July 2010
Woody Guthrie - Working Class Balladeer
Woody Guthrie
Working Class Balladeer
“I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work.”― Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie was born in Okemah, Okla., on July 14, 1912. With a love of singing and music instilled in him by his parents, Guthrie took to the road in 1931 after an oil boom — and following bust — left his family and hometown in financial ruin.
After departing for California in search of work to provide for his wife and three children, Guthrie landed a job hosting a radio show on KFVD radio in Los Angeles in 1937. Singing traditional music alongside some originals as part of his hosting duties, Guthrie quickly developed a devoted following among the thousands of relocated migrants living in California who counted on him to remind them of their shared past and experiences. While on the air, he used his radio program as an outlet for social commentary and criticism on behalf of the migrant workers that were struggling in desperate poverty. Guthrie established himself as a champion of fairness and justice, taking on corruption in all forms and advocating for union organizers fighting for the working class. In this role, he was among the first musicians to use his platform as an entertainer to become an advocate for social justice.
As a migrant himself, Guthrie identified strongly with the homeless and disenfranchised, sentiments that he ensconced in songs such as “I Ain’t Got No Home,” “Talking Dust Bowl Blues” and “Hard Traveling” — all of which sought to give a voice to the voiceless. After his affinity for the road led him to leave Los Angeles, he continued to travel and record while maintaining an affinity for social commentary. During World War II, his passionate objections to fascism led him to serve in both the Merchant Marine and the Army. While in the service, Guthrie wrote numerous anti-Hitler, pro-war songs such as “All You Fascists Are Bound to Lose” and “Talking Merchant Marine” to help boost the morale of his fellow troops. He was ultimately targeted by the anti-Communist Red Scare in the aftermath of World War II, but remained an outspoken advocate for free speech and workers’ rights until his death in 1967.
Although he rarely won awards for his music in his lifetime, Guthrie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
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June 2010
Celia Cruz: Diva for Democracy
Celia Cruz
Diva for Democracy
“Celia was an absolute pillar as a human being and one of the most unselfish humanitarians I have ever met and am sure I will ever have known.” – Marc Anthony
Internationally renowned as the “Queen of Salsa,” Celia Cruz was born in Cuba in the 1920s. Her lifelong devotion to education was instilled in her by her father, who had hoped she would become a teacher. Cruz, however, dropped out of the national teaching college as her musical talents became increasingly undeniable, instead attending the Havana National Conservancy of Music. After joining the Cuban big band La Sonoran Matancera in 1950, Cruz departed for extensive tours of North and Central America, taking her to Mexico in 1959 when Fidel Castro assumed power. Rather than return to Cuba, Cruz and her band sought asylum in the United States – leading the new Castro regime to bar her from ever returning home. Cruz became an outspoken critic of Castro, and an American citizen in 1961, going on to become one of the top selling salsa artists of all time. Releasing more than 70 albums, three GRAMMY® awards and four Latin GRAMMY® awards, Cruz rooted her music firmly in Cuban styles. With her success, Cruz became a Cuban icon – a representation of what was possible without the limitations of an oppressive regime – and used this status to give back to the Hispanic community. In 2002, Cruz and her husband founded the Celia Cruz Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for underprivileged students seeking to study music, while also supporting the fight against cancer.
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May 2010
Marvin Gaye: Anti-War Performer
Marvin Gaye
Anti-War Performer
“In 1969 or 1970, I began to re-evaluate my whole concept of what I wanted my music to say. I was very much affected by letters my brother was sending me from Vietnam, as well as the social situation here at home. I realized that I had to put my own fantasies behind me if I wanted to write songs that would reach the souls of people. I wanted them to take a look at what was happening in the world.” – Marvin Gaye
Though propelled to fame by hits like “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” Marvin Gaye’s later musical endeavors made him the social justice advocate we honor today. As his fame grew in the late ‘60s, Gaye increasingly felt his songs lacked relevance in the face of the dramatic social changes occurring in the United States. After a period of self-imposed seclusion, Gaye returned with What’s Going On in 1971. The album redefined what popular music could be: thoughtful, progressive and activist, What’s Going On tackled issues of environment, police brutality and racism head on. But the album’s primary focus was the war in Vietnam, conveying a powerful anti-war message from the perspective of Gaye’s brother Frankie – a soldier who had recently returned from combat. Despite prolonged objections from his recording company, Gaye insisted the album be released as it was intended, with social messages intact. The result – the first concept recording in the United States focusing on social issues – was an enormous commercial and critical success. Today, What’s Going On continues to influence musicians and activists alike, with Rolling Stone Magazine ranking the album sixth in their 2003 cover story, “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” Gaye’s courage, commitment and passion for communicating the important issues of his day ultimately enabled other artists to follow him in crafting socially motivated music.
