- 01ShockadelicaJesse JohnsonIt’s like when Prince took Jesse Johnson’s title Shockadelica and recorded a song under that name to show him up.from the chapter
- 02“Strange Fruit”Billie HolidayPoetry, song, and how they combine in acts of social justice are part of American society, and they lead directly to one of the most famous protest songs in American history, “Strange Fruit.” (I’m not getting back in the time machine and setting dials.from the chapter
- 03“This Land Is Your Land”Woody GuthrieThere’s Joe Hill, who sang about the rights of the working man in songs like “The Preacher and the Slave.” There’s Woody Guthrie, who wrote “This Land Is Your Land” as a kind of ragamuffin version of “God Bless America,” and “Deportee” when he was bothered that a newspaper …from the chapter
- 04“Deportee”Pete SeegerThere’s Pete Seeger in the Almanac Singers, and then Pete Seeger and the Weavers.from the chapter
- 05“Only a Pawn in Their Game”Bob DylanThere’s Mahalia Jackson, singing in Montgomery in 1956 against a backdrop of death threats, resetting the moral and spiritual agenda with songs like “I’ve Heard of a City Called Heaven.” There’s Bob Dylan, who started in the blues tradition and moved into explicit protest, with …from the chapter
- 06“We’re a Winner”the ImpressionsCurtis Mayfield, as we have seen, blazed through the late ’60s with optimistic anthems written for the Impressions.from the chapter
- 07“Stand”Sly & the Family StoneThis same attitude was echoed by Sly and the Family Stone, at least while the ’60s were still a going concern: “Stand” and “I Want to Take You Higher” supercharged this pose.from the chapter
- 08“I Want to Take You Higher”Sly & the Family StoneThis same attitude was echoed by Sly and the Family Stone, at least while the ’60s were still a going concern: “Stand” and “I Want to Take You Higher” supercharged this pose.from the chapter
- 09What’s Going OnMarvin GayeHe went into semi-hiding with his band and a group of friends and put together an album, What’s Going On , that looked at the busted promises of America.from the chapter
- 10Just as I AmBill WithersI think of his history as intertwined with mine somehow: His debut album, Just as I Am , came out in May 1971, four months after I was born.from the chapter
- 11“Ain’t No Sunshine”Bill WithersWhen people talk about the singer-songwriter era, they usually mean white acts, but Withers was doing the same thing: singing and songwriting.from the chapter
- 12“Lean on Me”Bill WithersWhen people talk about the singer-songwriter era, they usually mean white acts, but Withers was doing the same thing: singing and songwriting.from the chapter
- 13“Use Me”Bill WithersWhen people talk about the singer-songwriter era, they usually mean white acts, but Withers was doing the same thing: singing and songwriting.from the chapter
- 14Live at Carnegie HallBill WithersIt’s called Live at Carnegie Hall , and it’s a document of a show there from late in 1972, though it wouldn’t be released until the following April.from the chapter
- 15“Grandma’s Hands”Bill WithersWithers delivers intense versions of his hits, sometimes leading into the songs with extended commentary (called “raps” in the liner notes).from the chapter
- 16“I Can’t Write Left-Handed”John Legend and the Roots• • • After the death of J Dilla (in 2006), I became less interested in producing artists other than the Roots.from the chapter
- 17“I Can’t Write Left-Handed”Bill WithersOne of the highlights of the live Withers record is “I Can’t Write Left-Handed.” There was no shortage of anti-Vietnam music, Black or white.from the chapter
- 18“War”Edwin StarrYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 19“Star Spangled Banner”Jimi HendrixYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 20“Vietnam”Jimmy CliffYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 21“Open Letter to the President”Roy CYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 22“Bring the Boys Home”Freda PayneYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 23“Does Anybody Know I’m Here”the DellsYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 24“March to the Witch’s Castle.”FunkadelicYou’ve heard Edwin Starr’s “War,” of course (covered by the non-Black Springsteen), and Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam,” and there are others that you should hear if you haven’t: Roy C’s “Open Letter to the President,” Freda Payne’s “Bring the …from the chapter
- 25Watching You, Watching MeBill WithersHe hadn’t recorded since the mid-’80s, and his recording career didn’t end on a high note (his last record, Watching You, Watching Me , was a source of frustration both for him and for the label).from the chapter
- 26Wake Up!John Legend and the RootsThe Roots recorded it with John Legend for Wake Up! in 2010.from the chapter
- 27“Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”Public EnemyPublic Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” picks up that thread almost sixteen years later (and picks up the stitch with a sample from Isaac Hayes’s Vietnam-era “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”), as does Tricky’s cover of the Public Enemy song, as does the Pharcyde’s …from the chapter
- 28“Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”TrickyPublic Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” picks up that thread almost sixteen years later (and picks up the stitch with a sample from Isaac Hayes’s Vietnam-era “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”), as does Tricky’s cover of the Public Enemy song, as does the Pharcyde’s …from the chapter
- 29“Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”Isaac HayesPublic Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” picks up that thread almost sixteen years later (and picks up the stitch with a sample from Isaac Hayes’s Vietnam-era “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”), as does Tricky’s cover of the Public Enemy song, as does the Pharcyde’s …from the chapter
- 30“Officer”PharcydePublic Enemy’s “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” picks up that thread almost sixteen years later (and picks up the stitch with a sample from Isaac Hayes’s Vietnam-era “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”), as does Tricky’s cover of the Public Enemy song, as does the Pharcyde’s …from the chapter