9 We Always Had a Voice, But Someone Else Had the Megaphone

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”

― Coco Chanel

Does “music with a message” have a glass ceiling? As we mentioned, there have been key female artists who became some of the most followed voices in their profession, but so many had to break the marketing stereotype of the “chick” singer. It actually started long ago, and the slow progress bears witness to how deeply entrenched sexism was even among a generation calling for justice. Strong female writers, performers and producers clearly stated that in so many cases justice started with equality and found the best way to make their case was to call attention by achieving. Still, the gatekeepers of media who decided what voices would be heard and to what degree were often testosterone driven, though changing social attitudes and the demand for equal representation and recognition helped ease those restrictions.

Writer Katie Bohn has stressed that music may have been the ideal podium when other avenues of expression were denied.  She cites the anger when Nina Simone sang the lyrics of “Mississippi Goddam” during the fight for civil rights during the Sixties, and quoted Penn State’s Anne Marie Mingo who points out,  “women were often denied formal positions as preachers or other community leaders, and they needed to find other ways to exert public influence. Leading others in song gave these women space where very often they were prohibited from positions of power and leadership”

Even so, groundbreaking female solo artists including Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Melanie Safka, Janis Ian, Joan Armatrading and others were able to get that attention, but keep in mind that so much of their work was also arguably deemed “marketable” by traditional media of the day. An exception might be Joan Baez who didn’t have Top 40 hits but was very visible at civil rights marches and other highly publicized gatherings for social issues. Odetta, Karen Dalton, Judee Sill, Mimi Farina (sister of Joan Baez) and others found an audience but not commercial success in a traditional sense, though it didn’t still their voices. There are other groundbreaking artists, both current and vintage, who fit that description and shared their views on the progress of music with a message.

Few can offer the insight of Terri Thal, who makes it clear that if we characterize the release of the song “Ohio” as a hallmark of an era of protest and social change, the music has digressed, not progressed, noting “It’s become more accepted by a larger audience and by the media…but the content has shifted as politics have become polarized and personalized. The range of people who are interested in ‘protest’ music seems to have changed. College students, who once comprised the larger part of the audience for it, have shifted to specific causes (feminist, gay, LGBT, BDS, et al) that divide rather than unite them. Rally chants have, to a certain extent, replaced music.” She also notes an abrupt change in the direction of the genre.

“While I can’t offer specific titles, a range of artists now question authority. But, few call for specific social change. As narrative in all facets of popular music has diminished, calls for social change do not specify goals; they tend to express dislike, anger, disgust, questioning―mostly on a personal level. These expressions often veer into expressions about the broader social fabric, but the musicians do not offer goals.”  Thal also questions whether music needs a “salable” quality to be effective. “Marketing,” she explains, “never has played much of a role in determining whether or what kind of protest music is made, nor in its success. In the 20th century, by and large the music industry did not support or promote protest music, which happened despite, not because of, that industry. Some labels allowed it; few strongly pushed it. In recent years, as the musicians who are able to select their own material tend to be either those who already are very successful or those who remain fairly independent of the larger ‘industry,’ and as more and more musicians write their own material, marketing plays even less of a role in either the nature or success of protest music.” But Thal noticed unsettling changes in some key areas. “The audience for protest music, like the musicians themselves, has changed. Broad issues have been replaced by narrower ones. Possibly the only issues that unite the audience are gun violence and overt racial discrimination against people of color. In other areas, personalization has replaced demands for policy changes. This changes the music: it has become more about ‘I’ and ‘me’ and less about unity or social change.”  Accessibility also played a major role. “I think possibly the reduction of the availability of small venues where musicians who didn’t have huge followings used to play has made a difference,” according to Thal. She points out, “In the Sixties, Seventies and 80s, people who played protest music appeared in clubs and in concert on college campuses. Personal appearance sites have changed; there still are clubs, but college concerts have diminished. And most places that pay performers now book bands rather than solo musicians; people who already have followings rather than people who are building a following. As it becomes more difficult to build an audience, musicians tend to play music that will garner a larger audience, becoming more dependent on what we used to term ‘commercial’ music.”