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John Denver: Conservation Crooner
April 2010
John Denver
Conservation Crooner
“I’m a global citizen. I’ve created that for myself, and I don’t want to step away from it. I want to work in whatever I do…towards a world in balance, a world that creates a better quality of life for all people.” ― John Denver
Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., John Denver’s devotion to songwriting was matched only by his love for his fellow man and the planet. In addition to imbuing hit songs like “Rocky Mountain High” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with images of environmental beauty, Denver became an outspoken advocate for progressive causes such as homelessness, poverty, global hunger and the African AIDS crisis. Following his musical successes in the 1970s, Denver founded his own environmental group, the Windstar Foundation, in 1976. He’d go on to help establish the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; serve as on-camera narrator for “In Partnership with Earth” alongside then-EPA Administrator William Reilly for Earth Day 1990; and film an episode for the Nature television series focusing on the environmental inspiration for his songs. Denver devoted equal efforts to his fellow man. He served as a member of the Presidential Commission on World and Domestic Hunger and helped found the Hunger Project, a group dedicated to ending hunger around the world. Denver also used his fame as a songwriter to serve as a cultural ambassador to the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, hoping to open cultural ties with the United States and promote peace. He remained a passionate progressive advocate until his death in 1997. Denver’s final song, “Yellowstone, I’m Coming Home,” was inspired by the beauty of rafting on the Colorado River.
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March 2010
Marian Anderson: Barrier-Breaking Contralto
Marian Anderson
Barrier-Breaking Contralto
“When I sing, I don’t want them to see that my face is black. I don’t want them to see that my face is white. I want them to see my soul. And that is colorless.” – Marian Anderson
Born in the heart of Philadelphia, Marian Anderson rose from humble beginnings to become recognized as one of America’s premier vocalists – and used her stunning contralto to promote racial harmony. When prevented from performing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939, the resulting support of President and Eleanor Roosevelt led to an open-air performance at the Lincoln Memorial. The legendary performance attracted an integrated audience of 75,000 in still segregated Washington, D.C. Anderson continued to use her vocal talent to break racial barriers throughout her life, becoming the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera, serving as a singing cultural ambassadress for the U.S. Department of State, and appointed a representative to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations by President Eisenhower. Anderson remained active in the Civil Rights Movement, giving benefit concerts and performing at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Shortly thereafter, she became one of the 31 original recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Winning countless awards, Anderson enjoyed critical and cultural successes throughout her career, until her death in 1993. The “Marian Anderson Award,” originally established in 1943 by Anderson herself as a singing competition, was re-established in 1990. After her passing, the award was reformed to recognize “Artists Whose Leadership On Behalf Of A Humanitarian Cause or Issue Benefits Society.”
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February 2010
Frank Zappa: First Amendment Artist
Frank Zappa
First Amendment Artist
“I have four children, and I want them to grow up in a country that has a working First Amendment.” – Frank Zappa, September 18, 1985.
Frank Zappa was known as one of rock’s sharpest musical minds and an astute social critic. A lifelong free-speech advocate, he testified before a Senate subcommittee in 1985, and he championed democracy by urging Americans to exercise their voting rights. In 1991, after serving as a cultural liaison for the Czechoslovakian government, he considered a run for the U.S. presidency. Zappa’s continued interest in the political arena became his focus, working less and less with music. His efforts helped to stir political interests in other artists, who today are increasingly committed to First Amendment issues.
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Mary Travers: Social Justice Songbird
January 2010
Mary Travers
Social Justice Songbird
“We’ve always been involved with issues that deal with the fundamental human rights of people, whether that means the right to political freedom or the right to breathe air that’s clean.” – Mary Travers
The passing of Mary Travers in September 2009 marked a loss not only for the folk music community she helped create, but also for the many causes that she championed. As a founding member of Peter, Paul and Mary, Travers injected her music with messages of peace and hope, helping songs such as “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “If I Had a Hammer” to become synonymous with the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. When Peter, Paul and Mary reunited after splitting in 1970, Travers continued to back a variety of causes: opposing nuclear energy in the late ‘70s, taking on homelessness and South African apartheid in the ‘80s, and more recently performing in opposition to gun violence against children, for the rights of strawberry pickers in California, and to raise awareness about world hunger. Mary Travers used her voice as an instrument for social justice, singing on behalf of those going unheard.