A Brief History of Protest Music: Part 1

Summary

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Ongoing History of New Music

Episode Summary

Episode: A Brief History of Protest Music: Part 1
Host: Alan Cross
Date: February 11, 2026

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Main Theme

Alan Cross embarks on the first installment of a two-part series diving deep into the rich and varied history of protest music. Spanning centuries, genres, and continents, this episode explores how songs have served as powerful tools for social commentary, resistance, and calls to action—far beyond their association with the tumultuous 1960s. The episode traces protest music’s evolution from early folk and labor songs, through the anthems of the civil rights era, to the punk-driven anger of the 1970s and the diverse political landscapes of the 1980s.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Is a Protest Song?

• Definitional Groundwork:
  • Folk singer Phil Ochs’ view:
    “A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bs. Such songs must be in direct opposition to something, of something... It should offer some sort of alternate solution to the problem being addressed, even if that solution is not specific. These songs should arouse some sort of emotion in both the performer and the listener.” — Alan Cross, [04:22]
  • Broader lens: Music as a form of persuasion or even propaganda; not always political, but never supportive of the status quo.

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Early Roots of Protest Music

• Historical Contexts:

  • Protest songs are global—they’ve existed wherever there’s injustice, from North America and Europe to Africa and Asia.
  • Example: Both British and Americans adapted “Yankee Doodle” for opposing messages during the Revolutionary War.
    — Alan Cross, [05:12]

• African American Spirituals & Early Protest Songs

  • Enslaved people encoded messages of resistance in work songs and spirituals.
  • “No More Auction Block” (19th century)—sung by Black Union regiments, later popularized by Fisk Jubilee Singers, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Odetta (played in episode). — Alan Cross, [06:03]

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The Labor Movement & Joe Hill

• The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, “Wobblies”)
  • Founded 1905; used songbooks (notably “The Little Red Songbook”) to galvanize labor movements, often using popular hymn melodies.
  • Joe Hill—Swedish-born labor activist and songwriter; originator of the phrase “pie in the sky.”
    • His execution became a rallying point; he’s celebrated as the “father of the modern protest song.”
  • Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine):
    "Tom sees Joe as a timeless symbol of righteous protest, someone who could not be silenced even after being put to death by the state." — Alan Cross, [08:44]
  • “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night” featured as an example. — [09:02]

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Protest Music Expands: Civil Rights, Folk, and Antiwar

1930s–1970s: A Golden Era (but not the only era!)

• Civil Rights Anthems & Landmarks:

  • “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday (1939): Anti-lynching classic (banned in many regions).
  • “A Change Is Gonna Come” — Sam Cooke (1964)
  • “Mississippi Goddam” — Nina Simone (1964)
  • “People Get Ready” — Curtis Mayfield (1965)
  • The genre’s deep bench:
    “If you were to create a playlist of civil rights songs, it would contain literally thousands of tracks.” — Alan Cross, [10:33]

• Vietnam & Antiwar Movement:

  • “Eve of Destruction” — Barry McGuire (1965)
  • “The Unknown Soldier” — The Doors (1968)
  • “Give Peace a Chance” — John Lennon (1969)
  • “Ohio” — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970)
  • “Fortunate Son” — Creedence Clearwater Revival—sparked by elite avoidance of the draft. — [10:52]
  • “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” — Gil Scott-Heron (1971); highlighted for its influence on rap.
    “You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out... the revolution will not be televised.” — Gil Scott-Heron, song played [12:23]

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Movements for Women’s Rights

• Defiant Anthems:
  • “You Don’t Own Me” — Lesley Gore (1963): Early assertion of female autonomy.
  • “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” — Nancy Sinatra (1965)
  • “Respect” — Aretha Franklin (1967): Transformed from Otis Redding’s version into a women’s anthem.
  • “I Am Woman” — Helen Reddy (1972)
  • “The Pill” — Loretta Lynn (1975): Banned from many stations for pro–birth control message.
  • “I Will Survive” — Gloria Gaynor (1978), played via Cake’s 1996 cover.
    — Alan Cross, [14:45]

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Punk’s Revolution: 1970s

• British Punk Radiates Dissent:

  • Sex Pistols:
    • “God Save the Queen”—lambasted the monarchy; banned by the BBC.
    • “Anarchy in the U.K.”—indicts British order, references political organizations.
  • The Clash:
    “No one beat the Clash... They began as a straight ahead, nihilistic, alienated bunch of punks. But in very short order, they began using their brand of punk as a social tool, a way to intervene, confront and agitate. Joe Strummer had this idea that rock music should be a form of journalism and education.” — Alan Cross, [17:36]
    • Protest catalogue: “Career Opportunities,” “I’m So Bored With the USA,” “Clampdown,” “Police and Thieves,” “White Riot,” “Know Your Rights,” “Lost in the Supermarket,” “Guns of Brixton,” “Washington Bullets,” and more.
    • Nicknamed “the only band that mattered.”

