So part of my spring break was spent out and about in the shops and I know a few people at the FEST asked me where I go to get my records and what to look for and stuff, so I figured I'd
share a few things I got this week....
1.) The Harry Nilsson Anthology
If you like Nilsson and don't have this, get it.Personally, I'm a Nilsson demo junkie, and this one is great for my fix. Primarily in the bonus disc. Most of my Nilsson records are on vinyl so I didn't own the bonus tracks tacked on the end of "PussyCats" and "Nilsson Schmilsson" .My favorite is the early version of "Old Forgotten Soldier" and the demo of "Save The Last Dance For Me" will give you chills.
2.) John Lennon- A Day On The Radio
This disc is the broadcast of Dennis Elsas talking with John at the 102.7 station in September of 1974 when he came to promote "Walls And Bridges", among other things. Basically, its full of John banter that I will never get tired of hearing. I met Dennis at the "LennonNYC" premiere last September and he gets just as excited talking about that day as he did back then. Its a good one for the bootlegs.
3.) Paul and Linda McCartney- Ram (Mono)
Someone I met at BeatleFest told me that this was an absolute must-have for my collection. I only ever had the stereo version but I've made no secret of the fact that this is one of my FAVORITE McCartney records ever. So I took on the challenge of tracking down the mono version. You can DEFINITELY appreciate the sound a whole lot better, and this version came with a track called "BRUNG TO EWE" that wasn't on the stereo version I have.
4.) The GOASTT- La Carotte Bleue
I picked this one up for record store day last week. Its basically a more processed version of the "Acoustic Sessions" one from last October, with a few new tracks added. I can't even give an objective review of this. I am eternally obsessed with anything composed by Sean Lennon.
5.) Bob Dylan- The Dylan/Cash Sessions
If you're like me and "Nashville Skyline" is one of your favorite Dylan records, then this one is great one for the collection.Not only does this have the studio outtakes but they also have the performances from "The Johnny Cash Show". Oh yeah,and Bob maintains his "Nashville Skyline" country voice throughout the entire duration of this record.
6.) Fistful of Mercy
Another one I got for Record Store Day. This one was a "7 single containing a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" and a live version of "Things Go Round". The latter is my favorite one on the "As I Call You Down" record and the harmony's on "Pale Blue Eyes" are beautiful. I almost like this version better that the Velvet Undergrounds. Hopefully Lou Reed won't kill me for that.
7.) The Best of Badfinger
All that talking I did with Joey Molland (Badfinger's guitarist) at the FEST inspired me to get this one. I like the fact that "Come and Get It" is on this one so I can compare it with The Beatles' version. And for the original version of "Without You" of course :)
8.) The Complete Lost Lennon Tapes
Yes, COMPLETE Lost Lennon Tapes.It contains all 22 volumes, exactly 543 songs that were broadcast on the radio program from 1988-1992. Its full of alternate mixes,takes,live performances,radio & television broadcasts,home demos that John recorded himself in Bermuda, Cold Spring Harbor,at the Dakota etc etc etc. Basically, this is HEAVEN on earth for a Lennon fan. This collection is something that you will NEVER find in a "Box of Vision" or any other officially released Lennon record out there right now. Its by far the most precious of my Lennon memorabilia, and my favorites are the demos for "Double Fantasy" that he made himself at the Dakota. Its amazing, yet not surprising to hear what that man could do with just a rhythm box and a guitar.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Based on a dream I had...
Central Park Stroll
For John Lennon
I saw you once
From the corner of a filthy Manhattan block
Where music of working class chatter and taxi cabs
Met and played loudly
Near the precipice of the park entrance
With the symphony of the honking horns in your ears
I saw you glide into the traffic
Your long overcoat
Black as the coffee you loved to drink
Sways free amidst the chaos
In the middle of the street
Holding tightly at your side
A book of red leather
As I spied you I wondered
If I followed
Would I be able to live your history
Simply by treading
Slowly
Unconventionally
Like the rhythm
To the words
Of your greatest daydreams
On these same ancient cobblestones
That you’ve placed your feet upon
Would I only be able to understand then?
Would I know if it was worth it in the end?
To run inside that darkened empty vestibule
On that warm December night
To collapse upon its single stair of marble
Shivering
Breathing faster
Soaked in the blood of your 40 years
Grappling with an unstable heart
Left shattered as the glass of the doorman’s gold-plated cave
Where the silver and red bullets lie
Outside the dusty gray fortress
Where your youngest son lies upstairs sleeping.
I abandoned the thought as quickly as you left
And I strained my eyes to see
Your fading silhouette in the distance
For I decided it was best
To watch you disappear
Untethered
Behind the rows of tall willow trees
That sway in protest to the absent sun
Amidst the heavy crowds of passersby
Clogging the infinitesimal pathway
Until you vanished completely from my vision
And pausing to retrieve my breath
I turn my back, satisfied
And cross over to the next street.
Central Park Stroll
For John Lennon
I saw you once
From the corner of a filthy Manhattan block
Where music of working class chatter and taxi cabs
Met and played loudly
Near the precipice of the park entrance
With the symphony of the honking horns in your ears
I saw you glide into the traffic
Your long overcoat
Black as the coffee you loved to drink
Sways free amidst the chaos
In the middle of the street
Holding tightly at your side
A book of red leather
As I spied you I wondered
If I followed
Would I be able to live your history
Simply by treading
Slowly
Unconventionally
Like the rhythm
To the words
Of your greatest daydreams
On these same ancient cobblestones
That you’ve placed your feet upon
Would I only be able to understand then?
Would I know if it was worth it in the end?
To run inside that darkened empty vestibule
On that warm December night
To collapse upon its single stair of marble
Shivering
Breathing faster
Soaked in the blood of your 40 years
Grappling with an unstable heart
Left shattered as the glass of the doorman’s gold-plated cave
Where the silver and red bullets lie
Outside the dusty gray fortress
Where your youngest son lies upstairs sleeping.
I abandoned the thought as quickly as you left
And I strained my eyes to see
Your fading silhouette in the distance
For I decided it was best
To watch you disappear
Untethered
Behind the rows of tall willow trees
That sway in protest to the absent sun
Amidst the heavy crowds of passersby
Clogging the infinitesimal pathway
Until you vanished completely from my vision
And pausing to retrieve my breath
I turn my back, satisfied
And cross over to the next street.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
This is my prospectus a.k.a the thesis that I'm required to write as an undergrad for my arts degree.I wrote it on Bob Dylan. I rarely ever post school stuff but, I worked on this for the entire semester and it would be worth it if someone else read it other than my professor and my classmates.
Edit : I did tell Bob I was writing this and included a draft in the letter I gave him.Hopefully, he's okay with it :)
“The Times They Are A-Changin’ ”: Bob Dylan’s musical influence on The Civil Rights Movement
In the early 1960’s, there began a movement of change both politically and socially in America. The two most significant movements of the time were the changes in racial relations and the changes in popular culture. Racial tensions were at an all time high due to the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement that began in the mid-1950’s. By 1961, the movement began to make major strides as young people became more active in challenging American leaders who opposed change.
At around the same time, these new thoughts and ideas influenced other forms of popular culture, including music. The Civil Rights Movement was a catalyst for the songs that were popular during this time. According to the book “Exploring the World of Music”, participants in the Civil Rights Movement used songs “in order to uplift their spirits and keep their minds focused on what they were trying to achieve." (Hast, Cowdery, Scott 45). There were many musicians who participated and were influenced by the movement, but one of the most significant voices came from Bob Dylan. His lyrics and songs not only influenced the movement
and popular culture, but it was also the movement itself that influenced him in the early stages of his career.
One of the main reasons why Dylan was looked upon as a prominent voice in the Civil Rights Movement was because of the folk and protest songs he wrote in the early days of his career. It was also through his musical influences, and relationships with those involved in the movement that attributed to the establishment of his role. The Civil Rights movement thrived on the use of music in various protest marches and gatherings. By the time the Civil Rights Movement was gaining national attention, Bob Dylan was already on his way to becoming an important figure in music history. In “The Wicked Messenger”, author Mike Marqusee states “As the sixties wore on, the relationship between vanguards (or would be vanguards) and the masses of people they claimed to speak for and aimed to mobilize, was to grow more acutely troubled…..These political and cultural tensions were dramatized in Dylan’s music and the response to it. Throughout the decade, they drove his art at a breakneck pace.” (Marqusee 15).
