Protest Music In America
“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio”
-Neil Young, musician 1
Protest music reflects and arguably transforms the way society feels about social justice issues. In the wake of a national tragedy Neil Young and bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash wrote a song which inspired change and offered solidarity for millions who felt the gravity of the Kent State shooting. Taking a stand during the Vietnam War era, Neil Young's ‘Ohio’ specifically embodies the impact that protest music can make by influencing people to reflect on injustice.
Historical Context: Dissatisfaction in the Sixties and Seventies During the sixties and seventies many earth shattering …show more content…
Almost every historical event around the world has been followed by protest music or a theme song of sorts. Though protest music has been around longer than it can be traced, it only became largely popular in the buildup to World War I and it has been an important part of American society since. Improvements in photography technology and reproduction enabled many Americans to see shocking images of dead foreign soldiers on the Western Front while America waited on the sidelines during the first years of WWI. Impassioned by feelings of pacifism, some American songwriters voiced their grievances with the thought of America joining the war. One song by Alfred Bryan and Albert Piantadosi entitled "I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier" echoed these sentiments. Since then, thousands of influential protest songs have come to air in a plethora of genres and …show more content…
Prior to this era it wasn’t very often that a protest song could be seen at the top of radio charts but with FM radio becoming more and more popular and music and sound engineering continuing to evolve, protest music saw a spike in popularity during this era. Songs like “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “War” by Edwin Starr are just two popular protest songs from the era that presented a clearly anti-war message. When Neil Young wrote the song "Ohio" he was only adding another historic protest song to the long history of politically charged music in
-Neil Young, musician 1
Protest music reflects and arguably transforms the way society feels about social justice issues. In the wake of a national tragedy Neil Young and bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash wrote a song which inspired change and offered solidarity for millions who felt the gravity of the Kent State shooting. Taking a stand during the Vietnam War era, Neil Young's ‘Ohio’ specifically embodies the impact that protest music can make by influencing people to reflect on injustice.
Historical Context: Dissatisfaction in the Sixties and Seventies During the sixties and seventies many earth shattering …show more content…
Almost every historical event around the world has been followed by protest music or a theme song of sorts. Though protest music has been around longer than it can be traced, it only became largely popular in the buildup to World War I and it has been an important part of American society since. Improvements in photography technology and reproduction enabled many Americans to see shocking images of dead foreign soldiers on the Western Front while America waited on the sidelines during the first years of WWI. Impassioned by feelings of pacifism, some American songwriters voiced their grievances with the thought of America joining the war. One song by Alfred Bryan and Albert Piantadosi entitled "I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier" echoed these sentiments. Since then, thousands of influential protest songs have come to air in a plethora of genres and …show more content…
Prior to this era it wasn’t very often that a protest song could be seen at the top of radio charts but with FM radio becoming more and more popular and music and sound engineering continuing to evolve, protest music saw a spike in popularity during this era. Songs like “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “War” by Edwin Starr are just two popular protest songs from the era that presented a clearly anti-war message. When Neil Young wrote the song "Ohio" he was only adding another historic protest song to the long history of politically charged music in