Hey, thanks for this list, Mick! I'll include them in my honorable mention list (I've got a few of them already), but if you do a playlist let me know and I'll link to it.
One of these is also coming up in a post and getting the full works.
That's an interesting point. What's also interesting is that Stills came from a military family, Crosby from high society, Nash a working class Manchester lad (Salford) from what I can tell. Interesting group and interesting reaction to the event given their backgrounds.
Yes! And both parents came from society families, the Van Rensselaers and Van Cortlandts. We're talking founding fathers, old money, movers and shakers.
Wow! Powerful post Ellen. By some strange coincidence, when I started reading this I was listening to a playlist and a Devo song started playing! I had heard the connection they had to this horrific event but it's chilling to hear them as I learn more details.
No, me either, Nick. As you know, the more you dig into these songs, the more you uncover. The stories behind them are quite fascinating.
Btw, David Drayer of Strange and Unusual Places saw Waltzing Mathilda in your list and is planning to do a post about it. Apparently it has a very interesting backstory.
I saw his comment on my post; which I appreciated but hadn't replied to, and just read the exchange in these comments which was very intriguing. Thanks.
I think it descended into humor, as things often do when you're dealing with difficult topics and need a pressure valve for all the feelings that arise. It was definitely a struggle with this piece.
Well Ellen, you struck a chord with this one. My hillbilly neighbor introduced us to everything Neil Young was involved in, from early years and I've followed his career and of course the bands he was in.
Performed much of his work (could play entire On the Beach album) but stopped when people started telling me I sounded like him. Neil Young deserves a Nobel prize.
Regarding the Vietnam war and Kent State affairs: this brings me very close to entering the morass of politics and long history of atrocities perpetrated by our government upon its own citizenry, some of which I've been part of, and now many of us are part of in the here and now.
But we won't go there.
Lastly, once again the Aussies come to mind anytime America goes to war, and Waltzing Matilda is sung again.
I found Neil's performance in that video so powerful. He's a great musical role model to have. It would be great if you put up more songs on your stack -- would love to hear more.
I did wonder, with your profession, if you've been put in some difficult positions. Having worked overseas quite a bit, I've since discovered that projects I was involved in were not what I thought they were, and people were not who they said they were. But let's not go there either.
I do have some recall, but also have been a researcher and writer my entire career, so finding the low-down and making it into a compelling story is my bread and butter. I've been very lucky in role models as well.
The customer was the U.S. Navy. Did work for NASA, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin. DOD. The men in black are real. They are "in the World" and we are "the unclean".
Once when getting furloughed I said to my manager "but I'm the only man alive who does that task".
His response: "well, Dave, it's like Winston Churchill said, "the graveyards of England are filled with indispensable men".
Wow! That is an incredible thing for a manager to say. Where is a tape recorder and an HR director (and a system) with integrity when you need them?!
I don't know about you, but I always showered more and smelled better than 'those' managers. Better personal hygiene, for sure. Just saying... kettle, pot...
Most of the "managers" were former Naval officers who do not readjust well to civilian life. It's more than a job, especially during wartime. Still have friends who can't tell their wives or children what they do or where they're going. We don't talk about work.
I have a female friend I would put into that category of wives.
I worked with a guy who would disappear for an extended period and dump his work in my lap, claimed to be special forces. He liked to brag about what he did but not where he did it, show me the wounds all over his torso. It didn't do the trick. I totally resented picking up his work. Then I found out he negotiated extra pay while doing less -- something hit the fan!!!
12 hrs ago·edited 11 hrs agoLiked by Ellen from Endwell
We're the dreaded "hardware people" who are outnumbered 100:1 by the cubicle people. When the hardware people show up things start moving around which irritates the cubicle people. We always bring a goon squad to enforce our requests, and we make more money than the engineers. They have good reason to hate and fear us.
One method was to put their equipment into a SCIF, where if it stored data, could never, ever come out again.
I didn't realize that myself, discovered it in the researching of the post. Not what you heard or knew at the time, which is why society remained so divided and Nixon won re-election by a landslide, but eventually the truth comes out when so many eyewitnesses are involved.
13 hrs ago·edited 13 hrs agoLiked by Ellen from Endwell
I don't know how well known Kent State is in America by people that weren't around when it happened, but I'm English and only learned about it a couple of months ago after listening to Fallin' Rain by Link Wray. I'm surprised not to have seen it discussed more online during the student protests about Gaza.
Sam Stone (John Prine) is a great song about the fallout from the ongoing trauma of serving in Vietnam.
Thanks for mentioning Sam Stone. I didn't know about it and will put it on my list of honorable mentions.
Good question concerning how many people know about it in the younger generations. I think not that many. The sixties generation are now grandparents and great-grandparents, and there are some participating in demonstrations and protests, but many who are old, tired, and find it enough coping with life -- or babysitting said children.
