Music Makes Change Timeline

Please note: the following timeline is a sample of American music having an impact on various issues of social justice. If you notice any discrepancies or errors, or have any suggested additions, please let us know.

1891

"The New America" is sung at the National-American Woman's Suffrage Convention. Sung to the tune of "My Country Tis of Thee" (which in turn is the tune of "God Save the Queen"), its lyrics call for women's equality.

big dot halfmoon More about the music of the Suffragetes here

1905

Big Bill Haywood forms Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, or "Wobblies) in Chicago . With every union card, members receive a Little Red Song Book containing words to about fifty songs with pro-union messages sung in picket lines and rallies. Lyricists include Joe Hill, Ralph Chaplin, Harry McClintock, T-Bone Slim, and others.

big dot halfmoon More about the singing Wobblies here

1910

Swedish immigrant Joe Hill joins the IWW and writes the pro-union song, "Workers of the World," the first of his many populist compositions to sweep through labor picket lines throughout the nation.

big dot halfmoon More about Joe Hill here

1915

Joe Hill is executed by firing squad after a trial that Hill calls unfair and the IWW crusades against. For reasons unknown, Hill refuses to testify in his own defense on the controversial murder charges. In one of his last death row messages, Hill sends a telegram to fellow Wobbly "Big Bill" Haywood that becomes a rallying cry for workers and protestors for generations: "Don't waste time mourning. Organize!"

big dot halfmoon More about Joe Hill here, too

1932

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" by E. Y. Harburg and Jay Gorney appears in a revue called "New Americana." It becomes the anthem of the depression.

big dot halfmoon PBS timeline of Broadway in the '20s and '30s here

1937

The opening of the musical drama "Cradle Will Rock," an attack on capitalism by Marc Blitzstein, is canceled by the W.P.A. Theatre. Producers/actors Orson Welles and John Houseman move the show (and the audience) to a nearby theater, where it is performed without scenery, props, or costumes. The show later becomes a Broadway hit.

big dot halfmoon Guide to "Cradle Will Rock here

1939

“Strange Fruit” is recorded by Billie Holiday. The song about lynching in America is written by New York City public school teacher and American Communist Party member Abel Meeropol, later known as the adoptive father of the two sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

big dot halfmoon More about the genesis of "Strange Fruit" here

1939

Earl Robinson and John La Touche write "Ballad for Americans," a musical review of American history as class struggle. The song is performed on the CBS radio network by Paul Robeson and becomes a staple in school choral performances. Years later the sheet music is ripped out of many public school songbooks after Robinson and Robeson are identified with the radical left and blacklisted during the McCarthy period.

big dot halfmoon More about "Progressivism vs. Patriotism" here

1940

Woody Guthrie writes "This Land is Your Land" to counter the militant "Star Spangled Banner." The song is later recorded in 1944 and published in a songbook in 1945.

big dot halfmoon More about progressive patriotic anthems here

1940

Pete Seeger meets Woody Guthrie at a migrant-worker benefit concert. Later that year they help form the Almanac Singers, a loosely organized musical collective that includes Lee Hays, Millard Lampell, Sis Cunningham, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and others.

big dot halfmoon More about the meeting of Guthrie and Seeger here

1949

A benefit concert by singer/activist Paul Robeson is the catalyst for anti-communist riots in Peekskill , NY . Before Robeson arrives, a mob of locals attacks concertgoers with baseball bats and rocks. A rescheduled concert in Lakeland Acres, north of Peekskill , is free from violence, but as the audience drives away, hostile locals, veterans, and outside agitators throw rocks through windshields of the cars and buses.

big dot halfmoon More about the Peekskill Riot here

1949

The Weavers group is formed: Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, and Fred Hellerman.

big dot halfmoon More about The Weavers here

1955

Pete Seeger is subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee and claims that to discuss his political views and associates violates his First Amendment rights.

big dot halfmoon More about the Seeger saga here

1956

Seeger, Arthur Miller, and six others are indicted for contempt of Congress by an overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives. Seeger composes "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

big dot halfmoon More about the Seeger saga here

1961

Seeger is found guilty of contempt and sentenced to ten years in prison. One year later the case is dismissed on a technicality.

big dot halfmoon More about the Seeger saga here

1963

The FBI begins collecting data on folk singer Phil Ochs. Ochs is one of several popular musicians to be tracked by the FBI during their careers (also Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie).