• Other UK Punk & Oi Bands:

  • The Jam: “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight”
  • Crass
  • Stiff Little Fingers: Focused on the Troubles in Northern Ireland
  • Sham 69: “If the Kids Are United” (played on episode)

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Protest Music in the 1980s

• Evolution, Not Disappearance:
  • Alan Cross notes, “Protest music continued to evolve through the 1980s, but by this time most people really didn't connect the dots — wasn't one of rock's jobs to be angry and anti status quo anyway?” — [21:09]
• Key 1980s Protest Songs & Artists:
  • Peter Gabriel: “Games Without Frontiers” (international conflict)
  • Dead Kennedys: “Holiday in Cambodia,” “Kill the Poor,” “California Über Alles,” “MTV Get Off the Air,” “Let’s Lynch the Landlord.”
  • John Mellencamp: “Little Pink Houses”—misread as patriotic, actually about the hollow American dream.
  • Bruce Springsteen: “Born in the USA”—commonly misunderstood as pro-American, actually a critique.
    • “I’m going to say that Born in the USA is the most misunderstood protest song ever.” — [22:01]
  • Sting: “Russians” (1985)
  • Tears for Fears: “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”—underlying critique beneath catchy exterior.
  • Billy Bragg, Tracy Chapman (“Talking About a Revolution”), The Specials (“Ghost Town”): Tackling inequality, race, and decay.

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Anti-Apartheid Movement

• Key Songs & Historical Moments:
  • The Specials: “Free Nelson Mandela”
  • Peter Gabriel: “Biko”
  • Artists United Against Apartheid: “Sun City”
    “Stevie Van Zant, Bruce Springsteen guitarist, was disgusted by these artists breaking this international boycott on the resort. To him, accepting this dirty South African money was tantamount to supporting the inhumane treatment of non-white people in the country... Sun City is seen as one of the most important and significant of all the songs dealing with the evils of apartheid.” — Alan Cross, [24:50]
• “Sun City”:
  • Massive collaborative protest (rock, rap, reggae, jazz artists), denounced Reagan’s policy on South Africa, was boycotted by U.S. radio for criticizing the president.
  • Impact: Raised more than $1 million for anti-apartheid work; premiered at the UN.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Protest songs are something that have been heard around the world and in all cultures. Not just in North America, but Europe, Africa, Asia.”
  — Alan Cross, [04:50]

• “Joe [Hill] is considered to be the father of the modern protest song. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine ... has since organized a memorial in Joe’s name, performed his songs, and released songs about Joe. In fact, you can draw a straight line from Rage Against the Machine right back to... Joe Hill.”
  — Alan Cross, [08:25]

• “Civil rights songs... If you were to create a playlist ... it would contain literally thousands of tracks.”
  — Alan Cross, [10:38]

• On Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”:
  “I'm going to say that Born in the USA is the most misunderstood protest song ever.”
  — Alan Cross, [22:01]