Early Influences
Dylan’s musical evolution and direction were influenced by various figures in his life. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941 in Hibbing, Minnesota, he left for New York City in 1961, at the age of twenty, in order to pursue a career in music. He craved for a musical career modeled after his idol, Woody Guthrie. In his “Chronicles: Volume One“ memoir, Dylan writes “Woody’s songs were having that big an effect on me, an influence on every move I made, what I ate, and how I dressed, who I wanted to know, who I didn’t.” (Dylan 247). Guthrie was a folk singer who, according to Joe Klein’s book “Woody Guthrie: A Life” made a career of writing
protest songs (which became American folk standards such as "This Land is Your Land," "So Long, It's been Good to Know You," and "This Train Is Bound for Glory”) in order to “to enliven a union hall rally or to entertain the hobos and dust bowl refugees he traveled with.” (Klein 22). Dylan strived to emulate Guthrie, from his language to his personal and musical style. Guthrie would ultimately be not only a major influence to Dylan musically, but would also influence him to begin his own songwriting. Guthrie inspired Dylan to begin writing “protest” songs; songs that are associated with a movement for social change, as well as writing his own material. “The first song I’d wind up writing of any substantial importance was written for Woody Guthrie” (Dylan 54).
Another major influence in his progression as a musical voice in the Civil Rights movement was his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, whom he met upon arriving in New York in 1961. Rotolo was a 17 year old left wing activist from Queens who was active in the theater, and participated in various protest activities. “Suze was instrumental in bringing out Bob’s social awareness…she was very active in various antinuclear and civil rights groups, including the Congress for Racial Equality. Rotolo helped Dylan take interest in Civil Rights and other social issues and also shared the belief that there needed to be change. “Suze and I were spending more and more time together and I began to broaden my horizons, see a lot of what her world was like.” (Dylan 268).
Early beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement
According to the book “The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change”, author Aldon D. Morris explains that the roots of the Civil Rights
movement trace all the back to the end of the Reconstruction Era in the late 1800’s, which “left many former slaves on plantations as sharecroppers in conditions similar to slavery.” The movement’s progression began its acceleration in the mid-1950’s, with the integration of major league baseball, U.S President Truman’s plan to integrate the armed forces, and the integration of schools in 1954.
There was also the emergence of many other significant events jumpstarted the movement including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the emergence of many protest affiliations who were actively participating in various protest marches, rallies, and sit-ins. Martin Luther King Jr. was also having a tremendous effect on the crowds of people who would gather to hear him preach about the importance of racial equality. During this time, many African Americans were being murdered, and this initiated concern from many American people. These concerns would spread with the political and protest songs from Dylan’s music in these years.
The Voice of A Generation
After being signed to Columbia Records in 1962, and with the release of his albums “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, Bob Dylan would soon become known as “The voice of a generation”. Dylan’s songs are not recognized as being original, but instead are noted for their significance as protest songs. These songs that Dylan wrote matched the feelings and thoughts of what was occurring at the time of the upsurge of the civil rights movement. In her article “The Popularization of American Folk Music”, Author Kim Roehl states that Dylan’s compositions, “were not the first to bring social issues back into folk music, but he was certainly seen as a hero in that arena.” In influencing the Civil Rights
movement, it was Dylan’s compositions that predominantly projected his image as the ‘voice of a generation” in the 1960’s. People took his words and messages through his songs “The Death of Emmett Till”, “The Times They Are A-changin”, “Only a Pawn in their Game”, “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”, “Hurricane” and not only applied it to their own lives, but they also associated the thoughts and feelings of the songs with the ideologies and beliefs of Dylan himself. This is a belief that Dylan has publicly refuted. “I’ve always said the organized media propagated me as something I never pretended to be…all this spokesman of conscience thing. A lot of my songs were definitely misinterpreted by people who didn’t know any better, and it goes on today. If you examine the songs I don’t believe you’re going to find anything in there that says I’m a spokesman for anybody or anything, really” (Scott 48). In spite of his own personal opinion of the public’s reception, the success of his career, based on the influence and impact that his compositions had on the movement and its people is undeniable.
The Death of Emmett Till
Dylan’s musical influence upon the Civil Rights movement began when he heard a story about a young African American boy from Chicago. The story was one of the catalysts that led to the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement and initiated Dylan’s heightened awareness in writing songs about real life situations of the time. It concerns the story of the vicious killing of a fourteen year old African American boy named Emmett Till in 1955.At the time, Till was living with a family member in Mississippi, and told his friends that he had a white girlfriend in his class in school back home. His friends persuaded him to talk to a white woman that was in a nearby grocery store. The woman was Carolyn Bryant, a twenty one year old married white
woman. There are conflicting reports about the incident, with Bryant claiming Till asked her on a date and touched her inappropriately, to Till simply saying the words “bye baby” to Bryant. Later, when Bryant’s husband, Roy was informed of this incident, he and his half-brother kidnapped Till from his bedroom. They then brutally murdered Till that night. He was beaten then dumped into the Tallahatchie River, weighed down by a fan around his neck. The missing body of Emmett Till missing body created attention as well as initiated disbelief from the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The brutal murder of Emmett Till inspired Dylan to write his song “The Death of Emmett Till”. The lyrics of the song were not only extremely audacious but it was also expressive for the current time in that it served as the framework for the details behind murder based on racial injustice. The lyrics successfully illuminate the illustration of how the white man was entertained by the capability to beat the young African American boy. There were many who wanted to see a trial, but at the same time, they were unwilling to take any action on the matter. Dylan also introduced the idea of corruption behind these kinds of murders. In the song Dylan sings “But on the jury there were men who helped the brothers commit this awful crime, And so this trial was a mockery, but nobody seemed to mind.” The song was also illustrated the resentment that emerged out of the death. Dylan successfully portrayed this feeling when he sang the song live at various areas around Greenwich Village in the early 1960’s.
“The Death of Emmett Till” was the song that initially sparked the relationship between Bob Dylan as a songwriter, and the Civil Right’s movement’s need for a musical voice. Though the influence of “The Death of Emmett Till” was not as wide spread since it did not make the cut on Dylan’s second album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, Dylan continued to convey its message through various live performances of the song. In Robert Shelton’s book “No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan” he states that “The Death of Emmett Till was “a song that was a staple among Dylan’s early performances in the years 1962 and 1963.”(Shelton 148)
Blowin’ In The Wind
Perhaps the most famous Dylan song associated with the Civil Rights Movement is his early composition “Blowin’ in the Wind”. According to Shelton, “the civil rights movement was cresting, and this understated song summed up the passions and questions of the time”. (Shelton 155). Written in 1962, in “a café across the street from the Gaslight” (Shelton 155) , "Blowin' in the Wind" raises questions of morality in the world at the time of the Civil Rights movement: oppression, war, and abuse upon humanity. Dylan uses rhetorical and literary techniques to express his message, by formatting the song with three stanzas each containing three rhetorical questions, many of which have double meanings, followed by the refrain, "Blowin' in the Wind". All of Dylan's questions are answered with the same phrase, so people can reach a clear conclusion for themselves. Dylan provokes even more attention upon the listener by never directly answering his questions. Dylan uses repetition on "how many" to show that there has already been enough suffering and oppression, and an additional amount is not needed to solve this problem of injustice.
"Blowin' in the Wind” contains many messages about society, and asks the questions about the world that most people ask in their heads each day, but nobody knows the answer to. In the first verse, Dylan asks, "How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?" This is an analogy, asking how many wars must there be until there is peace. Shelton states that the “white dove is a symbol of peace, and the "seas" she "sails" are different countries and parts of the world waging war.” (Shelton 162) In the second verse, Dylan asks, "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?" He is asking for how long people in the world be ruled under tyranny before they are allowed to be free and independent, a major desire and goal of the Civil Rights Movement. Next, he asks, "How many times can a man turn his head and pretend he just doesn’t see?" Dylan is asking how many instances will there be in which people can turn away, still remain ignorant to the events occurring in the world, and still not react to them. He also asks, "How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?" This question mocks the lack of compassion by some members of the public, instead wondering how some people can be advocates of the infliction of pain upon others, and wonders what has to be done so they are aware of this suffering they have caused. He also asks, "How many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?" This refers to the ignorance of the people in the world, or people who simply act as bystanders in the midst of change, those who just refuse to act on any sort of desire for change. Dylan is wondering how many people must die until they wake up and realize what is going on in the world around them and do something about it.
Throughout the song, the only consistent idea that Dylan plants in the listener’s mind is that "the answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind". This is believed to have a double meaning.
Shelton states that perhaps it means “that the answer cannot be found, because wind is a fleeting, invisible thing that comes and goes; it is not permanent and it is not written out in stone.” or “Perhaps, the answer must be found within themselves, or within society.” (Shelton 163) Regardless of the true meaning, the song is both inspirational and optimistic with its messages of peace and freedom.
The lyrics of “Blowin’ in the Wind”, resonates with the thoughts and feelings with those involved in the Civil Rights Movement at the time. It not only asks questions that were on the minds of the participants, but it also fostered a musical voice for those in the movement, one that expressed the same sentiment of freedom for all. Upon writing the song, Dylan began performing it around Greenwich Village, most notably in Gerde’s Folk City, a popular folk club in the early 1960’s.This was initially where the song’s popularity spread, and other musicians hanging around Washington Square Park began to cover the song. The song later became a massive hit, not for Dylan himself, but for the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, and ultimately became the “anthem” for the Civil Rights Movement.
