The History of Protest Music in the US - Essay Example

Music as an Effective Platform of Protest Introduction Music is by and large multi-lingual as it speaks many languages. Music adapts to the emotion of the people for whom it is meant. While Music can be the language of love, it is also the language of protest. Protest songs gain an instant appeal since they capture the mood of the people who are suffering from the same issues. Protest Music allows people to join hands against the unfair through a medium that is heard by all. Protest Music ensures a sense of belonging within the people and this is one reason for the success of such music. The history of Protest Music in US is as long as the history of the United States. Protest Music has always effectively captured the mood of the era and every movement in the US has been accompanied by protest songs whether it was the slave movement, anti-war sentiment or the feminist movement. It is however in the 1960s during the Vietnam War that Protest Music came forward as a major jolt to the government and the public. It was singers such as John Lennon with his ‘Give Peace a Chance’ who created uproar within the music industry and the general public. Their songs became mantras for the public. Later Hip Hop came forward to express the repressed anger of the Black Americans towards the biased attitude of the government towards their race. Hip Hop became so popular that it was warmly accepted by even White Americans who felt for the cause of these people. In this paper, we attempt to understand how music can be an effective platform of protest. Some believe that protest music is nothing more than propaganda aimed to turn the public against the government. They believe that protest music can gain nothing through its unorganized way of dealing with community issues. On the other hand, there are some who believe that protest music creates a sense of bonding and awakening within the public. The public understand that they are not alone and once they join together through music, they can attain a lot. The History of Protest Music The Hutchson Family Singers were the first protest singers in the history of US that came forward during the mid 19th century. They took up various causes that the public was suffering with such as abolition of slavery, women suffering, the temperance movement etc. The Hutchson Family created a name for themselves with songs like ‘Escape at Sunset’ that focused on the issue of slavery. The Hutchson Family also sang for the President, John Tyler and became friends with Abraham Lincoln. It was the Hutchson Family Singer who inspired many with their protest songs such as Woodie Guthrie who formed the first protest band in US. In the 1980s, it was the Wobblies that came forward to protest the rights of the industrial workers and demanded unions through their protest songs. The most famous song of the period was ‘Bread and Roses’, which spoke of the plight of these workers who had to go work in extreme conditions to earn bread for their family. Joe Hill was one song writer and singer who came forward with the phrase ‘Pie in the Sky’, a phrase that became the mantra of the protest movement. The Almanac Singers was the next band that came forward as protest singers in the 1940s consisting of Pete Seeger, Woodie Guthrie, Josh White and a few others. This group of singers came to protest the establishment and fought for the cause of workers who were being increasingly drafted into the army to fight World War II. The Almanac Singers adopted an anti-war stance and criticized the drafting of African American men against their will. However, they switched to a pro-war attitude after the bombing of Pearl Harbor with their album, Dear Mr. President. The Almanac Singers basically protested against war, labor and rights of the black Americans. The next era of protest music came in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. This era was perhaps one of the most brilliant eras for protest music as protest music increased in demand and one of the best protest singers such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan emerged during the era. This era clashed with the emergence of the Hippie era in American history and this was probably another reason for the great success of protest songs at this time. People were coming out and criticizing the government for their involvement in others’ war and completely rejected the normal lifestyle. Acoustic Guitar and Harmonica were the main instruments during this period. Acoustic Guitar specifically added drama to the protest songs as singers could take their voice to another level. The increased volume of the guitar symbolized that their voices would be heard better through amplification (Bonds, 2006). In the 1960s, while many protest against the Vietnam War, there were songs written for the support of the war also which included ‘Ballad of the Green Berrets’. The 1960s Protest Songs were also inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement of this era took religious Negro songs and adapted them to suit protest songs. This resulted in more peaceful songs which added credibility to the movement showing that rights had to be protected in a civilized manner. This was a time when the African Americans were still suffering from unequal treatment and protest songs asked for a better treatment. The aim of the protest songs was to ask for a better treatment of these people from both the government and the white Americans (Perone, 2004). While Anti-war songs began in the 1960s, the gained more popularity during the 1970s as America invaded Cambodia. At this time, war veterans were returning back to their country who joined in the protest seeing the futility of the war and this increased the fervor of the protest songs. The ‘Vietnam Veterans against the War’ was formed and songs such as Ohio were released to the general public. The next prominent era of protest music was the era of Rap Music during the 1980s. Rap Music was inspired from hip-hop music that began in ‘South Bronx in the late 1970s and early 1980s’ (Cole, 2008). Rap Music was a reflected of the anger within the artists against the government for discriminating the African Americans. It often contained offensive words and presented a very outrageous picture to the youth. Rap Music, was thus seriously condemned by popular media for containing implicit content that was seen to add fuel to the growing violence among the youth. For this reason, Rap Music was banned in popular media (Rose, 1994). Looking at the history of Protest Music, it is apparent that protest music reflects the mood of the society and even affects their moods also. Protest Music evolved from peaceful music in the 1960s to the hard core music of the 1990s. This has resulted in the growing unpopularity of Protest Music and the criticism that protest music faces today is not unfound seeing how protest music has been adapted by the new generation. Protest Artists The history of Protest Music is filled with protest artists who inspired the direction of protest songs in the future. There have been certain protest artists whose style has been adopted by many and they remain an inspiration in the field of protest music. Pete Seeger Pete Seeger is the biggest name in the history of protest music. He entered the field of protest music as a member of the band, The Almanac Singers and later went on solo during the 1960s. Pete Seeger is most famous for his song ‘Where have all