Artists have throughout history conveyed their thoughts, experiences, and opinions through their songs, whether these were for better or worse. In 1970, an artist by the name of Edwin Starr released his song, “War.” In 1971, Marvin Gaye released his song, “What’s Going On.” In 1965, P.F. Sloan released his song, “Eve of Destruction.” In 1963, Bob Dylan released his song, “Blowing in the Wind.” The artists wrote, recorded, and released these songs with the purpose to express their feelings of dislike against war, especially the Vietnam War and the racial wars occurring within America concurrently. The four songs listed above were all around the same era of time and were written, recorded, and inspired by the major events that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. These events were the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and racial wars. These songs help express the feelings and shed light on the emotions of the citizens in the United States who were not only against the Vietnam War and were against the unfair treatment of other United States citizens based on some prejudice. These songs help expose an era in American history where a huge population of American citizens were beginning to voice their frustration against violence and mistreatment of people no matter where it took place.
In Marvin Gaye’s “What’s going on”, he focuses on sparking a change within his community with the goal to acknowledge issues like waging war or people committing open, direct acts of violence on their fellow man. Marvin Gaye expresses his distaste for the war and especially for violence. For example, he states, “We don’t need to escalate. You see, war is not the answer. For only love can conquer hate.” Marvin Gaye openly expresses his opinion on war. ...
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... the races of the artists of these songs were different, they all had the similar opinions against violence which did not depend on where the violence was being acted.
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"Eve of Destruction - Marlene Grant." Marlene Grant. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
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Naylor, Brian. "'Blowin' In The Wind' Still Asks The Hard Questions." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
"What's Goin' On? by Marvin Gaye - The Vietnam War." The Vietnam War. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in American history. It is no secret that the American public was not in favor of this war, which is why the government’s decision to keep the US involved for over ten years created such a disconnect between America’s people and their government. In the third verse the Temptations sing, “People all over the world are shouting 'End the war.'” The Temptations bravely attack the government, addressing their continuation of a war no one wants. Although The Temptations avoid explicitly naming the war, or the government as the guilty party, it is evident that this is a criticism, or at least an acknowledgement of a predicament America found itself in.
Hillstrom, Kevin and Hillstrom, L.C. (1998). The Vietnam Experience: a Concise Encyclopedia of American Literature, Songs and Films. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press, Inc.
Fellers, Carla A. "What A Wonderful World": The Rhetoric Of The Official And The Unofficial In Good Morning, Vietnam." War, Literature & The Arts: An International Journal Of The Humanities 17.1/2 (2005): 232-241. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Throughout time, music has been an influential part of society. As a form of entertainment and expression, its impact has always been felt both economically and emotionally. During the Vietnam war, music evolved into more a form of expression rather than pure entertainment. Emotionally charged songs became a method to oppose the war, and vent frustrations. While many songs opposed the war, numerous others focused on peace and happiness. They provided a positive perspective in an otherwise depressing time. Along with incorporating passion into music, cultural diversity increased in music greatly. Black artists became progressively more popular and accepted in the musical scene. This respect carried over to society slowly but surely. During the Vietnam war, music played a crucial role in the societal evolution into a state where emotions fueled actions, more emphasis was put on equality, all opinions counted.
The year is1965, 8 years into the Vietnam war and 2 years in the shadow of a presidential assassination, marked the inception of an artistic vision, cut to Vinyl. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 revisited is a testament to the state of America in the 1960s, using poetic devices, and engaging rock and roll music to capture the imagination of a breadth of people, unwittingly, it would seem, brought change to the minds of Americans. Opening their eyes to what was happening and inflicting a sense of new found justice in their hearts, Living vicariously through Bob Dylan’s intense imagery, due to the events unfolding in that period, People latched on to Dylan’s lyrics and imposed their own expression and feeling onto his songs.
2. For example, the song “When Our Army And Our Navy Overtake the enemy” disseminated patriotism during the WWII, “Vietnam Blues” reflected that a majority of American opposed to the Vietnam War, and “Man In Black” protested racism in 1970s.
James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of life that it was famously named the Anti-War Movement. When the Vietnam War ended, The United States did not have a real concrete reason why; there were a bunch of theories about why the war ended. Through negative media attention and rebellious youth culture, the Anti-War Movement made a monumental impact in the ending of the Vietnam War.
