Starting recording in the late 50s long-time singer-songwriter and activist Barbara Dane died on October 20, 2024, at 97. She had earned praise from Louis Armstong who described her as “a gasser!” and Bob Dylan who wrote an open letter to Broadside magazine in 1964 saying of Dane “we need more kind a people like that people that can’t go against […]
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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 →Back in the 1950s and 60s, New York’s Greenwich Village played a role in establishing the counterculture with its vibrant scene of anti-establishment beat poetry and folk music. That renegade spirit is still very much alive among a new generation of New York base protest singers and poets. This is the premise of a new documentary by acclaimed documentarian Karen […]
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 →J.S. Ondara is a Kenyan born and raised singer-songwriter who moved to the United States to pursue his music career. He ended up locating to Minneapolis, Minnesota, out of admiration for musical hero and native Minnesotan, Bob Dylan. His nationality gives him a unique perspective when it comes to critiquing the American experience, which he does on his upcoming debut […]
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 long been a powerful medium to protest the social injustices faced by humankind. For example, many of the anthems of the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s found their roots in the “negro spirituals” of the 1800s and early 1900s. Right now we will consider a list of 10 civil right protest songs recorded during the […]
Learn more →If Sam Cooke was still alive today, he would be 87 years old. The legendary soul singer is responsible for composing and performing one of the most definitive tunes of the civil rights era, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, from his 1964 album Ain’t That Good News. Sam Cooke was motivated to compose “A Change Is Gonna Come” after listening […]
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