• On punk’s attitude:
  “When punk rock blew up in the mid-1970s, there were two flavors. The original blend in New York was very much on the artsy side, but in the UK it was very us against them... The attitude was very much like the line from Johnny Stabler... ‘What are you rebelling against?’ and he replies, ‘What have you got?’”
  — Alan Cross, [16:05]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:54] — Opening: Why protest music matters; how it differs from direct action.
• [02:32] — Green Day’s “American Idiot”: Example of modern protest music; roots, motivations.
• [04:22] — Defining protest songs (Phil Ochs’ perspective).
• [05:12] — Early global roots and first protest songs.
• [06:03] — African American spirituals & “No More Auction Block.”
• [07:40] — Labor movement, Joe Hill & IWW.
• [09:02] — “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night” (song sample).
• [10:13] — Blues (Lead Belly), folk (Woody Guthrie), civil rights movement.
• [10:52] — The folk revival and antiwar anthems.
• [12:23] — Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (song sample).
• [13:00] — 1960s-70s protest anthems: antiwar, civil rights, and counterculture.
• [14:45] — Women’s rights & key anthems (“I Will Survive” sample).
• [15:47] — Punk: Sex Pistols, The Clash, Jam, Stiff Little Fingers.
• [18:14] — The Clash: Scope of protest, "rock music as journalism."
• [19:50] — Sham 69 & Oi bands.
• [21:09] — 1980s: Protest themes diversifying, becoming more subtle or misinterpreted.
• [23:17] — Specials, Peter Gabriel, and anti-apartheid songs.
• [24:50] — “Sun City” and global activism.
• [27:36] — Outro/Segue: Preview of Part 2 (rap, hip hop, 1990s alt, 21st-century protest music).

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Tone & Style

Alan Cross maintains his signature documentary style—authoritative, insightful, and wide-ranging, with a touch of wit and plenty of cultural context. He balances musical analysis, history, and activism, always linking back to ongoing currents of cultural dissent. The tone is both educational and motivating, inviting deeper exploration.

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Summary Takeaway

Protest music is not a relic of the 1960s; its roots run deep, and its influence continues to shape social consciousness. This episode establishes that protest songs are enduring, dynamic, and universal. Whether folk or punk, soul or rock, they call listeners not just to feel, but to act. As Alan puts it:
“Given the state of the world right now, this is probably a really important topic.” — [03:30]

Stay tuned for Part 2: The rise of protest music in hip hop, 1990s alt-rock, and beyond.

Transcript

[Alan Cross]

Hey, it's Alan and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to the ongoing history of new music, early and ad free on Amazon, music included with Prime.

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[Alan Cross]

This can be a weird, difficult world, filled with injustice, inequality and bad people doing bad things. We're always up against things like racism, women's rights, labor rights, the plights of marginalized people, class struggle, the disenfranchised, various social movements. The list of righteous causes and grievances is pretty much endless. And sometimes you just gotta fight back. But how? Not all occasions call for armed insurrections and assassinations. One way, a peaceful way, is through music. Come up with something topical and specific. Put it all to music and you have a chance of getting your message to a lot of people. And because it's music, you might be able to reach those who might not otherwise be aware of the problem or understand what the problem is. This music isn't confined to a specific people or group or genre or era. You can be loud and angry and filled with the greatest moral virtues screamed at the top of your lungs, but you don't have to be in your face about it. Your messaging can be subtle while still maintaining all the necessary effectiveness. Rage, messaging and authenticity. And these songs are everywhere today, although you may not notice them. This is part one of A Brief History of the Protest Song this is the ongoing History of New Music podcast with Alan Cross.

[Green Day Song Intro Speaker]

So why It's American Idiot One nation controlled by the the nature of hysteria is going out to Idiot America. Welcome to a new kind attention.

[Alan Cross]

