Story behind the Protest Song: A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century

300 Pages·2008·3.51 MB·English

by  Hardeep Phull

S B
TORY EHIND THE
P S
ROTEST ONG
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S B
TORY EHIND THE
P S
ROTEST ONG
A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That
Changed the 20th Century
Hardeep Phull
GREENWOODPRESS
Westport,Connecticut • London
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Phull,Hardeep.
Storybehindtheprotestsong:areferenceguidetothe50songsthatchangedthe20thcentury/
HardeepPhull.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–313–34141–0(alk.paper)
1. Protestsongs—UnitedStates—20thcentury—Historyandcriticism.2. Folksongs,English—
UnitedStates—20thcentury—Historyandcriticism.3. Popularmusic—UnitedStates—20th
century—Historyandcriticism.4. Music—Politicalaspects—UnitedStates—History—20thcentury.5.
Music—Socialaspects—UnitedStates—History—20thcentury. I.Title.
ML3551.5.P582008
782.42’159—dc22 2008020719
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright©2008byHardeepPhull
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2008020719
ISBN:978–0–313–34141–0
Firstpublishedin2008
GreenwoodPress,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10987654321
This bookis wholeheartedly dedicated to
The cities of Coventry, England, and New York City, U.S.A.
To R.E.M. for waking meup as a kid and, to this day, making sure
I never fall asleep.
And to Gillian A. Quilley because there are some teachers you don’t forget
for all the right reasons.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
Chapter1:‘‘WeShallOvercome’’ 1
Chapter2:TheBirthofaNation(1939–1964) 7
Chapter3:EverybodyLookWhat’sGoingDown(1965–1968) 45
Chapter4:WhereHaveAlltheFlowersGone?(1968–1970) 71
Chapter5:ThingsAin’tWhatTheyUsedtoBe(1970–1974) 103
Chapter6:RagingagainsttheMachine(1977–1982) 139
Chapter7:Signso’theTimes(1982–1985) 165
Chapter8:RebelswithoutaPause(1986–1993) 199
Chapter9:ModernLifeIsRubbish(1994–1998) 229
Epilogue 249
Appendix 263
Bibliography 275
Index 279
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Nobookofthisscopeiscompletewithoutacastofsupportplayers.Theinput,assis-
tance,andencouragementofthefollowingpeoplehavehelpedmestaveoffinsanityin
theshortterm,andforthatIamtrulygrateful.
Professionally,Iwouldliketosalutethefollowing(listedintheorderIcanremember
them).First,IthankallatGreenwoodPress—especiallyKristiWardforherastounding
levelsofenthusiasmandChrisSmithforpluckingmefromrelativeobscurityand
gettingmeinvolvedinthefirstplace.Also,thanksgotoC.P.Baker,AlanClayton,
BobbieLane,andRossBennettatEMAPLondon,PhilSutcliffe,andElizabethGood-
manandMarcSpitzforprovidingmewithsomereassuringwordsatapointwhenIre-
allyneededthem.AhugeamountofappreciationisdueBenMyers,whomIhavealways
consideredtobeoneofmyfinestcontemporariesinBritishmusicjournalism.Despite
onlyevermeetingonce,Ihavealwaysconsideredhimafriend,too,andhisinvaluable
helpintheproductionofStoryBehindtheProtestSonghasprovenmysuspicions.
Iwouldalsoliketopay tributetothewriterswhocontinuetoinspire withtheir
workandwithoutwhom,Iwouldneverhavehadthewillordesiretodothis,espe-
ciallyBarneyHoskyns,MichaelAzerrad,SimonReynolds,IanMacDonald(R.I.P.),
Jeff Chang, and the very great James Maycock whose Mojo piece on James Brown
playinginVietnamin1968ispossiblythemostthrillingsinglearticleeverwritten.I
advise you to seek it out immediately. A more personal thanks also goes to David
Fricke not only for the decades of flawless prose, but for the impromptu peptalks
given in dark corners of various New York City venues. But the biggest tip of the
hathastogotoGreilMarcus—amanwhosewritingconstantlyremindsmethatIwill
neverbeanywherenearasgoodashe,butstillpushesmetotryanyway.
Personally, I would like to show my gratitude tothe following: Colin Freeman,
SimonConnolly,HopeBeach,MarkandAndreaHamilton(forfeedingmewhenI
couldnotbebotheredtofeedmyself),JenniferChochinov(forjustbeing),andmy
dearoldmum,Rani,forfurnishingtheearlypartofthisprojectwithendlesscupsof
tea.Oh,yeah,shegavebirthtome,too,...thatwasreallyniceofher.
My apologiesgotoanyoneImayhaveforgotten.Pleaseknow that it(probably)
wasnotintentional.