Prologue: Part II – Of Course I’m Sure

When your mentor turns into your writing partner, you quickly become susceptible to imposter syndrome. Not only did Mike think my book idea was worth pursuing, he wanted to help me on my mission to make it happen. Since Mike doesn’t know how to half-ass anything, he wasted no time giving me thoughtful ideas and suggestions. There was no way around it; his ideas needed credit and his distinct and authoritative voice needed to be heard throughout this book. I had a feeling if we collaborated on a project like this, together, our voices could blend into a unique cocktail: one that reflects the credibility and expertise of a walking encyclopedia and Seventies era radio host who’s seen it all, and a spirited (millennial) journalist who was tired of the orange guy in charge and wonders where today’s Bob Dylans were hiding.

But my interest in the intersect of popular culture and protest was born before 2016. It goes back to Mike’s class, like he mentioned, which was only a few years before a certain celebrity game show host would take his throne in the highest office in the land. I had signed up for this upper division elective simply because it sounded fun and by your senior year in college, you take all the fun you can get. Popular music in the Sixties? Of course, I’ll study that. I had just wrapped up my internship at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the summer before and was still reeling from the sense of power and perspective that the history of rock music leaves you buzzing with. I expected to be intrigued by the class, but I never expected where it would take me.

I figured after graduation I would grab an office job in the field of communication and chill out in a cubicle until retirement. But hearing Mike’s stories stirred something up on the inside. “When I spoke with Yoko Ono…” a line that would capture anyone’s attention, and it was just one of Mike’s many stories that started out this way. I knew Mike’s fascinating life was thanks to his many years in radio. He’s had a remarkably significant influence on Northeast Ohioans because of the many good times they associate with the sound of his recognizable voice. Mike not only tells the most entertaining tales about rock and roll music and the “Cleveland connection” you hear him mention many times in his appearances and in his books, but he let his students take what they need from his classes. What I needed then was a chance to explore just how passionate I was growing about the idea of popular musicians and even comedians as political influences.

Mike played documentaries for us and for the first time before my eyes flashed a pajama clad John Lennon and his new wife Yoko, sitting in bed, frizzy hair and all smiles, with “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace” signs hung all around the room, in Lennon’s distinct handwriting. The newlywed couple decided to turn what would inevitably be a media circus honeymoon into an opportunity for protest. I was hooked. Here was the planet’s most famous couple, newly married, and instead of prancing around a private beach, they were protesting for peace from their hotel room.

After showing us Lennon’s eventual fight to stay in the country he loved with the woman he adored, Mike asked us to write an essay answering the question, “Who won? Lennon or the U.S. government?” Lennon’s fight to stay shook him to his core, but he never shut up. The U.S. government wanted to send the former Beatle into exile after his simple plea for peace was gaining too much attention during a time the Nixon administration needed steadfast support for the War in Vietnam. Given no particular restrictions for this paper, I was granted freedom to explore the question in any way I chose to. This is how and when I began truly writing opinions, and it was all thanks to Mike. He didn’t give his students restrictions or boundaries that kept us more worried about a format than about the content. Instead, he showed us how to think for ourselves. This paper was also an opportunity to flex my unpopular opinion that Ono was not an enemy but rather a springboard for Lennon’s political activism, an unusual muse who furthered his artistry.

I wrote in that paper, “I think Lennon was always a rebellious spirit but his became a spirit without limits when he met Yoko Ono, who would take down whatever barriers he had left.” I went on to reason that if given the chance, Lennon probably would not have changed a thing even though he would become heavily stalked by the F.B.I. even to a point of intense paranoia. Why? Because it all happened in the couple’s worldwide pursuit of peace. After funding billboards and posters all over the world with the message “War is over, if you want it” out of his own pocket, Lennon said he didn’t know how much it cost him but however much it was, it was “less than a life.” It goes without saying then, that Lennon’s convictions and political activism would have a profound effect on me and would later go on to serve as inspiration for the title of this book.

A strange thing happened a few years after that class ended as those popular protest messages and themes I had studied began popping up again. The 2016 election was a weird, troubling time for many of us. I had wondered while I was falling in fascination with the Sixties during that class how I would have lived and responded to such turbulent social times. Only a few years later, many of those very issues resurfaced and I had the opportunity to answer that question for myself. I decided to collect compelling perspectives on how the times have seemingly changed back but how music, comedy and pop culture have politically shifted and continue to change shape as the political times we’re in deepen. My master’s project idea was born pretty quickly and of course I wanted Mike’s feedback. He generously agreed without hesitation. My committee also boasted Kent State’s prized professors, Stephanie Smith and Jacquie Marino. I was touched to see such enthusiasm for my project and received the warmest and most sincere support from all of them. I had a team who shared my vision and cheered me on every step of the way. My mission felt important, I felt heard and I was cheered on with every move I made by these profound professionals who never ceased to inspire me.

We’re living in an era of reawakened protest but also one that comes with a hypersensitivity to political commentary. This book is for anyone who is interested in the thought process entertainers experience when deciding how or if to include political messaging in their work. That’s what I’ve been digging for and driven by as a freelance entertainment reporter for the past few years. I don’t want to talk with artists about their diet or their favorite sports team or their favorite Kardashian; I’ve dug for their take on what’s happening around us. What you hold in your hands is simply a love letter for both politically impassioned Millennials — carrying protests signs with the ink still wet — and Baby Boomers — who have dusted the cobwebs off their protest signs — and wonder if they’re all moving the needle.

This book is drawn from a number of previous conversations that were published in Northeast Ohio news outlets while several interviews were conducted and recorded especially for this book. Some research and analysis are drawn from decades-old interviews with artists who have since passed on but are still very relevant today. Although Baby Boomers and Millennials birthdays are separated by several decades, both generations are now sharing in the uniting force of in-person protest tactics. The intention here is that I can echo the sentiment that many of my generation feel while Mike can chronicle what his generation witnessed.

While there is certainly no shortage of protest eras to examine across the globe, this book specifically focuses on these two eras of youth-led protests in the United States. Although we are largely examining the spirit of only American protests, from the late 1960s through today, we know that the events that take place in our country reverberate and can be felt around the world. I hope we’ve touched on many artists, events and movements that speak to you the most, although it is impossible to include them all. These conversations are with and about artists who have most prominently shone a light on these events. We will take a closer look at these messages, events and movements and discover what they’re really telling us. Put simply, our aim here is to both entertain and inform on musical and comedic protest trends that appear to be repeating and at faster speeds than ever before.

More than anything, this book was created with love to reveal that entertainers are just as politically pissed as you are, even if it is from their private jet. Some package that rage up in a comedy routine, some in a song. You’ll soon discover they’re not interested in offending you but instead want to offer you the gift of song or laughter, while you reach for relief from the exhausting, vicious circle of headlines. Several of these artists have shared what they hope they’ve accomplished in their work and this book shares their convictions with you. Their words have profoundly resonated with me and I’m confident they’ll do the same for you, no matter your political leaning. It is my sincere hope that in this book, their words may have a greater and more permanent home in entertainment and political history.