One of the objectives of this site is to create an online archive of artists, albums, and songs that have made significant contributions to the canon of protest music. With that in mind, back in 2018, I decided to create an online Protest Music Hall of Fame. I invited website visitors to fill out a Google doc to nominate their picks, and the results were used to compile a long list of nominees.
The plans were to do writeups for each of the inductees. I fell a bit behind on this objective, but this month I plan on doing at least one writeup each day.
After taking a hiatus for a few years, the poll is back. When filling out the poll, please exclude those that are already inducted. The poll will remain open until November 30, 2023.
Here is the list of previous years inductees:
Artists (Recorded/Performed Primarily Prior to 1960)
Almanac Singers (2019)
Harry Belafonte (2020)
Woody Guthrie (2018)
Joe Hill (2018)
Billie Holiday (2020)
Aunt Molly Jackson (2019)
Lead Belly (2019)
Tom Lehrer (2020)
Ewan MacColl (2019)
Odetta (2018)
Paul Robeson (2019)
Pete Seeger (2018)
Josh White (2018)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (2019)
The Weavers (2020)
Artists (Recorded Primarily After 1960)
Joan Baez (2018)
Bikini Kill (2019)
Bob Marley and The Wailers (2018)
Boogie Down Productions/KRS-One (2020)
Billy Bragg (2019)
Johnny Cash (2020)
Chumbawamba (2020)
The Clash (2018)
Dead Kennedys (2019)
Ani DiFranco (2020)
Bob Dylan (2018)
Marvin Gaye (2020)
Gil Scott-Heron (2018)
Victor Jara (2019)
Fela Kuti (2018)
The Last Poets (2019)
John Lennon (2019)
Buffy Sainte-Marie (2019)
Curtis Mayfield (2019)
Phil Ochs (2018)
Sinéad O’Connor (2020)
Yoko Ono (2019)
Utah Phillips (2020)
Public Enemy (2018)
Rage Against The Machine (2018)
Nina Simone (2018)
The Staple Singers (2019)
Albums
Dust Bowl Ballads (1940) – Woody Guthrie (2019)
Talking Union & Other Union Songs (1941) – Almanac Singers (2018)
Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1957) – Odetta (2020)
The Times They Are a-Changin’ (1964) – Bob Dylan (2019)
It’s My Way (1964) – Buffy Sainte-Marie (2018)
Nina Simone in Concert (1964) – Nina Simone (2019)
I Ain’t Marching Anymore (1965) – Phil Ochs (2018)
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) – Johnny Cash (2020)
What’s Going On (1971) – Marvin Gaye (2019)
Zombie (1977) – Fela Kuti and Afrika 70 (2020)
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) – Public Enemy (2018)
The Internationale (1990) – Billy Bragg (2020)
Fear of a Black Planet (1990) – Public Enemy (2019)
Rage Against The Machine (1992) – Rage Against The Machine (2018)
Songs
Le Internationale (1871 lyrics, 1888 music) – Eugène Pottier and Pierre De Geyter (2020)
There is Power In a Union (1913) – Joe Hill (2020)
Strange Fruit (1939) – Billie Holiday (2018)
This Land Is Your Land (1940) – Woody Guthrie (2018)
Which Side Are You On (1941) – Almanac Singers (2019)
We Shall Overcome (1947 & 1963) – Pete Seeger and Joan Baez (2018)
Little Boxes (1962) – Malvina Reynolds (2019)
Alabama (1963) – John Coltrane (2020)
Masters of War (1963) – Bob Dylan (2019)
Only a Pawn in Their Game (1964) – Bob Dylan (2019)
A Change Is Gonna Come (1964) – Sam Cooke (2018)
Universal Soldier (1964) – Buffy Sainte-Marie (2019)
Mississippi Goddam (1964) – Nina Simone (2018)
People Get Ready (1965) – The Impressions (2020)
I Ain’t Marching Anymore (1965) – Phil Ochs (2020)
Four Women (1966) – Nina Simone (2018)
Respect (1967) – Aretha Franklin (2020)
Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud (1968) – James Brown (2020)
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1970) – Gil Scott-Heron (2018)
Working Class Hero (1970) – John Lennon (2020)
What’s Going On (1971) – Marvin Gaye (2019)
Get Up, Stand Up (1973) – The Wailers (2020)
Oh Bondage Up Yours! (1977) – X-Ray Spex (2019)
Redemption Song (1980) – Bob Marley and the Wailers (2018)
The Message (1982) – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (2019)
Fuck Tha Police (1988) – N.W.A (2019)
Fight The Power (1989) – Public Enemy (2018)
Killing In The Name (1992) – Rage Against The Machine (2018)
Rebel Girl (1993) – Bikini Kill (2019)
I love this concept. I just wish there was another category, for participatory and other completely non-commercial music.
For example, I’d love to nominate Occupella (www.occupella.org/) for some kind of award, but they don’t record and they don’t sell albums. They’re all about in-person street singing, and supporting actual protests. Similarly for Pat Wynne and the San Francisco Rockin Solidarity Labor Chorus, who perform for free at labor events and protest rallies.
Don’t get me wrong, I love recorded protest music, and I love listening to the recordings recommended on this blog. But for me the real deal is the music that’s happening live and in person on the streets for the actual people who are in the protest rallies or on the picket lines. I just wish there was some way to recognize those people — ’cause we need more of them.