When people ask me, where are all the protest songs today? And I get that question a lot, I often point to that song Green Day, An American Idiot, an anti war, anti imperialist, anti George W. Bush and anti big media song. Billie Joe Armstrong wrote that after the US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan and all the fawning media coverage of of those forever wars on American cable news, the fuse was lit when Billy heard a Lynyrd Skynyrd song called that's How I Like it, which celebrates a certain southern country lifestyle, name checking things like pickup trucks, beer, and the American flag. His thought was, wait, this guy is singing about how proud he is to be a redneck. Sure, enjoy your truck and your Budweiser, but this blind nationalism is insane. It's everything I'm against. He then folded in all the other things he was pissed off at. And in the end, we have a protest song that won four Grammys in 2005 and is the title track of an album that has sold somewhere around 25 million copies. Hello again, I'm Alan Cross, and I've had so many requests to do a show on protest songs. So here we go. This is a deep subject. We're gonna have to devote two episodes to it. And given the state of the world right now, I. This is probably a really important topic. Most people seem to equate protest songs only with the 60s and early 70s, with Vietnam, Nixon, Watergate, and all that. And yes, that was the golden era of this kind of music, and I promise we'll get to it. But humanity has been using music to scream about injustice for centuries all over the world. And I guess the first thing we should do is define what a protest song is. Phil Oakes, the folk singer, liked this description. A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bs. Such songs must be in direct opposition to something, of something. It should offer some sort of alternate solution to the problem being addressed, even if that solution is not specific. These songs should arouse some sort of emotion in both the performer and the listener. More broadly, we could be talking about music as a form of persuasion which could, but not necessarily, veer into propaganda. It could have political elements to it, but not necessarily. And a protest song cannot support the status quo. If you like, things are, what's your problem? There's nothing to protest against. Protest songs are something that have been heard around the world and in all cultures. Not just in North America, but Europe, Africa, Asia. And over the decades, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of protest songs. So we won't be able to touch on every aspect of this topic because, well, there were books and books and books on this subject. But we can at least try for a basic overview while highlighting some of the better known ones. From the world of rock. What were the first protest songs? That's hard to say. Some point to the use of psalms by Protestants in an evangelical way. Others point to satirical and sometimes pointed songs sung in pubs and taverns to to the tune of popular songs of the day. For example, we can look at what was sung during wartime. During the American Revolutionary War, both the Americans and the British had opposing protest songs sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle. And messages of protest were often encoded in work songs, religious chants, and various compositions of lament and woe. This way, resistance could be expressed where dissent wasn't tolerated. For example, there were plenty of communal African American spirituals and work songs that protested slavery. There's a song that dates to the 19th century called no More Auction Block. This was a big song with black regiments in the union army, and in the late 1800s it was further popularized by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. They eventually committed it to record when that technology came along. And it has been covered again and again and again by folk singers such as Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. This is a version by odetta Holmes from 1960, An old African American spiritual from at least the 1860s, an example of an early protest song. There were many others like it, all of which created the template for anti racism and civil rights songs of the future. By the time we get to the 1900s, the labor movement is underway. Poorly paid and overworked laborers of all kinds were organizing and unionizing against the big bosses of industry. One of the big organizers was a union called the Industrial Workers of the World, which was founded in Chicago in 1905. Operating on socialist principles, its goal was to create one big union for everyone that it hoped would replace the capitalism or the form of capitalism they had. Back then, the focus was on logging, mining and farm work before they moved into factories. The iww, also known as the Wobblies, was pretty extreme back then. Lots of anarchists and general strikes and plenty of industrial sabotage. The IWW was even declared illegal in Canada in 1918. Members were given a book called the Little Red Songbook, and it included material by singers like Joe Hill, a Swedish born itinerant laborer. Most of the songs were set to the tunes of popular hymns so they could spread quickly. Joe Hill is also the guy who coined the phrase pie in the sky. Joe was eventually arrested and charged in the murder of two people in Salt Lake City. There was a huge trial that was a major media event. And in the end he was railroaded and found guilty. He was then executed by a firing squad on November 19, 1915. Today, Joe Hill has many fans. The Dropkick Murphy's Chumbawamba, Anti Flag and many others. He is considered to be the father of the modern protest song. Tom Morello of Rage against the Machine, an Audioslave, is a big fan of Joe Hill and also his tragic story. He's since organized a memorial in Joe's name, performed his songs and released songs about Joe. In fact, you can draw a straight line from Rage against the Machine right back to to the 1910s and Joe Hill. Tom sees Joe as a timeless symbol of righteous protest, someone who could not be silenced even after being put to death by the state. Here's a song called I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night.

[Song Vocalist]

Joe Hill ain't dead, he says to me. Joe Hill ain't never died. Well, working men are out on stress. Joe Hill is at this side.

[Alan Cross]