March On Washington
On August 28, 1963, one of the most prominent civil rights activists, Martin Luther King Jr., led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march brought thousands together, black and white, to listen to speeches and stories about freedom and racial equality. The most notorious speech was King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. This was also an important time in Bob Dylan’s protest singing and writing. With all the progression of events occurring within the
movement, Dylan was inspired to “continue it to start writing and singing about what was happening.” (Shelton 198). Dylan released his third album in 1964, titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. The album is universally considered the most successful and effective in relation to Dylan’s impact on the Civil Rights movement since it contained three very considerably important songs about murder due to race, as well as represents the idea of change.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
The opening track on the album and most important that captured this change was aptly titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. The song was “a summation of the sixties mood. No cautious questioning now, but a prophetic voice trumpeting a changing order.” (Shelton 212) The song rallied all people, mothers, fathers, critics, writers, sons, and daughters, to wake up and recognize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is something that they will be able to look forward to. The song also rallies the government to not “stand in the doorways” and to not “block up the hall”. According to Clinton Heylin’s book “Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited”, this was one of the most significant songs in the midst of the Civil Rights movement because “the delivery of the song was the strong” (Heylin 116).The song also “not only inspired the progression of the movement, but it also gave comfort to those seeking a voice.” (Heylin 116).
The title of the song (and album) was also significant in the context of the state of the movement. Shelton states that “the line “The times they are a-changin’” is significant since it ignites the desire and public’s anticipation for change. “the line states that the change is
happening and is in progress at that certain time in history. The lyrics contain many uses of the pliant –in’ added to verbs: savin’, swimmin’, and changin’. These all restore the importance of that the change is in progress when the song is delivered to an audience.” (Shelton 126). The song also represented the participants in the movement’s belief that racial equality was an idea that was changing, and that will continue to change until it is made possible. “The main thought derived from the song is that the Civil Rights movement is what is happening and is going to be happening during the sixties. The movement is going to draw a line and cast new meaning on life in America.” (Shelton 127).
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Many of Dylan’s protest songs that he wrote during the progression of the Civil Rights Movement dealt with the justice system, especially racial injustice. The stories that he transformed into songs were true cases. In 1964, Dylan had been playing many of his protest songs during various protest rallies, marches and folk congregations where supporters and followers of the movement would come together. It was here that Dylan wrote another significant song that was influenced by the movement, and as well as the racial injustice in the government system. The song was called “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”. The song focused on the injustice that affected many African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. “A news item inspired this ballad about racist justice. On February 8, 1963, a Baltimore socialite struck Mrs. Carroll with a lightweight cane. She collapsed and died the next day of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Her attacker, whose father was active in Maryland
politics, was convicted of manslaughter and assault, and escaped with a light sentence”. (Shelton 214).
The most interesting idea that emerges from this song is that Dylan never actually reveals that Hattie Carroll is African American and that Zantzinger is a White man, even though the idea is basically implied in the context of the song. “He told the story with the economy of a news reporter and the imagery of a poet, without needing to state the underlying fact that William Devereux Zantzinger was white and Hattie Carroll black,” (Sounes 142). The idea that justice in terms of class discrimination is also implied, perhaps alluding to and bringing awareness to another racial injustice, being that Zantzinger belonged to a wealthy family, and Hattie Carroll was of a lower social status. This conclusion is judged by Zantzinger’s light sentence, as well as Dylan’s tone throughout the song. Nevertheless, it became another influential song for the supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. When Dylan performed the song on “Steven Allen Show” in 1964 he “ duly delivered such a compelling performance that viewers couldn't help but be convinced of the singer's civil rights credentials,” (Heylin 238).
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” also symbolized and called upon the pessimists and critics of the Civil Rights Movement. The lyrics in the chorus “But you who philosophize, disgrace, and criticize all fears.” are actually addressing the people (critics and pessimists) who are opposed to racial and social change (all fears). “These critics are the ones who “philosophize” the fear of desegregation and use their wealth to escape justice. The impact of the song is that is clearly states the facts of the brutal killing of an innocent black woman. The song
most effectively showed how the courts had no strong position on Civil Rights, and would do the least to please the public.” (Heylin 239).
Only A Pawn In Their Game
Perhaps the most influential and moving piece that supported and influenced the Civil Rights Movement was the song “Only A Pawn In Their Game”, another track off “The Times They Are A-Changin’” album. The song‘s main focuses on yet another murder, one of racial injustice, and in every word puts the blame on the killer. The song also illustrates how the white man is not the main cause of the killing, but is a victim of the society who supports segregation in the South. “Evers had been shot dead in Jackson a month earlier. Byron De La Beckwith, a local member of the Ku Klux Klan, was indicted for the crime. Bob sang that the killer was a pawn of ignorance, prejudice, and hatred.” (Sounes 134).
The first time Bob Dylan had traveled to the South, he performed “Only A Pawn In Their Game” in Mississippi during a black voter registration convention. Sounes states that “Bob rarely took a public stance on a political issue, but it was a powerful event.”(Sounes 134). However, the most significant performance of the song was at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Dylan performed “Only A Pawn In Their Game” live on the Lincoln Memorial and in front of many supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.. This performance in particular is significant because he took on his role as “The voice of a generation”. Dylan became “the role model for the middle class white American who believed in the movement and middle class activists. It was the public reception to “Only A Pawn In Their
Game” that influenced Dylan to continue writing songs like “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’”.(Shelton 263). Marqusee further implements the significance of this performance by stating that “on a day when everyone else was singing about freedom and deliverance and unity, Dylan was outlining a class-based analysis of the persistence of racism- and the central weight of white-skin privilege within the American polity.” (Marqusee 10)
The song “Only A Pawn In Their Game” is consistent with the other significant influential songs that Dylan wrote in that it portrays a true story, and calls upon people to fix and change what has been done wrong in the situation. He first explains the reality that the Civil Rights movement experienced a significant loss with the killing of Medgar Evers.However, the structure of the song is similar to that of “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”. Dylan applies phrases in the song that sounds like it came from a newspaper article. Then, it addresses the problem attributed to racial injustice. “The lyrics tell how the Southern state’s law, like Mississippi, was corrupt and favored the wealthy white man. Dylan deliberately reveals that the Southern politicians, sheriffs, soldiers, cops, and governors are the ones who play the game.” (Shelton 273). With each composition, Dylan is further publically revealing the real-life racial injustices as well as implementing that these stories symbolize the desperate need for change in the racial ideologies of American society.
Hurricane
By 1975, Dylan had experienced many different musical transformations, but his role as a protest singer, and voice of the Civil Rights movement had all but diminished. Dylan’s popularity as a Civil Rights activist convinced Rubin “Hurricane” Carter to send Dylan his autobiography “and because of his prior commitment to the civil rights struggle.”(Sounes 286). Dylan had read Carter’s memoir “The Sixteenth Round” and connected with the story. “Bob, who was so, moved by the book that he visited Carter in prison. They liked each other and Bob offered to write a song about the case.” (Sounes 287). Carter was notorious for being a successful African American boxer and devout Muslim. But his downfall occurred after two African American males robbed a bar in New Jersey and killed three people in the process. “The first on the scene was Alfred Bello followed by resident Patricia Valentine. Valentine reported to the cops that the killers had fled in a white car, that night Rubin Carter and a friend where traveling in a white car. The rest of the story is told in the song.” (Sounes 286).
The song titled “Hurricane” illustrates Dylan using the technique that he had during the progression of the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960’s.The song reads like a news story, accounting every detail, including Carter’s wrongful imprisonment, and at the end of the song, calls for justice and for his release. “The song is an excellent piece of journalism, condensing a complex case into eight minutes” (Sounes 288).The song would ultimately become the most significant of all of his songs about the Civil Rights movement since it was majorly effective in its result. Dylan’s meeting with Carter in Jail persuaded him to publically advocate the release of Carter from Rahway State Prison. Dylan also held a benefit concert as a part of his “Rolling Thunder Revue Tour” and titled the show “The Night of the Hurricane” (Sounes 289), and also in which many prominent Civil Rights activists were in attendance. As a result of the public attention due to Dylan’s efforts, Carter was successfully granted another trial.