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

Bob Dylan refuses to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in February after producers tell him he cannot sing "Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues." Dylan is never invited to perform on the show again.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1965

The Barry McGuire song "Eve of Destruction" is pulled from retail stores and radio stations across the country after some groups complain that it is nihilistic and could promote suicidal feelings amongst teens.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1968

After being invited by the Smothers Brothers to perform his anti-Vietnam anthem "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" on their TV show, Pete Seeger is edited out of the program by the censors at CBS television. Seeger later makes a second appearance on the program and sings the song without interruption.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

The Doors' single "Unknown Soldier" is banned from airplay at many radio stations because of its anti-war theme.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1969

At Woodstock , Country Joe and the Fish sing their anitwar anthem "Fixing to Die Rag," and Joan Baez sings a 1925 poem by Alfred Hayes: "I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night...'I never died,' says he."

big dot halfmoon More about the Woodstock Festival here

Pete Seeger and friends launch the sloop Clearwater into the Hudson River.

big dot halfmoon More about the "Clearwater" movement here

1970

Claiming that he fears the song " Ohio " will incite further violence on college campuses following the killing of four students at Kent State University, Governor James Rhodes attempts to order Ohio radio stations to ban the song.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1971

Several radio stations alter the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero" without the consent of Lennon or his record label.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

Radio stations across the U.S. ban Bob Dylan's single "George Jackson" over concerns about the song's political theme and an obscene word in its lyrics.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

The Illinois Crime Commission publishes a list of popular rock songs that contain drug references, including Peter, Paul and Mary's "Puff The Magic Dragon" and the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1972

In January, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee issues a report on John Lennon and Yoko Ono, advocating the termination of Lennon's visa to live in the U.S. The report calls the couple "strong advocates of the program to 'dump Nixon'."

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

John Lennon's song "Woman is the Nigger of the World" is banned by radio stations across the country.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1979

Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), a group of artists and activists working for a non-nuclear future, join for five nights of concerts in Madison Square Garden that include James Taylor, Carly Simon, and Gil Scott-Heron.

big dot halfmoon More about Musicians United for Safe Energy

1980

Fearing association with its theme, Mercury Records refuses to release Frank Zappa's single "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted."

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1985

Organizer and co-producer Steven Van Zandt leads "Artists Against Apartheid" (Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Brown, Pete Townshend, and other celebrity musicians) to release the song "Sun City" and bring the apartheid policies of South Africa to the attention of the public. After the record's release until the release of political prisoner Nelson Mandella, no major act performs at the Sun City resort established by South Africa to legitimize the "homeland" to which blacks were relocated.

big dot halfmoon More about Artists United Against Apartheid

1988

After initially agreeing to broadcast the world premiere of Neil Young's "This Note's For You" on July 1st, MTV refuses to air the video clip. MTV eventually reconsiders the matter and begins airing the video.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1992

After Irish singer Sinead O'Connor tears up a photograph of Pope John Paul II during a December performance on Saturday Night Live, critics quickly call for boycotts of her albums.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

1996

Wal-Mart refuses to carry Sheryl Crow's self-titled second album because one of the songs contains an unflattering comment about the discount retailer's gun sales policy.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

2000

The New York Fraternal Order of Police places Bruce Springsteen on its boycott list, and calls for the cancellation of his New York performances, after Springsteen debuts a song about the shooting of Amadou Diallo entitled "American Skin."

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

2001

Producers of Late Night with David Letterman cancel an appearance by singer Ani DiFranco after she refuses to drop plans to perform the song “Subdivision,” which addresses racism and white flight to the suburbs.

big dot halfmoon More about similiar incidents here

2002

Steve Earle’s song “John Walker Blues” ignites calls for its censorship in the Wall Street Journal and The New York Post two months before its release. The song looks at events through Walker ’s eyes, yet does not endorse Walker ’s actions or fate, nor does it take any ideological stance on Walker ’s beliefs.

big dot halfmoon More about similar incidents here

2003

At a concert in London , less than two weeks before the start of the Iraq war, Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines tells the audience "we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas ." The comment is followed by radio station boycotts and organized rallies in which participants destroyed their CDs, as well as seemingly contradictory sold-out concert dates. The Chicks' recording of "Travellin' Soldier" by Bruce Robison and Farrah Braniff is considered by many an anti-war statement and pulled from airplay on many stations.

big dot halfmoon More about the response to the Dixie Chicks' comment here

2004

Jadakiss song "Why," containing the line "Why did Bush knock down those towers?", is edited by radio stations and MTV to remove the controversial line.

big dot halfmoon More about the Jadakiss controversy here