The execution of Joe Hill did nothing to prevent people from singing about political and social injustices. Blues artists like Lead Belly became very popular for his songs about poverty and racism. Folk singers like Woody Guthrie became famous for his stories of migrants and itinerant workers during the Great Depression. His songs also warned of American nationalist tendencies. The civil rights movement in the US was a major source of angry music. There's strange fruit, the 1939 Anti Lynching Song from Billie Holiday that was banned in some places by racists who considered it to be too incendiary. When Southern senators refused to outlaw lynching, activists sent them copies of Strange Fruit. Other landmark protest songs include A Change Is Going to Come by Sam Cooke in 1964. Nina Simone's Mississippi Goddam came out the same year. People Get Ready from Curtis Mayfield in 1965. And so many more. If you were to create a playlist of civil rights songs, it would contain literally thousands of tracks. The folk revival of the late 50s and early 60s created stars out of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Buffy Saint Marie. The Vietnam War created even more. Eve of Destruction by Barry Maguire in 1965, Pete bring him home in 1966, Country Joe and the Fish and the Feel Like I'm Fixing to die rag in 67. Then we have one of the great anti war songs from Credence Clearwater Revival that's been in a million Vietnam movies. Leader John Fogarty wrote Fortunate Son after hearing about the wedding of David Eisenhower, the son of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Julie Nixon, daughter of President Richard Nixon. Was Dave going to go to Vietnam and serve on the front line? Nope. Many years later, the dropkick Murphy's no Strangers to Anti war Activism covered it, and they did a brilliant job. There were so many anti war songs in the world, late 60s and early 70s. The Doors and the Unknown Soldier in 68. John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance in 1969. Jimmy Cliff with the awesome Vietnam in 1970. That's perhaps one of the greatest songs of the era. Crosby Stills dashing Young with Ohio, written about the Kent state massacre on May 4, 1970, when National Guard troops opened fire on anti war protesters. Edwin Starr in war, also from 1970. Marvin Gaye in what's Going on in 1971. John Lennon in Imagine, also from 1971. And the Civil rights songs kept on coming. I want to play you this 1971 track from Gil Scott Heron. It's actually a B side, but has gone down in history as one of the greatest black liberation songs of all time. Some of the references and name drops are a bit dated, but the message still comes across loud and clear. And as an aside, this song is an important part of the history of the development and evolution of rap. It's called the Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

[Song Vocalist]

You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out. You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip out for beer during commercials because the revolution will not be televised.

[Alan Cross]

That's powerful stuff from Gil Scott Heron, if that spoke to you. Also, try his song Whiteies on the moon from 1970. But it wasn't all civil rights and anti war material either. In 1966, the Buffalo Springfield wrote, for what it's Worth, about a riot that broke out to protest the closing of a Sunset Strip club called Pandora's Box. And it remains one of the most popular 60s counterculture songs. It's been sampled at least three dozen times. House of Pain, Everlast, Chumbawamba, Butthole Surfers. And it's been covered many times by everyone from Cher to David Cassidy to Ozzy Osbourne to Rush to Public Enemy to Stevie Nicks. Check out this version from Rise against, released in 2007. Anti war and civil rights songs continued to pour out of artists, but we can't overlook the songs that tackled women's rights. One of the most important was you Don't Own Me by Leslie Gore from 1963. A woman demanding autonomy and refusing to be dominated by a man. Radical stuff at the time. Same thing with Nancy Sinatra and these Boots Were Made for walkin in 1965. We can talk about respect for Aretha Franklin. In 1967, she took an Otis Redding song and turned it into a women's anthem. I Am Woman from Helen Reddy in 1972. And you may not have heard of the Pill by country star Loretta Lynn, and that's because her song about birth control was banned by many radio stations when it was released in 1975. It was immoral, you see, and this remains a popular song of female empowerment. In 1968, Gloria Gaynor released the disco anthem I Will Survive. And I know you know the song, if only, from this 1996 cover by Cake.

[Song Vocalist]

Weren't you the one who tried to break me with desire? Did you think I'd crumble.

[Alan Cross]

Cake covering Gloria Gaynor? When we come back, we'll get into the original punk era, a time when it seemed like every song was a protest song.

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[Alan Cross]

This is part one of a brief History of Protest songs, which, as you're beginning to see, is extremely deep. When punk rock blew up in the mid-1970s, there were two flavors. The original blend in New York was very much on the artsy side, but in the UK it was very us against them. The attitude was very much like the line from Johnny Stabler, Marlon Brando's character in the 1953 movie the Wild One. Stabler is asked, what are you rebelling against? And he replies, what have you got? British punks were against the monarchy, the government, the class system, and their crappy chances at meaningful employment thanks to a crappy economy. All this came together in the Sex Pistols. God Save the Queen was released in time for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee and was an unprecedented takedown of the monarchy and thus was immediately banned by the BBC. Perhaps even more powerful from a protest song point of view was Anarchy in the uk, which was an indictment of the whole British Order name checking groups like the Irish Republican army, the Ulster Defense Movement and the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola. You have a song that landed like a bomb. The Sex Pistols were one of just many angry, angsty British punk bands protesting the state of Britain in the 1970s. But if you ask me, no one beat the Clash like the rest of their cohort. They showed up when Britain was experiencing tremendous economic issues, high unemployment, especially among the young, and the difficult plight of the working class, labor problems with strikes popping up everywhere, urban decay, the rise of extreme right wing groups like the National Front, racial unrest and riots, police brutality, and the collapse of whatever contracts the governing parties had with the population. They began as a straight ahead, nihilistic, alienated bunch of punks. But. But in very short order they began using their brand of punk as a social tool, a way to intervene, confront and agitate. Joe Strummer had this idea that rock music should be a form of journalism and education. And no subject was too big or too broad for the Clash. They tackled current events, capitalism, materialism, the state of the uk, the state of the us, the state of the global order. Yes, they could go scorched earth, which they did with a number of their songs.