Overall, music on its own can be seen as being one of the most important sources of communication since it is widely acknowledged and celebrated in all different forms and genres. The significance of music, specifically Dylan’s music, has unquestionably impacted the Civil Rights movement, one of the most influential movements in American history. The movement implemented the idea that race should not be a factor in deciding the legal and moral rights of an American citizen. Throughout the movement, there have been countless speeches, demonstrations, and marches took place, but it was the music that came from the thoughts and ideology behind these speeches, demonstrations, and marchers was the most essential. Dylan himself has said that “Music is the only art form that describes the temper of the times; that’s where people hang out.It not in books; it’s not on the stage; it’s not in the galleries.” (Scott 36)
With an extensive audience from TV, Radios and live performances, Bob Dylan was able to heavily influence on the Civil Rights movement. This was in large part due to his ability to write songs, like “Blowin’ in the Wind”, that resonated with his peers who possessed the same ideology about the movement.“With and through his songs, Bob was articulating the thoughts of millions of young people.”(Sounes 112) .Dylan had taken the news on murder due to racial injustice as well injustice associated with African Americans to a popular form of music and to the white middle class man. Dylan’s songs and lyrics took the stories of the killings of Emmett Till, Hattie Carroll, and Medgar Evers and revealed them to the public as a way of artistic expression, and also as stories with the ability to profoundly alter the American people’s state of mind, which popular music did not deliver prior to Dylan. Even though it took more than ten years to officially release Carter, his story was able to bring stories behind the corrupt judicial system into the forefront.
The stories that were told in all of Dylan’s protest songs can never be lost. Most of the songs are performed in Dylan’s recent performances. The Civil Rights movement was successful in bringing equal rights to African Americans, and the music of Dylan was instrumental in keeping up with the effectiveness in working towards the goal of racial harmony on Civil Rights issues.
Bibliography
Hast,Cowdery,Scott,Exploring the World of Music,Kendall Hunt Pub Co, 1997.
Dylan, Bob. Chronicles: Volume One. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004.
Morris, Aldon D. The Origins of The Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing
For Change Free Press; 1986.
Shelton, Robert. No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan.New York, NY: Da
Capo Press,1986.
Film: "No Direction Home"Dir. Martin Scorcese 2005
Klein, Joe, Woody Guthrie: A Life, Knopf, 1980.
Heylin, Clinton: Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades revisited,New York,NY: HarperCollins, 2001
Gray, Michael. The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. New York, NY: The Continuum International
Publishing Group Inc., 2006.
Williamson, Nigel. The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. New York, NY: Rough Guides, 2006.
Sounes, Howard: Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan: Grove Press: 2002.
Marqusee, Mike: Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan And the 1960's: Seven Stories Press: 2005.
Boucher, David , Browning, Gary: The Political Art of Bob Dylan: Palgrave Macmillian: 2004.
Ruehl,Kim: “The Popularization of American Folk Music”2004.
Edit : I did tell Bob I was writing this and included a draft in the letter I gave him.Hopefully, he's okay with it :)
“The Times They Are A-Changin’ ”: Bob Dylan’s musical influence on The Civil Rights Movement
In the early 1960’s, there began a movement of change both politically and socially in America. The two most significant movements of the time were the changes in racial relations and the changes in popular culture. Racial tensions were at an all time high due to the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement that began in the mid-1950’s. By 1961, the movement began to make major strides as young people became more active in challenging American leaders who opposed change.
At around the same time, these new thoughts and ideas influenced other forms of popular culture, including music. The Civil Rights Movement was a catalyst for the songs that were popular during this time. According to the book “Exploring the World of Music”, participants in the Civil Rights Movement used songs “in order to uplift their spirits and keep their minds focused on what they were trying to achieve." (Hast, Cowdery, Scott 45). There were many musicians who participated and were influenced by the movement, but one of the most significant voices came from Bob Dylan. His lyrics and songs not only influenced the movement
and popular culture, but it was also the movement itself that influenced him in the early stages of his career.
One of the main reasons why Dylan was looked upon as a prominent voice in the Civil Rights Movement was because of the folk and protest songs he wrote in the early days of his career. It was also through his musical influences, and relationships with those involved in the movement that attributed to the establishment of his role. The Civil Rights movement thrived on the use of music in various protest marches and gatherings. By the time the Civil Rights Movement was gaining national attention, Bob Dylan was already on his way to becoming an important figure in music history. In “The Wicked Messenger”, author Mike Marqusee states “As the sixties wore on, the relationship between vanguards (or would be vanguards) and the masses of people they claimed to speak for and aimed to mobilize, was to grow more acutely troubled…..These political and cultural tensions were dramatized in Dylan’s music and the response to it. Throughout the decade, they drove his art at a breakneck pace.” (Marqusee 15).
Early Influences
Dylan’s musical evolution and direction were influenced by various figures in his life. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941 in Hibbing, Minnesota, he left for New York City in 1961, at the age of twenty, in order to pursue a career in music. He craved for a musical career modeled after his idol, Woody Guthrie. In his “Chronicles: Volume One“ memoir, Dylan writes “Woody’s songs were having that big an effect on me, an influence on every move I made, what I ate, and how I dressed, who I wanted to know, who I didn’t.” (Dylan 247). Guthrie was a folk singer who, according to Joe Klein’s book “Woody Guthrie: A Life” made a career of writing
protest songs (which became American folk standards such as "This Land is Your Land," "So Long, It's been Good to Know You," and "This Train Is Bound for Glory”) in order to “to enliven a union hall rally or to entertain the hobos and dust bowl refugees he traveled with.” (Klein 22). Dylan strived to emulate Guthrie, from his language to his personal and musical style. Guthrie would ultimately be not only a major influence to Dylan musically, but would also influence him to begin his own songwriting. Guthrie inspired Dylan to begin writing “protest” songs; songs that are associated with a movement for social change, as well as writing his own material. “The first song I’d wind up writing of any substantial importance was written for Woody Guthrie” (Dylan 54).
Another major influence in his progression as a musical voice in the Civil Rights movement was his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, whom he met upon arriving in New York in 1961. Rotolo was a 17 year old left wing activist from Queens who was active in the theater, and participated in various protest activities. “Suze was instrumental in bringing out Bob’s social awareness…she was very active in various antinuclear and civil rights groups, including the Congress for Racial Equality. Rotolo helped Dylan take interest in Civil Rights and other social issues and also shared the belief that there needed to be change. “Suze and I were spending more and more time together and I began to broaden my horizons, see a lot of what her world was like.” (Dylan 268).
Early beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement
According to the book “The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change”, author Aldon D. Morris explains that the roots of the Civil Rights
movement trace all the back to the end of the Reconstruction Era in the late 1800’s, which “left many former slaves on plantations as sharecroppers in conditions similar to slavery.” The movement’s progression began its acceleration in the mid-1950’s, with the integration of major league baseball, U.S President Truman’s plan to integrate the armed forces, and the integration of schools in 1954.
There was also the emergence of many other significant events jumpstarted the movement including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the emergence of many protest affiliations who were actively participating in various protest marches, rallies, and sit-ins. Martin Luther King Jr. was also having a tremendous effect on the crowds of people who would gather to hear him preach about the importance of racial equality. During this time, many African Americans were being murdered, and this initiated concern from many American people. These concerns would spread with the political and protest songs from Dylan’s music in these years.
The Voice of A Generation
After being signed to Columbia Records in 1962, and with the release of his albums “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, Bob Dylan would soon become known as “The voice of a generation”. Dylan’s songs are not recognized as being original, but instead are noted for their significance as protest songs. These songs that Dylan wrote matched the feelings and thoughts of what was occurring at the time of the upsurge of the civil rights movement. In her article “The Popularization of American Folk Music”, Author Kim Roehl states that Dylan’s compositions, “were not the first to bring social issues back into folk music, but he was certainly seen as a hero in that arena.” In influencing the Civil Rights
movement, it was Dylan’s compositions that predominantly projected his image as the ‘voice of a generation” in the 1960’s. People took his words and messages through his songs “The Death of Emmett Till”, “The Times They Are A-changin”, “Only a Pawn in their Game”, “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”, “Hurricane” and not only applied it to their own lives, but they also associated the thoughts and feelings of the songs with the ideologies and beliefs of Dylan himself. This is a belief that Dylan has publicly refuted. “I’ve always said the organized media propagated me as something I never pretended to be…all this spokesman of conscience thing. A lot of my songs were definitely misinterpreted by people who didn’t know any better, and it goes on today. If you examine the songs I don’t believe you’re going to find anything in there that says I’m a spokesman for anybody or anything, really” (Scott 48). In spite of his own personal opinion of the public’s reception, the success of his career, based on the influence and impact that his compositions had on the movement and its people is undeniable.
