“Picket linesSchool boycottsThey try to say it’s a communist plotAll I want is equalityFor my sister, my brother, my people, and me” “Mississippi Goddam” was Nina Simone’s response to the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers in Mississippi and a bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963 (which also helped inspire Simone’s “Four […]
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“My skin is blackMy arms are longMy hair is woollyMy back is strongStrong enough to take the paininflicted again and again” “Four Women” was written by Simone and appears on her classic 1966 album, Wild Is The Wind. It is one of several tunes that helped establish Simone as an important figure in the civil rights movement. The catalyst of the […]
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The final results are in and we now have the list of inductees into the second year of the Protest Music Hall of Fame. I will admit that Hall of Fame could be considered a misnomer. Instead of awarding accolades, it is about building awareness for socially conscious music. As the reach of this website grows, we will be able […]
Learn more →“Southern trees bear strange fruitBlood on the leaves and blood at the rootBlack bodies swinging in the southern breezeStrange fruit hanging from the poplar trees“ One of the most important songs ever composed and recorded, Abel Meeropol originally wrote “Strange Fruit” as a poem under the pseudonym Lewis Allan. He penned it in 1937 under the name “Bitter Fruit”, after […]
Learn more →As part of an online archival project a poll was posted to nominate artists, songs, and albums that have made considerable contributions to the historical development of protest music. Based on the results of that poll another poll was posted featuring the list of nominees. Based on the final results we now have the list of the inaugural inductees into […]
Learn more →80 Years of Protest Songs Part 1: 1939-1958 80 Years of Protest Songs Part 3: 1979-1998 80 Years of Protest Songs Part 4: 1999-2018 The 1960s ushered in what is often considered the golden age of protest tunes. Civil rights and the Vietnam War were hot button topics. Many of these issues spilled over into the 70s. Along with folk […]
Learn more →Music has always been a medium for crying out against social injustices. This fact is celebrated by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier in the titled track of his recently released EP. The tune name drops a number of socially conscious singers including Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Mavis Staples. The […]
Learn more →On August 16, 2018 Aretha Franklin passed away at 76 years of age, due to pancreatic cancer. Very few artists have had the indelible impact on music that the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin had. Many of her tunes also expressed a keen understanding of the human condition and her soaring vocals transformed many songs into anthems of empowerment. Here […]
Learn more →Back in July 24, 2017, NPR posted a list of the 150 greatest albums by women. Like any list of this magnitude it was a generator of debate. Recently NPR decided to keep the discussion going by inviting music fans to submit their list of ten albums. I decided I would make my voice heard by submitting my list of […]
Learn more →Recently within the music industry there has been increased scrutiny over whether women are being granted equal opportunity. This was highlighted with the Grammy Awards where over the past five years women only made up 9.3 % of the nominees. The lack of recognition has nothing to do with lack of talent or resolve. For example a number of the […]
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