[Lifelock Announcer]

But.

[Alan Cross]

But the Clash also offered analysis and solutions. Well, vague solutions anyway.

[Green Day Song Intro Speaker]

The Ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in Engines stuck on in the wheat is going through a nuclear era But I have no fear Cause London is found and I, I live by the river.

[Alan Cross]

The Clash outweighed pretty much every other British punk band when it came to protest songs, career opportunities, I'm so Bored with the usa the Clampdown, their recontextualized cover of Police and Thieves, White Riot, Know youw Rights, Lost in the Supermarket, Guns of Brixton, Washington Bullets, and so many more. They were so powerful and so influential that we still call them the only band that mattered. But we can't forget about bands like the Jam. They had songs like down in the Tube Station at Midnight, A Bomb and Wardour street, the Eaton Rifles. Going Underground. Crass was made up of a bunch of anarchists. Stiff Little Fingers was from Northern Ireland and often sang about the Troubles. And this is a great time to play something from Sham69, who were for their time one of the most successful English punk rock bands. We can call them an OY band, a punk rock subculture that some called real punk. OY bands were all for the working class and refused to compromise on any level. And here is an example of how they rallied their fans. This is a 1978 single from Sham 69 called if the Kids Are United, A great OI anthem and protest song from Sham69. When we come back, we'll move into the 80s and take a look at how protest music evolved in that decade.

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[Song Vocalist]

Experian.

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[Alan Cross]

The IRS said I filed my return.

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But I haven't One in four tax paying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.

[Alan Cross]

What do I do? My refund though. I'm freaking out. Don't worry, I can fix this.

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[Song Vocalist]

I'm so relieved.

[Alan Cross]

No problem.

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[Alan Cross]

Continued to evolve through the 1980s, but by this time most people really didn't connect the dots because wasn't one of rock's jobs to be angry and anti status quo anyway? I mean, 1,000% if you paid attention. So many songs were protesting against something. Let me give you some examples. Peter Gabriel's 1980 song Games Without Frontiers is a metaphor on international conflict. The dead Kennedys were out to take down everything with satirical songs like Holiday in Cambodia, Kill the Poor, California Uber Alles, mtv, Get off the Air and Let's lynch the Landlord. They were a major part of the American hardcore scene, which wasn't afraid to take on any topic. The scene also included Canadian bands like doa, the Sub Humans and the Forgotten Rebels. How many got it wrong with John Mellencamp's 1983 song Little Pink Houses? It's all about the hollowness of the American dream, and so many people still think that Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA from 1984 is a patriotic song. Look at the lyrics. It's exactly the opposite. I'm going to say that Born in the USA is the most misunderstood protest song ever. It was easy to figure out what Sting was on about with his 1985 Cold War song Russians. That same year, Tears for Fears released Everybody Wants to Rule the World. A happy song. Yeah, but listen to the lyrics, listen to the message. British troubadour Billy Bragg sang about almost nothing but social and political issues. Tracy Chapman had a hit with Talking About a revolution in 1988. And then if we go back to Britain, we can look at the latter part of the SCA seed. What started as a multiracial community preaching unity, love and peace had been fractured by the invasion of right wing skinheads and other racist anti immigrant types. That story is told in their 1981 song Ghost Town. Government.

[Song Vocalist]

Leaving the youth on the shelf. This place is gonna be like a go.