The Death of Emmett Till
Dylan’s musical influence upon the Civil Rights movement began when he heard a story about a young African American boy from Chicago. The story was one of the catalysts that led to the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement and initiated Dylan’s heightened awareness in writing songs about real life situations of the time. It concerns the story of the vicious killing of a fourteen year old African American boy named Emmett Till in 1955.At the time, Till was living with a family member in Mississippi, and told his friends that he had a white girlfriend in his class in school back home. His friends persuaded him to talk to a white woman that was in a nearby grocery store. The woman was Carolyn Bryant, a twenty one year old married white
woman. There are conflicting reports about the incident, with Bryant claiming Till asked her on a date and touched her inappropriately, to Till simply saying the words “bye baby” to Bryant. Later, when Bryant’s husband, Roy was informed of this incident, he and his half-brother kidnapped Till from his bedroom. They then brutally murdered Till that night. He was beaten then dumped into the Tallahatchie River, weighed down by a fan around his neck. The missing body of Emmett Till missing body created attention as well as initiated disbelief from the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The brutal murder of Emmett Till inspired Dylan to write his song “The Death of Emmett Till”. The lyrics of the song were not only extremely audacious but it was also expressive for the current time in that it served as the framework for the details behind murder based on racial injustice. The lyrics successfully illuminate the illustration of how the white man was entertained by the capability to beat the young African American boy. There were many who wanted to see a trial, but at the same time, they were unwilling to take any action on the matter. Dylan also introduced the idea of corruption behind these kinds of murders. In the song Dylan sings “But on the jury there were men who helped the brothers commit this awful crime, And so this trial was a mockery, but nobody seemed to mind.” The song was also illustrated the resentment that emerged out of the death. Dylan successfully portrayed this feeling when he sang the song live at various areas around Greenwich Village in the early 1960’s.
“The Death of Emmett Till” was the song that initially sparked the relationship between Bob Dylan as a songwriter, and the Civil Right’s movement’s need for a musical voice. Though the influence of “The Death of Emmett Till” was not as wide spread since it did not make the cut on Dylan’s second album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, Dylan continued to convey its message through various live performances of the song. In Robert Shelton’s book “No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan” he states that “The Death of Emmett Till was “a song that was a staple among Dylan’s early performances in the years 1962 and 1963.”(Shelton 148)
Blowin’ In The Wind
Perhaps the most famous Dylan song associated with the Civil Rights Movement is his early composition “Blowin’ in the Wind”. According to Shelton, “the civil rights movement was cresting, and this understated song summed up the passions and questions of the time”. (Shelton 155). Written in 1962, in “a café across the street from the Gaslight” (Shelton 155) , "Blowin' in the Wind" raises questions of morality in the world at the time of the Civil Rights movement: oppression, war, and abuse upon humanity. Dylan uses rhetorical and literary techniques to express his message, by formatting the song with three stanzas each containing three rhetorical questions, many of which have double meanings, followed by the refrain, "Blowin' in the Wind". All of Dylan's questions are answered with the same phrase, so people can reach a clear conclusion for themselves. Dylan provokes even more attention upon the listener by never directly answering his questions. Dylan uses repetition on "how many" to show that there has already been enough suffering and oppression, and an additional amount is not needed to solve this problem of injustice.
"Blowin' in the Wind” contains many messages about society, and asks the questions about the world that most people ask in their heads each day, but nobody knows the answer to. In the first verse, Dylan asks, "How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?" This is an analogy, asking how many wars must there be until there is peace. Shelton states that the “white dove is a symbol of peace, and the "seas" she "sails" are different countries and parts of the world waging war.” (Shelton 162) In the second verse, Dylan asks, "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?" He is asking for how long people in the world be ruled under tyranny before they are allowed to be free and independent, a major desire and goal of the Civil Rights Movement. Next, he asks, "How many times can a man turn his head and pretend he just doesn’t see?" Dylan is asking how many instances will there be in which people can turn away, still remain ignorant to the events occurring in the world, and still not react to them. He also asks, "How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?" This question mocks the lack of compassion by some members of the public, instead wondering how some people can be advocates of the infliction of pain upon others, and wonders what has to be done so they are aware of this suffering they have caused. He also asks, "How many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?" This refers to the ignorance of the people in the world, or people who simply act as bystanders in the midst of change, those who just refuse to act on any sort of desire for change. Dylan is wondering how many people must die until they wake up and realize what is going on in the world around them and do something about it.
Throughout the song, the only consistent idea that Dylan plants in the listener’s mind is that "the answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind". This is believed to have a double meaning.
Shelton states that perhaps it means “that the answer cannot be found, because wind is a fleeting, invisible thing that comes and goes; it is not permanent and it is not written out in stone.” or “Perhaps, the answer must be found within themselves, or within society.” (Shelton 163) Regardless of the true meaning, the song is both inspirational and optimistic with its messages of peace and freedom.
The lyrics of “Blowin’ in the Wind”, resonates with the thoughts and feelings with those involved in the Civil Rights Movement at the time. It not only asks questions that were on the minds of the participants, but it also fostered a musical voice for those in the movement, one that expressed the same sentiment of freedom for all. Upon writing the song, Dylan began performing it around Greenwich Village, most notably in Gerde’s Folk City, a popular folk club in the early 1960’s.This was initially where the song’s popularity spread, and other musicians hanging around Washington Square Park began to cover the song. The song later became a massive hit, not for Dylan himself, but for the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, and ultimately became the “anthem” for the Civil Rights Movement.
March On Washington
On August 28, 1963, one of the most prominent civil rights activists, Martin Luther King Jr., led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march brought thousands together, black and white, to listen to speeches and stories about freedom and racial equality. The most notorious speech was King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. This was also an important time in Bob Dylan’s protest singing and writing. With all the progression of events occurring within the
movement, Dylan was inspired to “continue it to start writing and singing about what was happening.” (Shelton 198). Dylan released his third album in 1964, titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. The album is universally considered the most successful and effective in relation to Dylan’s impact on the Civil Rights movement since it contained three very considerably important songs about murder due to race, as well as represents the idea of change.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
The opening track on the album and most important that captured this change was aptly titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. The song was “a summation of the sixties mood. No cautious questioning now, but a prophetic voice trumpeting a changing order.” (Shelton 212) The song rallied all people, mothers, fathers, critics, writers, sons, and daughters, to wake up and recognize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is something that they will be able to look forward to. The song also rallies the government to not “stand in the doorways” and to not “block up the hall”. According to Clinton Heylin’s book “Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited”, this was one of the most significant songs in the midst of the Civil Rights movement because “the delivery of the song was the strong” (Heylin 116).The song also “not only inspired the progression of the movement, but it also gave comfort to those seeking a voice.” (Heylin 116).
The title of the song (and album) was also significant in the context of the state of the movement. Shelton states that “the line “The times they are a-changin’” is significant since it ignites the desire and public’s anticipation for change. “the line states that the change is
happening and is in progress at that certain time in history. The lyrics contain many uses of the pliant –in’ added to verbs: savin’, swimmin’, and changin’. These all restore the importance of that the change is in progress when the song is delivered to an audience.” (Shelton 126). The song also represented the participants in the movement’s belief that racial equality was an idea that was changing, and that will continue to change until it is made possible. “The main thought derived from the song is that the Civil Rights movement is what is happening and is going to be happening during the sixties. The movement is going to draw a line and cast new meaning on life in America.” (Shelton 127).
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
Many of Dylan’s protest songs that he wrote during the progression of the Civil Rights Movement dealt with the justice system, especially racial injustice. The stories that he transformed into songs were true cases. In 1964, Dylan had been playing many of his protest songs during various protest rallies, marches and folk congregations where supporters and followers of the movement would come together. It was here that Dylan wrote another significant song that was influenced by the movement, and as well as the racial injustice in the government system. The song was called “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”. The song focused on the injustice that affected many African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. “A news item inspired this ballad about racist justice. On February 8, 1963, a Baltimore socialite struck Mrs. Carroll with a lightweight cane. She collapsed and died the next day of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Her attacker, whose father was active in Maryland
politics, was convicted of manslaughter and assault, and escaped with a light sentence”. (Shelton 214).
The most interesting idea that emerges from this song is that Dylan never actually reveals that Hattie Carroll is African American and that Zantzinger is a White man, even though the idea is basically implied in the context of the song. “He told the story with the economy of a news reporter and the imagery of a poet, without needing to state the underlying fact that William Devereux Zantzinger was white and Hattie Carroll black,” (Sounes 142). The idea that justice in terms of class discrimination is also implied, perhaps alluding to and bringing awareness to another racial injustice, being that Zantzinger belonged to a wealthy family, and Hattie Carroll was of a lower social status. This conclusion is judged by Zantzinger’s light sentence, as well as Dylan’s tone throughout the song. Nevertheless, it became another influential song for the supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. When Dylan performed the song on “Steven Allen Show” in 1964 he “ duly delivered such a compelling performance that viewers couldn't help but be convinced of the singer's civil rights credentials,” (Heylin 238).
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” also symbolized and called upon the pessimists and critics of the Civil Rights Movement. The lyrics in the chorus “But you who philosophize, disgrace, and criticize all fears.” are actually addressing the people (critics and pessimists) who are opposed to racial and social change (all fears). “These critics are the ones who “philosophize” the fear of desegregation and use their wealth to escape justice. The impact of the song is that is clearly states the facts of the brutal killing of an innocent black woman. The song
most effectively showed how the courts had no strong position on Civil Rights, and would do the least to please the public.” (Heylin 239).
