Summer of Our Discontent Often

¶ … Summer of Our Discontent

Often touted as the generation of peace and love, the 1960s were filled with mass discontent, violent and non-violent protests, and civil unrest. Over the span of a short few years, men such as President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy had been violently assassinated. America found itself at a crossroads and had become involved in conflict overseas that would forever affect the youth of the nation. Tensions were at an all time high among America's youth; their anger and frustration seething in all aspects of life and culture, but none so predominately as in music.

While protest music was not a new phenomenon in the 1960s, the radical shift in subject matter and support greatly impacted society. While many folk singers supported the civil rights movement and advocated their support through their music, as the war in Vietnam began to intensify, they began to shift their attention to the conflict raging overseas.

The genre to which the youth of America was focusing their attention on was also changing. While folk music was airy and "acid rock," youths started to listen more to the "angry, slashing, piercing blues," which was gaining prominence in both America and across the pond in Britain.

The youth began to relate to the music of an oppressed race and embraced the message that was being conveyed. As protests and demonstrations proliferated college campuses across the nation, and more than half a million troops had been sent to and were stationed in Vietnam, blues infused rock music replaced folk music, and aided in the merger between cultural protest and political demonstration.

The more the war raged on, the more music became influenced by the conflict. For the first time in history, protest songs out-numbered pro-war songs, a clear reflection of the overall sentiment towards the United States' involvement in the war. While many songs demonstrated their opposition to the war, other songs advocated the overthrow of the United States' political system.

Songs reflected the unease perceived by the impending draft, and the disparaging accusation of classism loomed over draftees' heads.

Others brought to light the overwhelming casualties suffered and forced Americans to realize that Vietnam was no longer a remote place.

The popularity of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones was founded on the "ferocious sound and nihilistic and/or anarchic sentiments" found in the musicians' lyrics. Many popular musicians' discontent towards the war stemmed from personal experience, while others were influenced by the tragic outcome of student protestation across the country, specifically the murder of four students at Kent State in Ohio. Notable musicians who served in the Armed Forces during the 1960s include Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox (U.S. Army, 1961-62), Country Joe McDonald (U.S. Navy, 1962-65), Kris Kristofferson (U.S. Army, 1960-65), and John Fogerty (U.S. Army Reserve, 1966-67).

Most of the songs came out during the mid to late 1960s as conflict was escalating and youths were being drafted with a high likelihood of being sent to South Vietnam.

Hendrix's most powerful performance against the war occurred during the closing day of Woodstock in 1969 in which his rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" featured "screaming rockets and exploding bomb guitar effects and sounded like a heaving, wounded monster about to die."

It is speculated that much of the disillusionment about the war was grounded in the tangible aspects of the soldiers' environment in Vietnam, and the popularity of protest songs were a reflection of the hopes, fears, and experiences of those soldiers.