“The rules haven’t changed,” she says. “Unless an artist has a large following, most of the audience will come from the ranks of whomever the artist can reach through performances and media play. Since CD’s are being replaced by social media, all artists, not just those who put forth protest music, are having difficulty reaching an audience. The process will continue, and those who want to reach people who agree with them may have to become more active in whatever movements exist.” Those same sentiments are echoed by Anne Marie Mingo in the Bohn article who pointed out, “that as the popularity of the Black church with young people seems to wane, artists like Beyoncé, Janelle Monáe, and Kendrick Lamar, among others, ‘take on the role of the preacher and prophet by speaking truth to power from the stage or via social media.’”

There was also a perceived loss of focus in the audience when the Vietnam war came to a close, and Thal says even earlier than that. “The anti-war movement had lost focus even before the war ended. It was somewhat torn by the rise of SDS and others who wanted it to become either broader or more-narrow. It became dissipated among the peace movement, the civil rights movement, later the women’s movement (which itself became compartmentalized) and the gay rights movement (which also has become fragmented).”

“It never was concerned about the labor movement. Earlier, that movement was the subject of songs that came out of the IWW, some of the unions, and the Communist Party (mostly through People’s Artists, its cultural ‘front’). When the Communist Party was discredited in the US, interest in labor fell off and never became a concern of the later protest singers. In fact, by the 1970s, because of the support for the incursion into Vietnam on the part of large sections of the trade unions, there was a rift between many of the anti-war people and trade unionists, which was reflected in the populist character of the protest music of the Seventies and later.”  But what replaced those issues?

According to Thal, “There was a curious period in which ‘poverty’ became a concern. But the people who sang about it tended to focus on poverty in rural areas such as Appalachia. They ignored the role the labor movement could play in alleviating that poverty. They ignored urban poverty; concern with urban poverty is fairly recent and is coupled with concern about lack of universal health care, which cuts across all sectors of society, and about racism.”

There’s still the question of marketability, and Thal is quick to ask, “What does “marketable” mean?  If it implies a certain type of commercial sound, that’s always held…with some interesting exceptions such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (who is not widely thought of as a social protest musician). Protest music generally is listened to because of the lyrics; in this era, it is possible for lyrics that years ago would have been regarded as unsaleable to get a wide audience; some rap singers have reached huge audiences and some popular singers such as Katy Perry have recorded music that might be considered ‘protest’ music.”  She also offers strong opinions about widespread media that exploded in the digital age and the concept of fairness in media.

“There never was an “age of impartiality,” she says. Media never was impartial, but until fairly recently, it was less open about its views. And people always have sided with or listened to stations, personalities and others who they understood to share their views. That’s nothing new. The only thing that’s new is the openness of media’s views and the strength of the divisions among both media and consumers. I doubt that will change very much over the next few years; the political climate is too volatile.”  Which brings us to the common ground, perhaps a common enemy, to bring forth that style of messaging.  Does it exist? According to Thal it’s in plain sight.

“Most protest singers already have a common enemy – the current US President, those in office who support him, and their economic and political policies. However, the diffusion of goals that permeates the culture probably won’t allow for unification of protestors for some time to come. Unfortunately, liberals and the ‘left’ in the United States, like those in the rest of the world, writhe in discord.”

Like Thal, folk artist Christine Lavin also has a connection to the “Big Bear,” Dave Von Ronk, whom she describes as her guitar teacher, mentor and one who said a lot of very wise things. One of his most compelling being:

“It is very hard to write a good political song, but it is very easy to write a bad one.”