Only A Pawn In Their Game
Perhaps the most influential and moving piece that supported and influenced the Civil Rights Movement was the song “Only A Pawn In Their Game”, another track off “The Times They Are A-Changin’” album. The song‘s main focuses on yet another murder, one of racial injustice, and in every word puts the blame on the killer. The song also illustrates how the white man is not the main cause of the killing, but is a victim of the society who supports segregation in the South. “Evers had been shot dead in Jackson a month earlier. Byron De La Beckwith, a local member of the Ku Klux Klan, was indicted for the crime. Bob sang that the killer was a pawn of ignorance, prejudice, and hatred.” (Sounes 134).
The first time Bob Dylan had traveled to the South, he performed “Only A Pawn In Their Game” in Mississippi during a black voter registration convention. Sounes states that “Bob rarely took a public stance on a political issue, but it was a powerful event.”(Sounes 134). However, the most significant performance of the song was at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Dylan performed “Only A Pawn In Their Game” live on the Lincoln Memorial and in front of many supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.. This performance in particular is significant because he took on his role as “The voice of a generation”. Dylan became “the role model for the middle class white American who believed in the movement and middle class activists. It was the public reception to “Only A Pawn In Their
Game” that influenced Dylan to continue writing songs like “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’”.(Shelton 263). Marqusee further implements the significance of this performance by stating that “on a day when everyone else was singing about freedom and deliverance and unity, Dylan was outlining a class-based analysis of the persistence of racism- and the central weight of white-skin privilege within the American polity.” (Marqusee 10)
The song “Only A Pawn In Their Game” is consistent with the other significant influential songs that Dylan wrote in that it portrays a true story, and calls upon people to fix and change what has been done wrong in the situation. He first explains the reality that the Civil Rights movement experienced a significant loss with the killing of Medgar Evers.However, the structure of the song is similar to that of “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”. Dylan applies phrases in the song that sounds like it came from a newspaper article. Then, it addresses the problem attributed to racial injustice. “The lyrics tell how the Southern state’s law, like Mississippi, was corrupt and favored the wealthy white man. Dylan deliberately reveals that the Southern politicians, sheriffs, soldiers, cops, and governors are the ones who play the game.” (Shelton 273). With each composition, Dylan is further publically revealing the real-life racial injustices as well as implementing that these stories symbolize the desperate need for change in the racial ideologies of American society.
Hurricane
By 1975, Dylan had experienced many different musical transformations, but his role as a protest singer, and voice of the Civil Rights movement had all but diminished. Dylan’s popularity as a Civil Rights activist convinced Rubin “Hurricane” Carter to send Dylan his autobiography “and because of his prior commitment to the civil rights struggle.”(Sounes 286). Dylan had read Carter’s memoir “The Sixteenth Round” and connected with the story. “Bob, who was so, moved by the book that he visited Carter in prison. They liked each other and Bob offered to write a song about the case.” (Sounes 287). Carter was notorious for being a successful African American boxer and devout Muslim. But his downfall occurred after two African American males robbed a bar in New Jersey and killed three people in the process. “The first on the scene was Alfred Bello followed by resident Patricia Valentine. Valentine reported to the cops that the killers had fled in a white car, that night Rubin Carter and a friend where traveling in a white car. The rest of the story is told in the song.” (Sounes 286).
The song titled “Hurricane” illustrates Dylan using the technique that he had during the progression of the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960’s.The song reads like a news story, accounting every detail, including Carter’s wrongful imprisonment, and at the end of the song, calls for justice and for his release. “The song is an excellent piece of journalism, condensing a complex case into eight minutes” (Sounes 288).The song would ultimately become the most significant of all of his songs about the Civil Rights movement since it was majorly effective in its result. Dylan’s meeting with Carter in Jail persuaded him to publically advocate the release of Carter from Rahway State Prison. Dylan also held a benefit concert as a part of his “Rolling Thunder Revue Tour” and titled the show “The Night of the Hurricane” (Sounes 289), and also in which many prominent Civil Rights activists were in attendance. As a result of the public attention due to Dylan’s efforts, Carter was successfully granted another trial.
Overall, music on its own can be seen as being one of the most important sources of communication since it is widely acknowledged and celebrated in all different forms and genres. The significance of music, specifically Dylan’s music, has unquestionably impacted the Civil Rights movement, one of the most influential movements in American history. The movement implemented the idea that race should not be a factor in deciding the legal and moral rights of an American citizen. Throughout the movement, there have been countless speeches, demonstrations, and marches took place, but it was the music that came from the thoughts and ideology behind these speeches, demonstrations, and marchers was the most essential. Dylan himself has said that “Music is the only art form that describes the temper of the times; that’s where people hang out.It not in books; it’s not on the stage; it’s not in the galleries.” (Scott 36)
With an extensive audience from TV, Radios and live performances, Bob Dylan was able to heavily influence on the Civil Rights movement. This was in large part due to his ability to write songs, like “Blowin’ in the Wind”, that resonated with his peers who possessed the same ideology about the movement.“With and through his songs, Bob was articulating the thoughts of millions of young people.”(Sounes 112) .Dylan had taken the news on murder due to racial injustice as well injustice associated with African Americans to a popular form of music and to the white middle class man. Dylan’s songs and lyrics took the stories of the killings of Emmett Till, Hattie Carroll, and Medgar Evers and revealed them to the public as a way of artistic expression, and also as stories with the ability to profoundly alter the American people’s state of mind, which popular music did not deliver prior to Dylan. Even though it took more than ten years to officially release Carter, his story was able to bring stories behind the corrupt judicial system into the forefront.
The stories that were told in all of Dylan’s protest songs can never be lost. Most of the songs are performed in Dylan’s recent performances. The Civil Rights movement was successful in bringing equal rights to African Americans, and the music of Dylan was instrumental in keeping up with the effectiveness in working towards the goal of racial harmony on Civil Rights issues.
Bibliography
Hast,Cowdery,Scott,Exploring the World of Music,Kendall Hunt Pub Co, 1997.
Dylan, Bob. Chronicles: Volume One. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004.
Morris, Aldon D. The Origins of The Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing
For Change Free Press; 1986.
Shelton, Robert. No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan.New York, NY: Da
Capo Press,1986.
Film: "No Direction Home"Dir. Martin Scorcese 2005
Klein, Joe, Woody Guthrie: A Life, Knopf, 1980.
Heylin, Clinton: Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades revisited,New York,NY: HarperCollins, 2001
Gray, Michael. The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. New York, NY: The Continuum International
Publishing Group Inc., 2006.
Williamson, Nigel. The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. New York, NY: Rough Guides, 2006.
Sounes, Howard: Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan: Grove Press: 2002.
Marqusee, Mike: Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan And the 1960's: Seven Stories Press: 2005.
Boucher, David , Browning, Gary: The Political Art of Bob Dylan: Palgrave Macmillian: 2004.
Ruehl,Kim: “The Popularization of American Folk Music”2004.
Monday, October 11, 2010
The Dhani Harrison Story
I decided to cancel going to school on Tuesday in favor of road tripping to Jersey to hang with Dhani Harrison. (Wouldn’t you?)
In whole entire life, I’ve never EVER met a boy who talks more than I do.Truly.
Don’t let him fool you, Dhani really is the most adorable, charming, little chatterbox you’ll ever meet.He looks you right in the eye when he talks to you,as he continues to ramble on and on about mindless things like Tuesday (long story).There’s so much I can write about yesterday but I don’t think there is a text box big enough for everything.
So I guess I’ll share just one of my favorite parts of the day with you guys…
If you can see in the picture with him on my tumblr blog,I have a feather sticking out of my hair.I like to wear them because, I don’t know…I’m just weird
Anywho, Dhani saw it and said to me:
“I love the feather in your hair. That is the most interesting hair accessory I think I’ve ever seen.”
yeah.
Anyway, at that moment, I remembered I actually did have another one on me (oh heck yes I did, I’m that cool, ya know ;0 )
So I told him I do have another one, and he gets excited, leans his head over and says “yes! put it in my hat!”
So, who was I to refuse? of course, I did..
And he wore that feather in his hat for the rest of the night.While I wore mine in my hair.We were like twins.Hilarious.
I just wish I had a picture of him with it….
oh wait….
Isn’t he adorable? :)
best day EVER!
P.S he signed my vinyl and drew the Om symbol next to his name. It made me think of George. :(
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Joshua Greene Interview
My Journalism HW assignment this week was to interview someone and write a "personal piece".So at the time I just finished reading this book about George Harrison. I just so happened to see the guy who wrote it teaches at Hofstra University, which is about 20 minutes away from me.So I figured it was worth a shot to try for an interview, and before I knew it,I was off to Hofstra with an appointment to talk with the author,and this guy actually KNEW Georgie!
