers with accusations of subversive activity on the part of musicians, artists, and the entertainment industry. Just the accusation alone ruined many careers when McCarthy blacklisted singers and writers such as Pete Seeger, who testified before McCarthy’s fiasco. Seeger, who has always been an activist, would go on to be one of the leaders of the protest movement of the 1960's. It was Seeger who used the song 'We Shall Overcome' which has come to symbolize all types of suppression. Ironically, the song that was #1 in the country on the day I was born was 'Goodnight Irene' by The Weavers, of which Pete Seeger was a member. Maybe this made its mark on me in some subconscious way. While the 1960's was a decade of social upheaval, assassinations, and war, it was a time when young people took a stand on issues previously left to adults and politicians. Parents heard their children ask questions that had remained only in the thoughts of adults. The lack of adequate answers resulted in a youth rebellion and a thirst for meaning and knowledge.

Meanwhile, the young generation had found its voice in a folk singer barely 20 years old from Hibbing, Minnesota. His name was Bob Dylan. He had read a lot of books, listened to a lot of music, and seemed the reincarnation of Woody Guthrie. A generation earlier, Woody had been active in many social causes writing songs that are still sung today. When Adolf Hitler was trying to take over the world, Woody’s guitar displayed the slogan 'This machine kills fascists.' While Woody Guthrie may have primed the creative pump of the young folk singer, Dylan soon discovered his own creative force and proceeded to set folk music, and the world, on its ear. Writing songs like 'Masters of War,' 'Blowing in the Wind,' 'Mr. Tamborine Man,' 'A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.' and 'It’s Alright Ma I’m Only Bleeding', Dylan was proclaimed an icon and the voice of a generation. Dylan hadn’t bought into this, as he only wanted to write and sing his songs. He did his own protest and turned his back on the movement and protest music, preferring to rock with the likes of Mike Bloomfield and later the Band. Others such as Buffie Saint Marie, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Peter Paul & Mary took up the slack.

By the end of the decade, the negative aspects of social change seemed to outweigh any dreams the flower generation may have contemplated. Eutopia was nowhere on the horizon. Drugs were introduced, and the Vietnam War divided America politically. However, not all protest songs were against traditional values. A former Green Beret named Barry Sadler had a huge hit with 'The Green Beret,' which was as patriotic as you could get. Merle Haggard had big hits with 'Okie from Muskogee' and 'The Fighting Side of Me.' These were his answer to young people protesting America’s policies and indulging in illegal behavior. Elsewhere, on the west coast, Country Joe & the Fish were singing 'I Feel Like I’m Fixing to Die Rag’. It was just as melodic as Merle Haggard but approached war and death from a humorous point of view. To this day, if you are in a crowd of people and sing the words, “And it’s one-two-three. What are we fighting for?” someone in the crowd will no doubt answer, “Don’t ask me. I don’t give a damn, next stop is Vietnam.” The same works with the song 'Okie from Muskogee’. Try it!

Then came the end of the decade with Woodstock and Jimi Hendrix doing the unheard of... an instrumental protest song. Hendrix performed an unusual, though classic version of 'The Star Spangled Banner' complete with feedback and effects that only Jimi could create. He may not have intended it as a statement, but to many, it spoke volumes. It was controversial, but only a few noted the fact that Jimi Hendrix had been in the military and was a veteran. Just a few months later, Hendrix would be dead and gunshots would be heard on a college campus resulting in death.

Neil Young, a Canadian, wrote his ten line song 'Ohio' after watching footage of four Kent State Students being shot and killed by the National Guard, who had been called in to control the crowd protesting Vietnam War policies. It was an act that seemed to shock all Americans regardless of their political views. Things seemed to have gone too far. The flip side of the song was appropriately 'Find the Cost of Freedom’.

During the remainder of the 1970's America slowly changed in many respects. Perhaps it was the backlash from the previous turbulent decade. Politically, America was also changing. Ronald Reagan became President in 1980 and America tried to feel good about itself. The youth of the ‘60s were now a part of mainstream America. Where they had once tried to tear down social walls, their main concern was now Wall Street. They either gave up on their ideals, or simply forgot them completely. The balance sheet and the bottom line became their battle cry and their priority. Man, they did prosper. One of the landmark songs of this era was Lee Greenwood’s 'God Bless the USA’. It is a far cry from Dylan, Country Joe, Tom Paxton, or Pete Seeger. It has to be one of the most popular songs ever, and you will hear it as any patriotic function. It is beautiful in its simplicity.

During this era, we saw business takeovers and mergers which would mushroom with time. This included newspapers being purchased by communication conglomerates which basically eliminated competition resulting in the same news being printed practically everywhere. No competition, no need for investigative journalism. The Federal Communications Commission relaxed regulations for radio resulting in the fairness doctrine being virtually eliminated. Also, radio stations in close proximity could now be owned by the same owner or corporation. Then there was the explosion of C. N. N., satellite TV, and a host of networks aimed at specific markets. Of course, who could forget the impact of the internet in the 1980's and ‘90s. While the intent was to get more information to the public, the glut of information and choices overloaded the public, short circuited, and simply became mentally numbing.

Now, here we are in the new millennium. We may not be able to name the Vice President, Kentucky’s Governor, or who we fought in the Civil War or World War II. But we know all about Britney Spears, American Idol, and Tom Cruise. Obviously, this situation alone is enough to protest. There are many young musicians who are writing songs about important issues that affect us all. Neil Young released a CD a year or so ago titled 'Living With War’. It consisted of songs aimed at the Iraq War and is quintessential Neil Young. Bruce Springsteen has also written and recorded songs dealing with social issues. They just aren’t being played. John McMurtry recorded a great song called 'Can’t Make it Here Anymore' about jobs being shipped to other countries while Americans lose their jobs, self esteem, and often their lives. The only station I’ve heard play it is WMMT in Whitesburg. The first time they played it, I ordered it on the internet. If you haven’t heard it, listen to or download it. The song has a powerful message.

Yes, the songs are out there, but you have to look hard. If you get your news from enough different sources, you realize that we are at a point in our history where we, as Americans, must be involved. There is no greater country than America, but the freedom we enjoy must be protected. Not just the freedom of those with whom we agree, but also those whom we disagree. History has taught us many lessons, and if we do not learn those lessons, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Many people feel helpless believing their acts cannot make a difference. I’ve heard people say we have to pay the high gas prices because there’s nothing we can do. Never doubt that a small group or small number of people can change the course of history, for indeed they are the only ones who ever have...

Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now...