the flowers songs’ that was written in 1961 against the futility of the Vietnam War. It was Pete Seeger who changed the lyrics of the song ‘I will overcome’ to ‘We Shall Overcome’ so that the song was later adopted as the National Anthem of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Pete Seeger was not comfortable with the Hippie Movement and wrote songs that fostered love between parents and children. After the protest songs of 1960s, Pete Seeger went on to become an environmentalists and wrote songs that advocated love towards nature. Phil Ochs Phil Ochs is another legendary singer and song writer who began practicing in the 1960s and severely criticized the government against their drafting policies during the Vietnam War. Phil Ochs was greatly affected by the injustices and cruelty that man did against man and man. He published 8 albums during the 1960s but as the 1970s approached, his mental health deteriorated to such an extent that he took he own life in 1976. Phil Ochs is most famous for songs such as ‘I Ain’t Marching Anymore’ and ‘Crucifixion’. Phil Ochs used his power as a song writer in songs like ‘Talking Vietnam’ where he uses sarcastic humor to inform the public that Vietnam is termed as the training ground for the US army to avoid embarrassment in case the US looses the war. Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix is one of the most loved figures in the history of protest music because of his distinctive style and his expertise in playing the electric guitar. Jimi Hendrix is most famous for his song ‘Machine Gun’ that was a reflection of his African American music style. Apart from his protest songs, Hendrix contributed greatly to the skill of electric rock guitar that inspired and taught many. It is believed that Jimi Hendrix inspired the rock music culture in America during his brief four year music career. Impact of Protect Music The First Amendment allows every individual the right to his freedom in the United States, and the same amendment protects protest songs from being banned from popular media. While there have been examples in the history where protest music had been banned for its explicit content, it still speaks for the public and also speaks to them directly. Some people argue that protest music does nothing but instigate the youth to commit suicide and take up drugs. Protest Music is meant as a protest against the current situation within the country. It comes as a response towards unfair practices and to provide hope to the common people that their voices have been heard. Protest Music does not have to be necessarily angry; it can be sarcastic or even take up on ironic tone to get the message across. In such cases, it is apparent that Protest music is not meant to instigate the youth but it is rather a reminder to the authorities that the public is suffering and they should pay heed to it. Thus, the main purpose of Protest Music is let communicate the feelings of the public to the government through a medium that is heard by almost all. Graham Nash, the co-composer of the song ‘Ohio’ was once asked whether Protest Songs made any difference. ‘Absolutely, the war ain’t there anymore. I rest my case’ (Haridarkis, Hugenberg and Weardon, 2009). It is true that the Vietnam War isn’t there anymore and the government was forced to take a back-step amid the rising public protest. This protest was basically fueled by protest songs and thus we have to take the impact of these songs seriously. Protest Music also serves to bring the community together. Through protest music, the public finds that there are other people who are feeling the same sentiment. When a piece of music becomes the Anthem of the time, it goes to show that people are bonding together. Protest Music organizes these people under the same anthem. Protest Songs such as, “We Shall Overcome” are testimonies to how people have come together to speak the same language even in times of turmoil. Protest Music has also been successful in communicating the plight of one community to another. For example, the protest music of the 1990s opened the eyes of many white Americans against racial discriminations toward black Americans (Banner-Haley, 2010). Even if the public does not go on to protest actively against the establishment, Protest Music stills serves the purpose of informing the public about the actions of the government and how it is affecting the rest of the county. Protest Songs can be compared to sermons that are meant to improve our practice of the religion but at the very least improve our knowledge of the religion. ‘Prayers, hymns and sermons bolster our faith and reinforce our knowledge, if not our practice, of what our religion preaches’ (Peddie, 2006). Protest music has been termed as an alternate source of information in times when the government is not willing to hand out information to the public despite their right to know. Protest Songs also provide hope to the public. The public feels that they are not alone in their miseries and there is someone who feels for them. The inactivity within the public to change their destiny occurs from the fact that they are defragmented and feel powerless against the system. Protest songs aired through popular media allow them to courage to fight and help fight their feeling of powerless. Though Protest Songs never bring about a big change in the government but yet their effects are subtle in changing the course of direction. The American government was forced to remove their soldiers from the Vietnam War during to the rising anti-war movement that was fueled by these protest songs. They provide a platform to the public to voice their opinions by adopting these songs as anthems. When songs take the shape of anthems, their impact is further increased. Conclusion Protest Songs may not have played an active role in changing the course of history but they acted as catalyst to make sure that the system took notice of the people suffering as a result of their inconsideration towards the common man. Though Protest Songs have been held responsible for their implicit content, sometimes that content is justified in the face of extent of oppression. The impact of Protest Songs can be compared with the impact of media which is considered to be strong. The Media influences people to making buying choices, fashion choices and also forms their opinions and attitudes. In the same way, Protest Songs shapes the opinion and attitudes of the public. References Banner-Haley, Charles. The Fruits of Integration: Black Middle-Class Ideology and Culture, 1960-1990. Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2010. Print Bonds, Mark Evan. A history of music in Western culture, New York: Prentice Hall, 2006, Print Cole, Hazel Bell. George Bush doesnt care about black people": Hip hop, public discourse and black politics in the early 21st century, Mississippi: The University of Southern Mississippi, 2008. Print Haridakis, Paul, Hugenberg, Barbara, Wearden, Stanley. War and the media: essays on news reporting, propaganda and popular culture, North Carolina: McFarland, 2009. Print Peddie, Ian. The resisting muse: popular music and social protest, England: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006 Print. Perone, James. Music of the counterculture era. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Print Rose, Tricia. Black noise: rap music and black culture in contemporary America, New Hampshire: Wesleyan University Press, 1994. Print Read More