He was VERY cool, and shared lots of cool stuff with me ( I could write two pieces with all the information he told me!).It was so great to talk to someone who spent time with George, and the portrayal he gave me was nothing that would surprise me about Georgie.He was VERY special person after all... :)
This is a VERY rough draft of my HW assignment.I still have to grammar check,lede support,and all those other tedious things journalists have to do before their story goes to print, but this is the general gist of the piece.
And that awesome book I'm talking about?
You can check it out
here
J201 Personal Piece: Joshua Greene
Ask Joshua Greene what he was doing in 1970 and his answer might surprise you. "I was 19 and was invited to Apple Studios to record with George Harrison" he says.How does one get such an opportunity with a member of arguably the greatest band of all time? Through religion, of course.
For Greene,the journey started while he was attending college,where he played the Organ in a band with fellow classmates.He began to develop an interest in Hinduism after visiting a Temple in Paris in 1970.Later that same year he traveled to London to visit the Radha Krsna Temple,and while there, met a "Pujari" (Priest)and expressed his growing admiration for Hindu worship.When the Pujari questioned Greene more about himself, Greene shared one tidbit that would change his life forever. "I told him I used to play in a band in college" he says "And he asked 'what did you play' and I said 'Organ' and he said 'Come with us'". The next thing Greene knew, he was being ushered into a nearby waiting car. "I asked where we were going" he says, "And the Pujari replied 'Abbey Road Studios'".
Once at the studio, Greene met with members of the "Radha Krishna Band", a group of devotees that recorded Indian devotional music.Then,as Greene recalls, George Harrison walked into the room.
So what was he like? "Thin" Greene laughs "And he was just a real warm,friendly human being.He liked being around people who treated him as just that.If he caught any kind of gleam in someone's eye at being in the presence of a Beatle, he would shy away from them completely".Harrison was also extremely selfless. "He had a tremendous amount of humility. He was never center stage on anything. He was always about the music,and putting the music first before anything."
Harrison was also personally focused on getting his spiritual message across. "He wanted to convey his own personal message of spiritual importance through his music." Green says "It wasn't fame and fortune that made him feel powerful, it was his own consciousness as a spiritual being that made him feel powerful." Harrison, a devotee of Hinduism, practiced Yoga and Meditation underneath the guidance of several "gurus", and on some occasions, Greene would also be in attendance during these sessions. "He would wave from outside the Temple, come in and chant with the rest of devotees.He wasn't any different from anyone else.", he says.
Greene's experience's with Harrison inspired him to write his book "Here Comes The Sun", an in-depth view into Harrison's spiritual journey through Indian Devotional Study. While the portrait painted of Harrison's life in the book is done in an objective sense, Greene says he still had doubts about whether or not to publish his work. "I was very undecided" he says, "I didn't want to put it out there for my own benefit.As an 'I'm an author now' kind of thing.I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons."
How was he able to go through with it? "I had to have a private conversation with George in my mind, It was like I needed his reassurance in order to do it." And eventually, he did. "My motive for writing the book wasn't monetary or for any personal gain.It was about sharing the story of a man who cultivated his existence by living a pure,spiritual life, and spreading the message of seeing the spiritual way." With that in mind, Would Harrison approve? "Yes" Greene said,"Knowing that my motives are pure,I think he'd be okay with it."
Joshua Greene is a Professor of Yoga & Philosophy at Hofstra University.
He was VERY cool, and shared lots of cool stuff with me ( I could write two pieces with all the information he told me!).It was so great to talk to someone who spent time with George, and the portrayal he gave me was nothing that would surprise me about Georgie.He was VERY special person after all... :)
This is a VERY rough draft of my HW assignment.I still have to grammar check,lede support,and all those other tedious things journalists have to do before their story goes to print, but this is the general gist of the piece.
And that awesome book I'm talking about?
You can check it out
here
J201 Personal Piece: Joshua Greene
Ask Joshua Greene what he was doing in 1970 and his answer might surprise you. "I was 19 and was invited to Apple Studios to record with George Harrison" he says.How does one get such an opportunity with a member of arguably the greatest band of all time? Through religion, of course.
For Greene,the journey started while he was attending college,where he played the Organ in a band with fellow classmates.He began to develop an interest in Hinduism after visiting a Temple in Paris in 1970.Later that same year he traveled to London to visit the Radha Krsna Temple,and while there, met a "Pujari" (Priest)and expressed his growing admiration for Hindu worship.When the Pujari questioned Greene more about himself, Greene shared one tidbit that would change his life forever. "I told him I used to play in a band in college" he says "And he asked 'what did you play' and I said 'Organ' and he said 'Come with us'". The next thing Greene knew, he was being ushered into a nearby waiting car. "I asked where we were going" he says, "And the Pujari replied 'Abbey Road Studios'".
Once at the studio, Greene met with members of the "Radha Krishna Band", a group of devotees that recorded Indian devotional music.Then,as Greene recalls, George Harrison walked into the room.
So what was he like? "Thin" Greene laughs "And he was just a real warm,friendly human being.He liked being around people who treated him as just that.If he caught any kind of gleam in someone's eye at being in the presence of a Beatle, he would shy away from them completely".Harrison was also extremely selfless. "He had a tremendous amount of humility. He was never center stage on anything. He was always about the music,and putting the music first before anything."
Harrison was also personally focused on getting his spiritual message across. "He wanted to convey his own personal message of spiritual importance through his music." Green says "It wasn't fame and fortune that made him feel powerful, it was his own consciousness as a spiritual being that made him feel powerful." Harrison, a devotee of Hinduism, practiced Yoga and Meditation underneath the guidance of several "gurus", and on some occasions, Greene would also be in attendance during these sessions. "He would wave from outside the Temple, come in and chant with the rest of devotees.He wasn't any different from anyone else.", he says.
Greene's experience's with Harrison inspired him to write his book "Here Comes The Sun", an in-depth view into Harrison's spiritual journey through Indian Devotional Study. While the portrait painted of Harrison's life in the book is done in an objective sense, Greene says he still had doubts about whether or not to publish his work. "I was very undecided" he says, "I didn't want to put it out there for my own benefit.As an 'I'm an author now' kind of thing.I wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons."
How was he able to go through with it? "I had to have a private conversation with George in my mind, It was like I needed his reassurance in order to do it." And eventually, he did. "My motive for writing the book wasn't monetary or for any personal gain.It was about sharing the story of a man who cultivated his existence by living a pure,spiritual life, and spreading the message of seeing the spiritual way." With that in mind, Would Harrison approve? "Yes" Greene said,"Knowing that my motives are pure,I think he'd be okay with it."
Joshua Greene is a Professor of Yoga & Philosophy at Hofstra University.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Paul McCartney, You Amaze Me.
It's been 36 hours since I was rocked into oblivion by the one and only Paul McCartney. This was my 3rd time seeing him put on a show (4th if you count Ringo's birthday) and by far this was my favorite.
Anywho, This is the amazing rock show I was given:
1. Venus and Mars/Rock Show (Wings)
2. Jet (Wings)
3. All My Loving (The Beatles)
4. Letting Go (Wings)
5. Got To Get You Into My Life (The Beatles)
6. Highway (The Fireman)
7. Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady (Wings/Jimi Hendrix)
8. The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles)
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (Wings)
10. Let 'Em In (Wings)
11. My Love (Wings)
12. I'm Looking Through You (The Beatles)
13. Two of Us (The Beatles)
14. Blackbird (The Beatles)
15. Here Today (Paul McCartney) -- Tribute to John Lennon.( Third time I've heard this live. First time I ever broke down and cried during it)
16. Dance Tonight (Paul McCartney)(The only time I ever stopped looking at Paul to focus on his drummer. Abe's dance moves are untouchable! <3 )
17. Mrs. Vanderbilt (Wings)
18. Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)
19. Ram On (Paul McCartney) (When he was handed the ukulele,I knew he was going to do this song,so I got too excited and yelled out "YES!! RAM ON!!" my whole section looked at me.Like a fool.)
20. Something (The Beatles) -- (A tribute to George Harrison.I screamed loudest for George.)
21. Sing the Changes (The Fireman)
22. Band on the Run (Wings)
23. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles) --
24. Back in the U.S.S.R. (The Beatles)
25. I've Got a Feeling (The Beatles)
26. Paperback Writer (The Beatles)
27. A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance (The Beatles/John Lennon)
28. Let It Be (The Beatles)
29. Live and Let Die (Wings)-- There were fireworks. I need not elaborate further on the awesomeness of this song.
30. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
Encore 1:
31. Day Tripper (The Beatles)
32. Lady Madonna (The Beatles)
33. Get Back (The Beatles)
Encore 2:
34. Yesterday (The Beatles)
35. Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
36. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)/The End (The Beatles/The Beatles)
Band members:
Piano, ukulele, guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals: Paul McCartney
Drums: Abe Laboriel Jr.