As good as the studio version of 'Ohio' is, the live version from 'Four Way Street' is even better - the repeats of "four dead in Ohio" at the end send shivers down my spine - an expression of raw rage.
Thanks for bringing that version to my attention. It does have a real sense of urgency and rage about it. They'd probably moved from shock, through grief and sadness, to anger and then rage by that point, and it came out in their music at that time. It is spine-tingling for me too.
I remember the Kent State massacre very well, and how upset everyone was about it. I was only 13 at the time but my parents were very politically aware (east coast liberals) so it was big news in my house, as were all the other protests and anti-war activities going on at the time.
I wore a black armband to school on Moratorium Day, and the right-wing shop teacher told me to take it off or not come to class. I chose to skip and got detention for it, and my mom hit the roof and threatened the school with ACLU involvement! (she was an awesome lady). We got apologies from the principal and the shop teacher, and the rest of my checkered high school career was handled with kid gloves by 'the authorities.'
Your excellent post really brought that tragedy back to me Ellen, I'm writing this with a bit of pit in my stomach - amazing how something that happened so long ago can still be so upsetting.
"Ohio" is a great piece of work - I was already a CSNY fan and remember hearing it on the radio. I never got the single but knew the live version on "4 Way Street" when it came out.
Wow, your mom was a force to contend with, and how wonderful that she went to bat for you over your right to express your political opinions. The whole situation is rather shocking, but also not really surprising. A friend and I once got in trouble in sixth grade simply for trading one of our socks so we were both wearing two ummatched socks -- something we did deliberately to see if they would make a big deal out of it, and they did!
Revisiting the Kent State tragedy affected me too, far more than I expected. So many young lives cut short, such a tragedy on so many levels. And the song captures it perfectly in both the music and lyrics, so recognizable and gripping and hair-raising. It really is a great piece of work.
Fortunate Son - CCR
Some additional good ones ( I feel a new playlist in the works)
Imagine - John Lennon
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
I'd Love to Change the Wold - Ten Years After
The Revolution Will Not be Televised - Gill Scott Haron
Street Fight Man - The Rolling Stones
Revolution - The Beatles
After the 70s
Spanish Bombs - The Clash
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Monkey Gone to Heaven - The Pixies
Meat is Murder - The Smiths
Hey, thanks for this list, Mick! I'll include them in my honorable mention list (I've got a few of them already), but if you do a playlist let me know and I'll link to it.
One of these is also coming up in a post and getting the full works.
Trust a Canadian to write the definitive musical condemnation of a horrific American event.
That's an interesting point. What's also interesting is that Stills came from a military family, Crosby from high society, Nash a working class Manchester lad (Salford) from what I can tell. Interesting group and interesting reaction to the event given their backgrounds.
Crosby reputedly was the son of Floyd Crosby, a prolific Hollywood cinematographer.
Yes! And both parents came from society families, the Van Rensselaers and Van Cortlandts. We're talking founding fathers, old money, movers and shakers.
Wow! Powerful post Ellen. By some strange coincidence, when I started reading this I was listening to a playlist and a Devo song started playing! I had heard the connection they had to this horrific event but it's chilling to hear them as I learn more details.
Thanks, Dan, and that is a strange coincidence (or synchronicity!).
It was a hard post to write as it was horrific and I do remember it. Brought tears to my eyes quite a few times.
I appreciated the research, and I hadn't heard about the Devo connection before.
No, me either, Nick. As you know, the more you dig into these songs, the more you uncover. The stories behind them are quite fascinating.
Btw, David Drayer of Strange and Unusual Places saw Waltzing Mathilda in your list and is planning to do a post about it. Apparently it has a very interesting backstory.
I saw his comment on my post; which I appreciated but hadn't replied to, and just read the exchange in these comments which was very intriguing. Thanks.
I think it descended into humor, as things often do when you're dealing with difficult topics and need a pressure valve for all the feelings that arise. It was definitely a struggle with this piece.
Well Ellen, you struck a chord with this one. My hillbilly neighbor introduced us to everything Neil Young was involved in, from early years and I've followed his career and of course the bands he was in.
Performed much of his work (could play entire On the Beach album) but stopped when people started telling me I sounded like him. Neil Young deserves a Nobel prize.
Regarding the Vietnam war and Kent State affairs: this brings me very close to entering the morass of politics and long history of atrocities perpetrated by our government upon its own citizenry, some of which I've been part of, and now many of us are part of in the here and now.
But we won't go there.
Lastly, once again the Aussies come to mind anytime America goes to war, and Waltzing Matilda is sung again.
And you have a vast recall of the period.
I found Neil's performance in that video so powerful. He's a great musical role model to have. It would be great if you put up more songs on your stack -- would love to hear more.
