It is hard to say who or which song left-wing music started from, but what is certain is that the tradition of modern left-wing music was inherited from Woody Guthrie. The father of American folk revival in the 20th century, many great works created in his legendary music career are almost all about the hard life of the lower classes. From 1930s to 1950s, guthrie perfectly combined folk melody with literary lyrics, and created This Is Your Land and Tom? Jude, Lumberjack's Lullaby and 19 19 Massacre and many other great songs have also directly influenced the musical ideas of many folk musicians such as Bob Dylan in the 1960s.
Another important figure in this period was pete seeger, who once formed the "Yearbook Singer" band with Woody Guthrie and Bruce Masters, and recorded a large number of precious folk records. His song "Where Are the Flowers?" is still a masterpiece of protest folk songs. In his music career of more than 60 years, pete seeger was blacklisted during McCarthyism because of his radical political stance, and was arrested and imprisoned for opposing the Vietnam War. He stood at the forefront of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King and others. Siger is also the greatest contributor to the development, inheritance and protection of folk songs in the 20th century.
1960s: Protest ballads
The 1960s was the heyday of left-wing music. The Vietnam War and the civil rights movement directly led to the prosperity of protest songs. Many singers-songwriters are among them, and the folk revival movement has achieved fruitful results. During this period, in addition to pure folk songs, rock music also integrated the form and spirit of folk songs and became an important force against the system.
Musicians such as Bob Dylan, Joan Bates, phil ochs, tom Paxton, Neil Jane, Arrow guthrie (the son of Woody Guthrie), Judy Collins, Ricky Havens, Chris Christoffson, and "Country McDonald's and Fish" are the resounding names shouldering musical ethics in this era.
During this period, the title of "protest ballad" clearly appeared in folk music for the first time, and phil ochs was a well-deserved model. The title of his first album is All the News Suitable for Singing, which shows his concern for the society. His figure has always been associated with civil rights, protests and anti-war, and the song "I won't March again" has also become the iconic song of the anti-war movement. With the end of the Vietnam War, politicians and lies still occupy the stage, and a whole generation of young people feel confused and disappointed. 1On April 9, 976, phil ochs ended his life, but the great spirit in his music did not die out, and it still echoed in the works of musicians such as Collision and Tracy Chapman.
1970s: Revolutionary Rock Music
During this period, the glory of folk protest songs was quickly taken away by punk music and became the leading role, and its strong and radical political attitude was unprecedented.
Bob Mali, a great pioneer of Jamaican reggae music, combined American rock music with Jamaican folk music, infiltrated revolutionary ideas and praised freedom and justice. Immortal songs such as Rise and Fight, Song of Salvation and I Killed the Sheriff influenced later bands, from Collision to Police and Anger at the Machine.
Clash was the most radical punk band in the 1970s. Soul figure Joe? Stramo's left-leaning concept and attitude set the direction for "collision". Did they adopt Bob? Mali's reggae rhythm to express their position against racial discrimination, Bob? A tribute from Mali. Unlike most punk bands, "Clash" pays more attention to social problems and people living in the lower classes, pointing directly at the government, and the cheerful reggae rhythm can't hide their anger. In the classic album London is Calling from 1979, Clash band defined their music as "revolutionary rock music". Many punk bands are inspired by "Clash" and express their uncompromising position in the confrontation with skinheads and "OI" punk organized by neo-Nazis.
On the other hand, there are still some bands that have inherited the early traditions, Bruce? When Springsteen first debuted, she was called Bob Dylan's successor. He inherited Dylan's keen sense of the times and wrote many songs about the lives of Vietnam veterans and desperate workers. He is called the spokesman of the blue-collar class, and his music is also called "blue-collar rock".
After John Lennon left the Beatles, he wrote many good songs with social and political consciousness. "Imagination", "Give peace a chance" and "working class hero" ... become symbols of shouldering the mission of peace and social morality. Lennon died under the gun of 1980 crazy fans, which made the whole world grieve.
1980s: Returning to Folk Tradition
The whole western world in the 1980s was immersed in the neo-conservatism of President Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. With the rapid development of economy, the singing of protest singers seems to be louder and louder. Only in U2' s bloody Sunday can people find * * *.
But Tracy, an American black female singer? Chapman released his first album in 1988, which made people find a long-lost voice. When Chapman sang "Talking about a Revolution" with a magnetic voice, she has become the representative of a new generation of protest songs.
In Britain, punk singer Billy? Prague follows Woody? Guthrie and Bob? Dylan's tradition has become the most influential leftist singer in Britain. Prague wrote sharp songs such as "The Age of Space Hegemony is Over" and "God Save American Youth". In recent years, his two albums Mermaid Street, co-produced with Wilco, selected 30 lyrics from thousands of lyrics left by Woody Guthrie, which revived the spirit of guthrie.
During this period, other singers with profound social consciousness were Peter? Gabriel, Natalie Mochant, Shane O 'Connor and Elvis Castro. To some extent, protest songs have returned to the tradition of folk songs.
Since 1990s: The Decline of the Left
In the 1990s, the only big-name band with a clear political stance was the metal rap band Violence Against the Machine. But with the lead singer Zach? Della. With Roark's withdrawal, the band gradually lost its former advantages. On the other hand, he is called "Bob of rap? Dylan's "Public Enemy" band won the respect of the left with its infamous rap music. In addition to strong subversive music, the underground music master band Sonic Youth is also famous for its leftist stance, and their songs such as Anti-Fascist Youth have fanned the flames against the system. In the field of electronic music represented by hedonism and drug culture, Atali Youth Riot became the most radical band in the late 1990s with its ultra-left political attitude.
Similarly, the "Reject" band from Sweden took a tough political stance. As children of the wealthy middle class, they did not hesitate to stand on the left side: "The propaganda of the ruling class controls art and everything in your life. Our task is to return the right to think to the people and the art to the people." As a member of a large number of radical underground bands, they rediscovered Phil? Cattle thought, and as a weapon in the New World, to protest against social and government injustice.
Many radical underground bands cannot be accepted by the mainstream media, which also hinders the spread and influence of left-wing music in a new generation of young people to some extent.