Guitar: Rusty Anderson
Guitar, bass: Brian Ray
Keyboards, percussion: Wix Wickens
Every time I've ever seen him he always says the same thing at the end. He says something like "This is fun but at some point, we have to go home." and then of course doesn't make us happy and he says "And us going home roughly coincides with the time that YOU all have to go home."
I hate that part.If I had my way, I'd still be there rocking out with him.Putting on that kind of a 3 hour rock show all over the world at 68 years old? He's my hero.
I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the honor of his presence.
Anywho, This is the amazing rock show I was given:
1. Venus and Mars/Rock Show (Wings)
2. Jet (Wings)
3. All My Loving (The Beatles)
4. Letting Go (Wings)
5. Got To Get You Into My Life (The Beatles)
6. Highway (The Fireman)
7. Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady (Wings/Jimi Hendrix)
8. The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles)
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (Wings)
10. Let 'Em In (Wings)
11. My Love (Wings)
12. I'm Looking Through You (The Beatles)
13. Two of Us (The Beatles)
14. Blackbird (The Beatles)
15. Here Today (Paul McCartney) -- Tribute to John Lennon.( Third time I've heard this live. First time I ever broke down and cried during it)
16. Dance Tonight (Paul McCartney)(The only time I ever stopped looking at Paul to focus on his drummer. Abe's dance moves are untouchable! <3 )
17. Mrs. Vanderbilt (Wings)
18. Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)
19. Ram On (Paul McCartney) (When he was handed the ukulele,I knew he was going to do this song,so I got too excited and yelled out "YES!! RAM ON!!" my whole section looked at me.Like a fool.)
20. Something (The Beatles) -- (A tribute to George Harrison.I screamed loudest for George.)
21. Sing the Changes (The Fireman)
22. Band on the Run (Wings)
23. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles) --
24. Back in the U.S.S.R. (The Beatles)
25. I've Got a Feeling (The Beatles)
26. Paperback Writer (The Beatles)
27. A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance (The Beatles/John Lennon)
28. Let It Be (The Beatles)
29. Live and Let Die (Wings)-- There were fireworks. I need not elaborate further on the awesomeness of this song.
30. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
Encore 1:
31. Day Tripper (The Beatles)
32. Lady Madonna (The Beatles)
33. Get Back (The Beatles)
Encore 2:
34. Yesterday (The Beatles)
35. Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
36. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)/The End (The Beatles/The Beatles)
Band members:
Piano, ukulele, guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals: Paul McCartney
Drums: Abe Laboriel Jr.
Guitar: Rusty Anderson
Guitar, bass: Brian Ray
Keyboards, percussion: Wix Wickens
Every time I've ever seen him he always says the same thing at the end. He says something like "This is fun but at some point, we have to go home." and then of course doesn't make us happy and he says "And us going home roughly coincides with the time that YOU all have to go home."
I hate that part.If I had my way, I'd still be there rocking out with him.Putting on that kind of a 3 hour rock show all over the world at 68 years old? He's my hero.
I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the honor of his presence.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Best Day of My Life
I'm going to try and describe the best I can what the last 24 hours were like for me.It was like some crazy dream that I always wished would come true but never thought it would.If any of you care to read this that's cool.But I'm mostly doing this while it's still fresh in my mind.I hate how time makes memories all fuzzy.
New York City, July 7th, 2010.Ringo's 70th birthday show at Radio City.
From the day I heard about this show 6 months ago, I thought there was a HUGE possibility that Paul would be there.Not only is it Ringo's 70TH birthday (He's the first Beatle to turn 70) but Paul is ON Ringo's new album,and as far as I knew, he wasn't going back on tour until a few days later.Not to mention the fact that this is RADIO CITY we're talking about.For me, the reasons for him to be there far outweighed the reasons for him not to.But everyone I talked to told me the same thing: "No".It was never going to happen.Even my cousin Tommy,who is the Beatle fan of ALL Beatle fans,told me it was never going to happen.In fact, after a while,even I started to believe it wasn't ever going to happen.....But it did!!!
About 15 minutes after the All Star band arrived,my friend Rudy and I (the only two people there) get told by a security guard to move to a lamppost near the curb of the street,about 3 feet from the stage door.We happily obliged, and got our camera's and sharpees ready for we knew that something was about to happen.Sure enough, a massive black SUV then proceeded to pull up in front of the stage door.The door flys open and immediately a security guard appears.At this point, I was 150% sure that Ringo would be the next one coming out.Never in a MILLION years did I think it would be who it turned out to be....PAUL FREAKIN' MCCARTNEY.
I can't even describe what this moment was like.For the past year of my life I have wished and wished for an opportunity to meet this man.If there was ever going to be a chance of that happening, it had to happen on this day.But,to be perfectly honest, I psyched myself out into thinking he wasn't going to show up, so when I saw him come out I was so shocked that I really didn't have much of a reaction.He walked out carrying a guitar case (most likely the infamous Hofner),and I went into shock, then somehow managed to yell out "Hi Paul!!!".He looks over at me,waves,and then proceeds to go inside.
It was then that I realized what just happened.And then I freaked.I grabbed Rudy and kept saying "That was Paul McCartney! That was Paul McCartney!" As happy as I was at seeing him (and having him wave at me) I was a little sad that I didn't even get to talk to him.I was SO close.I thought for sure that there was no way I'm ever going to have an opportunity like that again.Just when I thought it was over....
I hear somebody calling Rudy and I over.We look towards a Black SUV parked directly outside the stage door.It's the All Star Band's driver.He calls us over to the driver's window,leans over and whispers "He's coming out soon.He's only going to be in there for 45 minutes." We thank the driver and immediately become excited again.
We really didn't know what to expect at this point.We didn't even know if Paul would stop for us.We spent the next 45 minutes coming up with various maneuvers that would be helpful in our quest to make him stop for us.Even still, at this point,I was surprised that we were the ONLY two people waiting outside.No paparazzi,no crazy fans, nothing.I started to believe that our chances were undeniably in our favor.But only if it remained the two of us....And it did.
Sure enough, 45 minutes later, we took our original places right outside the stage door and waited.About 5 minutes later, the door opens and out walks Paul, hands free,Blazer slung over his shoulder.He walks out the door,stops turns right in front of me and says "Hi, How are you?" as he signed Rudy's vinyl of "Memory Almost Full".Then it was my turn.it went something like this...
Me: "Paul I've waited my whole life to meet you"
Paul: "I've waited MY whole life to meet YOU!"
I then asked him for a picture and happily obliged.He shook our hands (yes, I touched Paul McCartney people!)
So we thank him and he goes on walking towards his SUV.I think he's gone and immediately start squealing and shaking Rudy like a ragdoll. Then, all of a sudden..... I hear this...
"Hey,you!"
I look towards the SUV and see Paul,head sticking out of the truck, pointing at ME!
Me: "Me?"
Paul: "Yea. you! You too! *points at Rudy* Come over here!"
So we did...I mean,when Paul McCartney calls you over... you COME over... ;)
So over we came.Then Paul leaned in and said this:
Paul: "No one is supposed to know I'm here.This is a surprise for everyone.So,you never got those autographs.This is our little secret."
So of course we promised to keep it a secret.
And then he thanked us,Got into his SUV and waved through the window at us and the people who were now stopped on the street watching.
And that was that.
Then it hit me.
I just met Paul McCartney...
I just freakin' met Paul McCartney....
And I have to keep the biggest secret I've EVER kept in my whole life.
After it hit us, Rudy and I shed many tears and fangirled for what seemed like hours.
So we pulled ourselves together and waited for Ringo.He ended up coming out nearly an hour after Paul had left.He came out and greeted us and we wished him a Happy Birthday.It all happened so fast.
And so ended the first portion of the day.
I kept that secret all the way through the show.We loved watching the people in the crowd.They had no idea what they were about to experience.Once we came to our seats we saw Yoko Ono walk past us to the front of the stage.Little did we know she would later join Ringo onstage for "Give Peace A Chance".
As usual, Ringo ended his set with a medley of "With a Little Help from My Friends"/"Give Peace A Chance". This night in particular he was joined by Yoko and a whole bunch of his friends and family.Afterwords, Ringo said good night to the crowd as his grandchildren rolled out a cake in the shape of a drum kit.Then all of Radio City sang him Happy Birthday.
Then everyone leaves the stage,the lights go out, and the moment finally arrived.The lights flash on and there stands Paul with his bass and Ringo on his drums and they break into a rendition of "Birthday".
In my lifetime, I've been to hundreds...maybe even thousands of concerts.I've never EVER experienced a crowd reaction like this one.And I don't think I ever will.The woman in the row in front of me was crying,I was crying....we hugged each other despite being total strangers, it was simply incredible.In fact, when I came home that night and told my boyfriend, when I got to this particular part I actually started crying as I told him!
I just can't believe it....I can now say I've met the Beatles.Little old me!who knew?
This is going to take some getting used to...
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