Apart from the evolution of music, as Lavin is quick to point out, every songwriter attempting to tackle politics in song needs to be reminded how difficult it is to get it right, especially in the digital age. With the internet evening the playing field, the pressure…often self-imposed…to publish has its risks. Her advice? “Songwriter Ervin Drake (author of ‘Good Morning Heartache’ and ‘It Was A Very Good Year’) said that when you think a song is done, put it away in a drawer, then take it out two weeks later and look at it with an unfriendly eye. You must be merciless with yourself when you are writing non-fiction songs. Of course, with the rapid news cycle we live in today, who has two weeks to let a topical song marinate? Nobody.  And since the best way to get topical songs out is to post them as videos as quickly as possible, the whole process — which in the old days could take days or weeks — now is condensed to overnight, making this kind of songwriting more difficult than ever.”

The power of the internet to send messages worldwide in seconds would seem to work for and against the genre. As Lavin puts it, “Before the internet age, news moved at a relatively glacial pace, and it could take a very long time to grasp all the information and then assemble it into a song that made sense. But not only did it need to make sense, it had to leave you in a different place at the end of the song from where you started out.  It had to inform you on the topic, as truthfully as it could, and then try to inspire you into some kind of action by the end.  It needed to get to the point, to rhyme, and have a rhythm that pushed the ideas along. And if it could do it with humor, you’ve really got something worthwhile.” Keep in mind, if you had an itchy trigger finger, that same song might go out sooner than it should have. But Lavin says if a song is simple enough in its message that shouldn’t be a problem. She points to Tom Paxton, whom she calls the “King of Short Shelf Life Songs.”

“He always says that the melody isn’t important in these kinds of songs, and Van Ronk also said that when you are writing a ‘message’ song, keep the music simple — the message is what the song is all about, the music is simply the vehicle to deliver the song.”  She also stresses simplicity in performing the song getting the message across stating, “You want others to be able to sing and play it, and if the song has a bunch of jazz chords in it, fewer guitarists will be able to master it easily.”

Terry Leonino also offers her own view of women and their role in the evolution of protest music.  Was there a reason for her passion for activism and music? She’ll tell you, “Yes, I am a survivor and witness to the Kent State shootings May 4th, 1970. I was already a musician before the shootings and putting myself through college on the money I made playing music. My father was a shop steward and labor union activists and music was always an important part of my life as the songs of the labor movement were also a constant in our house. My mother was one of nine children from a farm family in Lepanto, Arkansas and grew up in a very musical family. If you weren’t singing you weren’t breathing, and music also was a foundation and presence in her life with my grandfather being the one you called to play all the dances. He played every instrument in the book piano, guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica and everyone sang the old songs as well as the new.” She’s also quick to compare protest music old and new.

“You must keep in mind that most social movements throughout history have been musical movements. Most of the more modern movements were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement which used communal singing as a foundation for power and inspiration to help persevere through the marches, physical challenges endured when exercising direct action through the use of non-violent means.”  And while the internet provides easy access, Leonino says it also has its downside for the artist and audience.

“Today’s movements like Black Lives Matter or the #MeToo movement have music but it is used to support it from the stage, sung by the artists to illuminate the essence of the concerns these movements are trying to bring to the forefront in order to make the necessary change.  It has its use as it is like a charismatic leader.” Is that to say that the modern protest music is any less effective as a result?  Not according to Lenino, but it could use a new direction. “Music,” she stresses, “is very important for shaping social movements of today but it is not the same as it was in the 1960s.  Today’s movements like Black Lives Matter or the MeToo# movement have music but it is used to support it from the stage, sung by the artists to illuminate the essence of the concerns these movements are trying to bring to the forefront in order to make the necessary change.  It has its use as it is like a charismatic leader but for me it is not as effective. In the last forty-eight years (1970-2018) our cultures are getting further and further away from community singing. We have fewer and fewer song leaders essential to any song-based movement. Song leaders aren’t always great singers but they are the ones who carry the songs, chants, and music usually sung in ‘call and response’, the old African-American musical tradition used during the Underground Railroad, sung in Black churches, during the Civil Rights Movement and  used in today’s Modern Civil Rights Movement or with a catchy chorus repeated throughout. Often these songs are based on familiar and popular songs from previous song movements like the Civil Rights Movement or popular songs of the day everyone knows and sings. Pete Seeger was one of the preeminent song leaders during his 94 years on our planet and his death left a large hole for those of us who continue in this tradition.”