I did wonder, with your profession, if you've been put in some difficult positions. Having worked overseas quite a bit, I've since discovered that projects I was involved in were not what I thought they were, and people were not who they said they were. But let's not go there either.
I do have some recall, but also have been a researcher and writer my entire career, so finding the low-down and making it into a compelling story is my bread and butter. I've been very lucky in role models as well.
The customer was the U.S. Navy. Did work for NASA, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin. DOD. The men in black are real. They are "in the World" and we are "the unclean".
Once when getting furloughed I said to my manager "but I'm the only man alive who does that task".
His response: "well, Dave, it's like Winston Churchill said, "the graveyards of England are filled with indispensable men".
Wow! That is an incredible thing for a manager to say. Where is a tape recorder and an HR director (and a system) with integrity when you need them?!
I don't know about you, but I always showered more and smelled better than 'those' managers. Better personal hygiene, for sure. Just saying... kettle, pot...
Most of the "managers" were former Naval officers who do not readjust well to civilian life. It's more than a job, especially during wartime. Still have friends who can't tell their wives or children what they do or where they're going. We don't talk about work.
I have a female friend I would put into that category of wives.
I worked with a guy who would disappear for an extended period and dump his work in my lap, claimed to be special forces. He liked to brag about what he did but not where he did it, show me the wounds all over his torso. It didn't do the trick. I totally resented picking up his work. Then I found out he negotiated extra pay while doing less -- something hit the fan!!!
We're the dreaded "hardware people" who are outnumbered 100:1 by the cubicle people. When the hardware people show up things start moving around which irritates the cubicle people. We always bring a goon squad to enforce our requests, and we make more money than the engineers. They have good reason to hate and fear us.
One method was to put their equipment into a SCIF, where if it stored data, could never, ever come out again.
Technicians get whatever they want.
Crazy times now, crazy times then. Shooting to kill students, even students walking to class? That's just awful.
I didn't realize that myself, discovered it in the researching of the post. Not what you heard or knew at the time, which is why society remained so divided and Nixon won re-election by a landslide, but eventually the truth comes out when so many eyewitnesses are involved.
Still so relevant and an excellent piece of music.
You said it, Al!
I don't know how well known Kent State is in America by people that weren't around when it happened, but I'm English and only learned about it a couple of months ago after listening to Fallin' Rain by Link Wray. I'm surprised not to have seen it discussed more online during the student protests about Gaza.
Sam Stone (John Prine) is a great song about the fallout from the ongoing trauma of serving in Vietnam.
Thanks for mentioning Sam Stone. I didn't know about it and will put it on my list of honorable mentions.
Good question concerning how many people know about it in the younger generations. I think not that many. The sixties generation are now grandparents and great-grandparents, and there are some participating in demonstrations and protests, but many who are old, tired, and find it enough coping with life -- or babysitting said children.
I did watch a reaction video with Bizmatic, who I quite enjoy, and he had no clue about the Kent State shootings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmXtFfrZgik
As good as the studio version of 'Ohio' is, the live version from 'Four Way Street' is even better - the repeats of "four dead in Ohio" at the end send shivers down my spine - an expression of raw rage.
Thanks for bringing that version to my attention. It does have a real sense of urgency and rage about it. They'd probably moved from shock, through grief and sadness, to anger and then rage by that point, and it came out in their music at that time. It is spine-tingling for me too.
I remember the Kent State massacre very well, and how upset everyone was about it. I was only 13 at the time but my parents were very politically aware (east coast liberals) so it was big news in my house, as were all the other protests and anti-war activities going on at the time.
I wore a black armband to school on Moratorium Day, and the right-wing shop teacher told me to take it off or not come to class. I chose to skip and got detention for it, and my mom hit the roof and threatened the school with ACLU involvement! (she was an awesome lady). We got apologies from the principal and the shop teacher, and the rest of my checkered high school career was handled with kid gloves by 'the authorities.'
Your excellent post really brought that tragedy back to me Ellen, I'm writing this with a bit of pit in my stomach - amazing how something that happened so long ago can still be so upsetting.
"Ohio" is a great piece of work - I was already a CSNY fan and remember hearing it on the radio. I never got the single but knew the live version on "4 Way Street" when it came out.
Wow, your mom was a force to contend with, and how wonderful that she went to bat for you over your right to express your political opinions. The whole situation is rather shocking, but also not really surprising. A friend and I once got in trouble in sixth grade simply for trading one of our socks so we were both wearing two ummatched socks -- something we did deliberately to see if they would make a big deal out of it, and they did!
Revisiting the Kent State tragedy affected me too, far more than I expected. So many young lives cut short, such a tragedy on so many levels. And the song captures it perfectly in both the music and lyrics, so recognizable and gripping and hair-raising. It really is a great piece of work.