Honorable Mention, 2019 Foreword INDIES Awards - Performing Arts & MusicHonorable Mention, Graphis 2021 Design Annual Competition Popular music has long been a powerful force for social change. Protest songs have served as anthems regarding war, racism, sexism, ecological destruction, and so many other crucial issues. Music Is Power takes us on a guided tour through the past one hundred years of politically conscious music, from Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie to Green Day and NWA. Covering a wide variety of genres, including reggae, country, metal, psychedelia, rap, punk, folk, and soul, Brad Schreiber demonstrates how musicians can take a variety of approaches— angry rallying cries, mournful elegies to the victims of injustice, or even humorous mockeries of authority—to fight for a fairer world. While shining a spotlight on Phil Ochs, Gil Scott-Heron, the Dead Kennedys and other seminal, politicized artists, he also gives readers a new appreciation of classic acts such as Lesley Gore, James Brown, and Black Sabbath, who overcame limitations in their industry to create politically potent music Music Is Power tells fascinating stories about the origins and the impact of dozens of world-changing songs, while revealing political context and the personal challenges of legendary artists from Bob Dylan to Bob Marley.Supplemental material (Artist and Title List): https://d3tto5i5w9ogdd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24001955/Music_Is_Power_Supplementary_Artist_Title_List.doc
BRAD SCHREIBER is an award-winning author, journalist, and screenwriter. His previous books include Death in Paradise, Becoming Jimi Hendrix, and Revolution’s End. He has received fellowships and awards from the National Press Foundation, Edward Albee Foundation, International Book Awards, Independent Publisher Book Awards, and Los Angeles Press Club.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Musical Workers of the World Unite: Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger
Chapter 2: There For More Than Fortune: Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan
Chapter 3: Caged Artists: Lesley Gore, Janis Ian, P.F. Sloan
Chapter 4: Parody and Poetry: Tom Lehrer, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Smothers Brothers
Chapter 5: Psychedelicate Situation: Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd
Chapter 6: Reason and Blues: Marvin Gaye and The Temptations
Chapter 7: Say It Loud, We’re Blocked but Proud: James Brown and Curtis Mayfield
Chapter 8: Hard Rock Turns Metallic: The Who and Black Sabbath
Chapter 9: More Than a Working Class Hero: John Lennon
Chapter 10: Out of Place and In Your Face: The Dead Kennedys and The Sex Pistols
Chapter 11: Word: Gil Scott Heron and Grandmaster Flash
Chapter 12: Global Music Consciousness: Bob Marley and Peter Gabriel
Chapter 13: Weird, Funny, Angry: Frank Zappa vs. Everybody
Chapter 14: Rap, Not Hip Hop: N.W.A. and Public Enemy
Chapter 15: Weapons of Mass Deconstruction: Dixie Chicks and Green Day
