The Impacts Of Bob Dylan And The Civil Rights Movement

Joan Baez was a white singer that sang “oh freedom”. She ended up singing it at Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech. In the meaningful slow song Joan Baez expressed her wanting for equality and freedom.

Elvis Presley was one of the most influential rock and roll singers in the American history. Presley’s work revolutionized the music and brought about significant changes in the entertainment industry. He grew up in an environment where racial segregation between the whites and African Americans was highly pronounced. In fact, Presley schooled in Memphis where he graduated from a whites-only high school. However, he upheld the Black’s music and made it possible for their music to be accessed by the White American youths. Presley’s tracks broke past the racial barrier as many teenagers loved his amazing voice. Through his music, he confronted racism and challenged both social and moral values. Elvis Presley changed the manner in which the Black minority were treated in the U.S. through his music, and this initiated the fights against racial discrimination leading to the civil rights movement.

The 1960’s was an era of revolution and social change in the United States. Painters, dancers, actors, musicians and many more artists all wanted to portray societies immoral issues through their art. Musicians played a very prominent role in providing society with an outlet on the importance of this change. Within these musicians was a folk rock singer and songwriter by the name of Robert Allen Zimmerman, or as America knows him, Bob Dylan. He is known and honored around the world for his influence on popular music and culture, however, he is much more than that (Wood 313). The beginning of Bob Dylan’s career as a singer and songwriter was marked by his repetitive emphasis on social change throughout his protest songs which include “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” “Masters of War,” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’”; with each song, Dylan exposes many issues that affected, not one, but many lives as he aimed to spread social and political consciousness to society.

At only 22, he was crowned the voice of a generation. His audiences became mesmerized with his expressive lyrics and soulful harmonica. He changed the way the world looks at songwriting and protest, and inspired countless future musicians from the moment he stepped up on the stage in his railroad hat, denim jacket, and harmonica brace. However, it is clear that there is so much more behind Bob Dylan than just a rough voice and a collection of poetic songs. As one man said about Dylan’s early days in Greenwich Village, “There’s a quality of determination and of will that some people have that when they’re doing something, they’re really doing it and you

Arguably one of the most powerful of Dylan’s social issue charged song is The Death of Emmet Till, a young black man who was unrightfully killed by the Ku Klux Klan. By 1963, Dylan and his on and off lover Joan Baez were both very well known in the civil rights movement. Baez and Dylan would sing together at rallies including the famous March on Washington. Dylan was on stage with Martin Luther King Jr. when his gave his infamous I Have a Dream speech. Though Dylan sang of American injustices, he was never incredibly interested in politics and he was ultimately frustrated by people defining him solely as a protest singer. Dylan’s frustrations with the unsought political branding are expressed in It Ain’t Me Babe, which “appears to be a song about rejected love, [it] was actually his rejection of the role his reputation and fans had thrown on him” (Carlson).

Louis Armstrong is a man of many talents and skills known for creating a new environment, especially in his home town of New Orleans. He was born into poverty on August 4, 1901 in the streets of Back o’ Town (Meckna). He’s a professional jazz performer who played with Oliver and Henderson. He started as a soloist for Henderson after marrying Lil Hardin. He has many nicknames in which some are Satchmo and Pops. He also played as a second trumpet for King Oliver. He interprets and contributes to the genre of jazz, creates great form through his performance in the “Hot Chocolates,” and his work represents a whole for equality and the civil rights movement.

It was no coincidence that rock ‘n’ roll and the civil rights movement started at the same time. The genre originated from African American music and was greatly discriminated against. Traditional white Americans would target anything bad about it. But as the teenager demographic of the 1950s started increasing the sales of the music, the genre started gaining more popularity. It was the style of Elvis Presley and his new voice that made girls weak in the knees and boys want to be him. Artists such as Presley had enough influence to change the view of their devoted fans on civil rights issues. Soon as protest songs and rock ‘n’ roll became more popular and influential, it began a gap between the young adult generation and their parents

In their interview with the Civil Rights History Project, folksingers Guy and Candie Carawan sing the songs "Tree of Life," "Eyes on the Prize," and "We Shall Overcome." The Carawans worked at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, where activists from around the country came to be trained in nonviolent philosophy and learned the songs of the movement. She explains, “There were songs for every mood. You know, there were the very jubilant songs. There were the very sad songs when someone was killed. You know, there were the songs you used at parties. There was all the humor where you picked fun at people, the satire.”

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

Released in 1969, the song criticizes the public on their patriotic behavior and those who speak highly of the war but do not physically support it by either joining or donating. This song was not in direct reference to the Vietnam War but to every war. At the time of release it would have been said that it was directed towards the Vietnam War though. Some of the classic lyrics entail, “Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand, Lord, don't they help themselves, y'all, But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yeah, It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no millionaire's son, no, no, It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no”. Yes the over privilege help themselves and only care about them selves because they are safe. But what if it was they in the Vietnam War, they would run, and start care immediately. Gifted with money, but not a cent to help those in war because it “ain’t” them. This song, although not directed towards the peace and love movement, still sends a strong message to the public. Reaching those going to the concerts, those who do support, and dissecting the rich and

The song Hurricane by Bob Dylan is about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer that spent 19 years in jail for an assassination in which Dylan thinks he did not did. Carter was blamed to life in prison for the assassination of three white people who were gunned down at a bar in Paterson, New Jersey on June 17, 1966. Police were looking for two black men and pulled

Bob Dylan was a part of civil right movements and protest of war. I would best describe his works against war as very blunt and upfront, he uses multiple techniques in order to get people back him up. Having been around for a long time and living through into today’s society the poetry movement of civil rights and anti war has been highlighted through many popular poems and songs. These pieces of literature have all followed and concentrated on common themes, especially criticising and protesting wars that in most situations shouldn’t have been fought as well as how lower class people have been treated .. Many of the poems seem to focus on the way society is in Australia is today and how the way the Aboriginals used to live has been

By bringing attention to several key questions anti-racism activists had, Dylan hoped to prevent racial injustice. The song’s opening line, “How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man,” was the first

“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.

Duluth Minnesota, May 24th 1941 Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) was born. 69 Years and over 45 albums later Bob Dylan has completely altered the face of popular music since his debut as a fresh faced folk singer in 1962. His early career forged him into an informal chronicler and then he later developed into an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest [Gray, 2006] and became a voice for a generation. His songs have been covered by many artists in a wide span of genres and he has remained a prominent and highly influential figure in the history of popular music over the past five decades. [Gates, David, 1997]