Music has been around for thousands of years. Music has progressed since that time and has slowly become what it is today. Though music has been around for such a long time, protest music just started to develop in the Vietnam Era, the year 1954. The war started the era of protest which, in turn, created a new form of music which incorporated a specific type of lyric that was a way of expressing protest through the song. Since music in this era was already a big thing, artists thought it would be a good idea to get their political viewpoints out there. They did it through something that affected everybody in that time and space. The artists view spread quickly through the country because of the catchy tune and the viewpoints that are listed. In the United States of America, it is a very common thing to conform to others in a group (Conformity…). Since conformity is such a common occurrence in a large group, all the artist has to do is find a couple of people in the group, group being an audience, who agree with the artist and the rest will unfold on its own. The artist will keep on performing while the word of him and his music will spread from person to person. Conformity will ultimately bring people together on the same viewpoint until eventually, there are thousands of people there with the artist to protest. These artists have grown over time along with the style of music that they bring along with them. Protest music still exists today and is one of the most effective forms of protest that we have.
The song “What’s Going On”, was originally written in 1969 by Four Tops member Renaldo Benson. While the Four Tops were on tour in Northern California the group witnessed police brutality and violence in the park. Upon seeing this he asked the question “What’s happening here?” So many questions not enough answers. The 60’s was the start of change in American and in many parts of the world. Activist were fighting for peace, racial and social justice. When Marvin Gaye heard the words he knew he could bring to song to life. In 1971 Marvin Gaye released “What’s Going On”. In 2001 Bono leader singer of “U2” along with Jermaine Dupri, produced one of the 9 versions of Marvin Gaye’s 1971 “What’s Going On”. In this particular version over 30 of the most popular artist in 2001 collaborated in the remake and music video of this song. The target audience was generation X and the early millennials
“If you grew up in the 60’s, you grew up with war on TV every night, a war that your friends were involved in. And I want to
The 1960s was the era of rebellion. It was a time when views of many people started to change dramatically as unexpected things were happening from the Cold War to the assassinations of nation’s leaders. So within this disturbed era, many citizens started to rebel and question the authorities saying that they were ruining the country. The younger generation, especially, stood firmly in front to lead the action to change the ideas of the older generation. One of the main methods they used to speak their opinions was through music and we can see the power it had on the people through one of the main protest anthems called “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. The song speaks out to the elite controlled America and becomes one of many instances of the younger generation questioning and rebelling against the authority in the late 1960s. They send people a message that the citizens of United States do not live in a fair world and the authorities are not doing their jobs. By creating images through the comparative and descriptive lyrics such as who “waves the flag” , and “some folks are born with silver spoons in hand”, its repetition of the chorus “it ain’t me” and the instrumentation of the song which sounds like the cry of the working class to signify that the Vietnam War is a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight, this song by the Creedence Clearwater Revival shouts to the world that the elite-controlled America is unfair as it can get; and becomes a big part of the counterculture movement. However, contrary to the message of the song, challenges to authority and privilege did not come exclusively from the working class. Rather, members of the upper class were also involved in opposition movements, for instance vi...
Vietnam War Protest Music (3 of 3) - YouTube. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 3 Dec. 2003. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. .
Nowhere and at no time was statement ever truer than at the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. Music preserved the history of the movement, was movement biggest advocate, largest supporter, and greatest leader. Music embodied the movement likewise to how Martin Luther King did. But of the countless protest and songs, some did this especially well. Songs like “We Shall Overcome”, “We shall not be moved”, and “Go, tell it on the Mountain”.
The 1960’s was a time of war and fear for the United States and many people were turning their accusations towards the government. “Masters of War” was written by Bob Dylan in late 1962 and early 1963. The focus of this song is a protest against the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that was happening during the early 1960’s. The song is protesting on the American government having its citizens live in fear of a constant attack and hiding behind their shroud, unaffected by anything that would happen to the people. It shook the nation with its fierce and angry tone against the “military industrial complex.” Dylan’s lyrics stated that it was not contained by declaring a pointless war and not taking responsibility for the problems it was causing. “Masters of War” is a powerful song against the government and the military. The protest song “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan highlights how the looming aspect of the Cold War affected the people of the United States and demonstrates Dylan’s view on the governments involved.
Harrington, Richard. "A Second Chance for 'Peace': All-Star Chorus Revives Lennon's Anthem Amid the Fear of War." The Washington Post [Washington, D.C.] 13 Jan. 1991, Popular Music: C7. ProQuest 5000. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.