When you hear the First Amendment, what comes to mind? Being able to say whatever you want, no matter how inappropriate it may be? Being able to tweet whatever you want about the presidential candidates? The fact that SNL can make those timeless sketches like the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin one?
How about all of the people that have been denied freedom, over the years, and utilized their first amendment right to fight for it?
Freedom Sings, of The First Amendment Center, was formed to tour the country playing “songs people didn’t want you to hear.” They assembled a show of songs that were withheld from radio or caused public controversy due to their implications of sex and drugs, back in the good old days when you were still supposed to be subtle. The program also focused on songs written to draw attention to injustice and provoke social change.
The band is currently made up of Bill Lloyd, of Foster and Lloyd, on acoustic guitar, his work has been featured by artists like Hootie and The Blowfish, singer-songwriter Joseph Wooten of the Steve Miller Band on the keys, electric guitar by producer and songwriter Dez Dickerson, who played for Prince and lead vocals by 3-time Grammy winner and country music star Lari White. The show was produced, written and narrated by Ken Paulson, President of The First Amendment Center and former editor-in-chief of USA Today. A crowd of students and professors alike filled the theater at Baker Center on Sept. 29 to hear what they had to say, and we were not disappointed.
Freedom Sings opened with the strategically-picked “Revolution” by The Beatles. The older portion of the crowd (and myself) sang along. They also played “With a Little Help from My Friends” after having us guess which Beatle’s song had been publicly called out for drug references.
“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, written about the 1970’s Kent State shooting, really struck a chord with me personally. I grew up 15 minutes away from Kent State University’s campus, and I’ve always been very passionate and involved when it comes to politics. That could’ve been me, taking a wrong step and getting gunned down alongside those four young students. The headline in the paper they showed us on the screen, called the peaceful protest a “riot” and for the first time, I truly began to understand why people don’t trust the field that I am going into.
The show was composed of classics like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going on?” along with pieces that were vitally important to certain social movements. Janis Ian’s “Society’s Child” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” about prejudice against African Americans. My heart strings were pulled as I was taken back to a time before my birth when Sam Cooke could not stay at a hotel because of the color of his skin. He was shot to death before he could hear his song become a success. I tried, in vain, to imagine my parents uttering the same words Joni Mitchell heard when she brought home a black date: “Honey, he’s not our kind.”
The Freedom Singers want us to understand how lucky we are to actually, at long last, have the freedom guaranteed to us in the first amendment. They also want us to understand, however, how much further we have to go. They covered Little Big Town’s 2014 single “Girl Crush" and told of homophobic people calling into radio stations complaining that the song was “advancing the homosexual agenda,” when in reality the song was just about a heterosexual, jealous ex-girlfriend. And what “agenda” is being promoted? Equality? Acceptance? Whatever it is, count me in.
In addition, the band focused on sexism. “Johnny Get Angry” by Joanie Sommers and “Having My Baby” by Paul Anka were played to a reaction of laughs erupting everywhere at just how ludicrous the sexism in the songs is. That was the desired effect, and it did make me appreciate how far we have come, but it also made me think about how messed up our world still is.
It reminded me of a documentary we watched in sociology called Dreamworlds3: Desire, Sex and Power in Music Video about how sexist the music industry is. It’s disgusting how rare it is that a popular video doesn’t feature naked girls dancing around a man with a perceived status of power. It’s rare that intelligent female singer-songwriters don’t eventually give in to the state of the industry, dropping their guitars and most of their clothes. It’s disgusting that a man who has called women “fat pigs” and admitted to not respecting us, could become our next president. All of it is disgusting, and it has to change. Groups like Freedom Sings are helping us reach that goal by raising awareness of social issues, and I am thankful for the experience of seeing this enlightening, empowering show.
Halle Weber is a freshman studying journalism with a focus in news and information at Ohio University. What is your favorite controversial song? Let Halle know by emailing or tweeting her at hw422715@ohio.edu or @HalleWeber13, respectively.