[Alan Cross]

Since we're talking about the Specials, they were one of many groups fighting for the freedom of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, which at the time was still under brutal apartheid rule. They had a hit with a song called Free Nelson Mandela. Peter Gabriel also released a classic called Biko in 1980, which told the story of Steven Biko, a black anti apartheid activist who was arrested, jailed and then beaten to death during an interrogation in September 1977. He was never convicted of a crime and his death elevated him internationally. He was one of the first anti apartheid activists to achieve this kind of recognition. And then there was a very powerful anti apartheid song to emerge from the Rock World in 1985. And it was triggered by a whites only resort in South Africa called Sun City. Sun City opened just before Christmas 1979 in a special area created by the South African government called called the Bantustan of Bofuthatswana because it was technically separate from the rest of the country. You could do things in Bofutatswana that were illegal in other parts of South Africa. That meant casinos and topless dancers. Big name international entertainers were also enticed to perform there. In other words, it was basically South Africa's Las Vegas. Because apartheid was so awful and so inhumane, most performers refused to have anything to do with Sun City and the South African government. But there were exceptions. The Beach Boys, Cher, Rod Stewart, Kenny Rogers, Elton John and Queen all made big money at Sun City. They didn't see the problem. Stevie Van Zant, Bruce Springsteen guitarist was disgusted by these artists breaking this international boycott on the resort. To him, accepting this dirty South African money was tantamount to supporting the inhumane treatment of non white people in the country. Together with producer Arthur Baker, a favorite producer of New Order, they created a protest song called Sun City under the name Artists United Against Apartheid. The list included a couple dozen performers from all sorts of genres. From the rock side, there was Bono, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Bob Geldof, Pat Benatar, Clarence Clemons, Jackson Brown, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Peter Wolfe of the Jay Giles Band, Stiff Baders of the Dead Boys, Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil and Joey Ramon. Also included were hip hop and rap stars Run DMC Africa, Bombada, DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Melly Mel, Kurtis Blow and the Fat Boys. Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff contributed. So did George Clinton, Herbie Hancock, Bonnie Raitt Hall Notes, Gil Scott Heron, Miles Davis and more. The video featured Bruce Springsteen and Motley Crue. There was a full album, there was a documentary and a TV special, and MTV got behind it. The single premiered at the United nations and raised over a million dollars for anti apartheid efforts. It was a big hit in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and the UK. In America, though, it fell flat, reaching only number 38 on the charts. Lots of American radio stations refused to play it, saying that it criticized President Ronald Reagan, who had this thing called constructive engagement when it came to dealing with South Africa and apartheid. Still, Sun City is seen as one of the most important and significant of all the songs dealing with the evils of apartheid. It is a classic protest song in every single way. So whatever happened to the Sun City resort? Apartheid officially ended in 1994 and the Bantustand, Abofuthatswana and all the other Bantustans that were carved out of South Africa were absorbed back into the country. The country and the resort stopped being international pariahs and the boycotts ended. Today, Sun City still accept guests. I even visited once, and now it's just another boring resort with casinos. We're up to about 1985 in this history of protest songs and we've still got a long way to go. Next time we'll pick things up on how the rap and hip hop community became even more vocal about injustice. After that, it's how the alternative universe of the 90s continued the tradition. We'll then move into the 2000s and at the end I think we'll have answers to that question. I get a lot Whatever happened to the protest song? If you're interested in catching up on ongoing history shows, there are hundreds of episodes available that have been turned into easy to listen to podcasts. They're available on all the platforms. All are 100% free. I'd like to invite you to try my other podcast crime and mayhem in the music industry. And it's just like it sounds stories about the intersection of true crime and the world of. There were dozens of episodes to choose from. Meanwhile, if you're looking for music news, recommendations and opinion, there's my website, ajournalofmusicalthings.com it's updated every day and comes with a free newsletter that you should probably get subscribe. And I'm pretty much on all the social media platforms. All email, no matter what the subject, can go to AllenCross CA and yes, I always personally write back. See you next time for the second half of a brief history of protest music, technical productions by Rob Johnston. I'm Alan cross.

[Survivor Announcer]

Welcome to Survivor50 February 25th on Global. We chose you to represent 25 years of the greatest adventure on television.

[Alan Cross]

It's the biggest season ever.

[Survivor Announcer]

The twist is gonna open up Pandora's box. Now I see Zach Brown on Survivor. Welcome to Survivor.

[Alan Cross]

Mr.

[Survivor Announcer]

Beast feels a little like hyper school reunion meets a massacre.

[Alan Cross]

Survivor 50th season Wednesday, February 25th on Global Stream on Scat TV.