Does this signal a rebirth of sorts?

“I think this generation looks to the 60’s and reflects on the many movements that came out of this time in our history in the hope to find some positive solutions and ways that can help connect people with the power they need to make today’s necessary social and political change. Reborn? Well for me it’s more of an ‘awakening’ to what has worked and is still working to make positive and necessary social and political change today.” Leonino is also quick to quote the well-known social activist and entertainer Paul Robeson, stating, “Artists are the gate keepers of truth. We are civilization’s radical voice.” How well is that voice being heard?

“Obviously being a survivor of the Kent State and Jackson State massacres, those of us who lived through this time in our lives never want to forget Jackson State for many reasons, one of which is that many lives (Black and White) were lost during the Civil Rights Movement before Kent State ever happened. It wasn’t until what some viewed as middle class White college age students were killed that the nation woke up to their cries to end the war. We also forget that what happened on May 4th was our own government turning on those whose only weapon was their use of freedom of speech with high powered guns and tanks on what was a gathering to hear the latest news about Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia and the continuation of yet another government funded war. To not mention Jackson State in the same breath is to not acknowledge the many Black lives lost during this same month and time period. Our government creates war and builds weapons to support wars all over the world.  Give a listen to Phil Ochs song ‘Cops of the World’ as he clearly and prophetically speaks to exactly what we are still facing today on the world political stage.” Leonino insists that it comes down to taking a stand, but also recognizing music as a positive and powerful voice along with its ability to provoke and even mobilize.

“Yes, I greatly believe that music is healing! The wounds we carry and continue to try and heal in our lifetime and throughout history are deep. From the genocide of our First Nations, to the Abolition of Slavery whose repercussions which still negatively resonate today, to the degradation of our environment, to the corporate and personal greed and inequality we are experiencing, it ever more important that we are vigilant in using our ‘freedom of speech’, songs of social and political justice, and communal gatherings to chant and sing and express these needs as part of the healing needed to move forward toward the necessary social and political changes.” But, again, Leonino stresses a direct and simple message. This lends credence to the longevity of Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.” As she sees it, “The connection, the physical connection, the resonance that you make together singing, the sound that you make around you, it surrounds you, is more empowering than just being by yourself and being up there getting self-aggrandizing for just writing a picture of what’s happening. That’s an important role but there are other roles that really reflect how successful you might be at attaining what you want because you have to feel empowered and when you sing together its very empowering. When you’re chanting something, it’s very empowering. It’s just one of those things that without the song leaders, it’s becoming more and more difficult and we tend to lose those people. I can say this as a musician, now they’re using tools against the protestors that they never had before, things that destroy their hearing for the rest of their life. They have these machines that they blast into protest groups and they destroy your eardrums basically. It’s a scary time.”

Leonino says the opponents of protest music have learned a great deal since the Sixties as well.  One is that freedom of speech can be a powerful tool for all sides. “Well it’s part of the whole strategy,” she claims. “Which is very much like Saul Alinsky’s ‘Rules for Radicals’ he tells you all the techniques like the short sound bites like the “healthy forest initiative” but of course it’s anything but that. But now we have even worse things than that, we have everyday the distractions that, I like to call him Voldemort, puts out, they suck up all the oxygen and then nobody pays attention to the important things that are happening underneath all that. It’s a purposeful, strategic thing that people have learned to do when they want to have authoritarian government or fascism. It’s very evident in all of the world now, it’s not just the US but to have us also at such a vulnerable place… I think we’re gonna look back at this time in history and say…I hope we survive this.”