Civil War And The 1960s

Music has a dynamic ability of influencing emotions, from mood regulation to rumination and self-expression. The presence of political and social messages in popular music is frequently seen across cultures, in particular focusing on social issues and racism (Back, 2000, 127). This paper attempted to explore the political and social messages in popular music, more specifically it investigated the relationship between Soul music and civil rights movements in the United States.

The evolution of the 1960s “protest song” has typically been associated with Joni Mitchell, but the expanding range of protest songs in the 1970s defines her continued presence as a leader in terms of environmental activism. More than just a vestige of the late 1960s, Mitchell continued to write protest songs long after many other artists from the 1960s had changed their lyrical content. In the “mellow turn” of early 1970s country rock and folk music, Mitchell represented a new environmental shift that moved away from the proto-typical antiwar songs of the 1960s. Mitchell, along with other musicians of this era, defined a shifting musical focus on songwriting and musical presentation during the early 1970as:

In a broader context, protest musicians composed songs about student protests in which they firmly sided with the protesters, supporting their actions and condemning those trying to stop the protests. (OnlyEverArabella, n.d.). The ideas were expressed in music as it served as a form of publicity and promotion for the counterculture community during this era. The government continuously tried to prevent media coverage about these movements but their music simply spoke the

One of the social changes in the 1950s was rock-n-roll music which led to teens rebelling against the social norms and being able to freely express themselves. In fact, much of the older generation looked down upon rock-n-roll because they considered it tasteless and music from the devil. While in the 1960s, music was considered a way to really express yourself and tell the world about how you really felt about the current situation. Much of the 60’s music was used to protest the Vietnam War and show the government that they did not want to go off to war to fight. The 1950s was a decade filled with change and prosperity while the 1960s were the years of rebellion and

Initially, wars involving the United States were typically well supported by the people, but the abhorrence towards the military 's actions in Vietnam lead musical artists to stand in opposition to the war, encouraging the anti-war movement.

During the mid-1900’s many different types of music emerged and became popular. Each type of music that was popular brought along different social and political issues. Between 1950’s rock and roll, 1960’s psychedelic rock, and 1970’s disco, America was undergoing a great deal of changes. Among these three genres of music, rock and roll posed the greatest challenge to the status quo, with its bonding of African-Americans and white people in listening and dancing.

Throughout the history of the United States, war and political actions have played as several influences for practices. One practice that has a massive connection with war and politics is music. It has the capability to express protest themes such as anti-war or anti-establishment. Music can also set the mood for the entire environment, such as a depressed scene creates slow, or somber-toned music. Or if the setting is rebellious and ecstatic, musicians will want to create fast-paced dancing music. In this essay, I argue that American music plays a drastic part in war and political applications and in the history of the United States, the Prohibition Era, World War II and the Vietnam War have significant evidence to prove this ideology.

Rock and Roll was a release from war tension in the 1960s. Many "Hippies" protested the Vietnam War. Many of these protests were met with hostile means of breaking up by our government, as was evident at Kent State in May 1970, so therefore music was one of the best ways for those in protest of the conflict to get their message across. They also wore colorful tye-dye clothing and

Musicians use the environment around them to find inspiration. Artists during the Vietnam war used their views on the war to form their protest songs. Modern artists incorporate their views on racial discrimination, inequality, and false accusations of the media.

The 1960’s in America was often referred to as an age of protest because of not only the social protests that have taken place, but also for the upbringing of protest music, which became very popular during that era. The roots of protest music were largely from folk music of American musicians during 1950’. Folk musicians, such as Joe Hill, composed labor union protest songs and distributed song booklets, hoping to “fan the flames of discontent.” (Rodnitzky pg. 6) Symbolically, this meant that the songs, the fan, would reduce the uncontrollable social protests that the United States government caused with the misleading information that they did not keep their word on, or the flames of discontent. Other folk musicians, such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, traveled around the United States spreading their “message music” and becoming involved in political movements. Guthrie and Seeger were the pioneers of protest music, bringing their folk music to New York City and merging it with urban music. Woody’s songs were about the masses, often identifying problems and offering solutions. While Seeger was cautious about referring to his music as folk music, preferring the term “people’s music,” meaning that not everyone may had the same thoughts, but they all expressed it in their own unique musical sense. For both Woody and Seeger, folk music was a necessity in these protests, when the needs

Throughout all the anti-war protests and marches during the Vietnam War, it is interesting to note the changes in the music of that time. From the beginning of the war, where support and loyalty from Americans was present in songs, to the end of the war, where anger and distrust was evident in musical lyrics, American’s opinion changed about the war. This change in opinion was easily recognized by the altering of musical lyrics about the war when Americans grew tired of the constant sending of U.S. troops to Vietnam. The growing dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War led to increasing levels of anger and hostility in the popular music of the time.

Throughout history, protests have been proven to be the more effective methods of getting a message across, whether it’s to express disdain for the misdeeds of police officers, or to protest the U.S.’s involvement in war. This was seen especially during the Vietnam War, one of the more recent wars this country has been involved in. Many people around the country expressed their opinions about the idea of war, in several forms, including riots, protests, and draft dodging. Along with this form of expression and practicing of free speech, several music artists, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, and Edwin Starr, joined in the anti-war movement by conveying their own two cents about the matter through the lyrics of catchy, impassioned songs. In the song “War” by Edwin Starr, Starr attempts to portray his negative view on war, through the use of pathos to create a more intimate bond with his listeners, a very aggressive, yet passionate tone, and the song’s close resemblance of a protest, in auditory form.

During the 1960s Music was heavily influenced by the political and social events happening at the time. At this time civil rights movements were common as many people were trying to spread the emancipation of racism and segregation. As a result the music of the time tended to reflect this counterculture of peace. This “culture” encompassed civil rights, anti-establishment and, inciting revolution. This was a vital time in history for civil rights activists as well as anti-war revolutionaries and the music industry. From folk music to rock music, everyone was affected by the war and chose to express it through the most international form of art, music. Anti-war activists and counterculture enthusiast craved the music that truly expressed

To understand the sixties counterculture, we must understand the important role of Bob Dylan. His lyrics fueled the rebellious youth in America. Songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times are A-Changin” made him favorable to anti-war demonstrators and supporters of the Civil Rights movement. He was commonly hailed as the spokesman for his generation. Dylan used lyrics to allow the youth to find their own form of counter-culture. The youth generation began to see the effects racism, war, etc. effect the society in America. To combat this, the youth created their own form of counter-culture to promote a peaceful change within society. Some of their actions include forming anti-war protests that opposed America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and supporting African Americans/women get the rights they deserve through the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Dylan’s music appealed to the young generation because he openly expresses his disapproval of the establishment in order to influenced his audience to move in a direction for change. Counterculture youth rejected cultural norms of the previous generation and their values and lifestyles opposed the mainstream culture present in the 1950’s. The folk music revival of the early 1960s, as well as the counter-culture movement played an important role in advocating change. Bob Dylan wrote songs that influenced the Civil Rights Movement, New Left Movement, and Anti-War Movement.

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.