As someone who grew up with rock 'n roll I often tolerated the narrow-mindedness of those who thought it was just so much noise. Hey, come on - have you ever listened to Blue Cheer's Summertime Blues? That's not noise, that's insight.
But seriously, folks there is a lot of wisdom expressed in many songs of the so-called rock 'n roll era. Who would have guessed that Tommy James and the Shondells' anthem to youthful hormones - Hanky Panky - foretold impending doom in the financial services industry? Or that the warnings expressed in the follow-up - Mony, Mony - also went unheeded? [By the way, Billy Idol did a great cover.] Or that Craig Windham's - yes, that Craig Windham - favorite song, Hitchin' a Ride, was a thinly-veiled exhortation to exit the morass in Vietnam and get our troops home (don't listen to the song - it'll be in your brain for weeks).
But I digress.
One of my favorite 'message' songs is Rick (aka 'Ricky') Nelson's Garden Party. Urban legend has it
that he wrote this song after playing at a 1971 rock 'n roll revival concert at Madison Square Garden. He was supposedly booed off the stage when he tried to veer from his 'teen idol' persona and play some country-flavored music. His fans wanted the old stuff, but Nelson's music had evolved. He realized that you can't please everyone, so focus on doing what you need to do and don't worry about others.
From Wikipedia:
Nelson came on stage dressed in the then-current fashion, wearing bell-bottoms and a purple velvet shirt, with his hair hanging down to his shoulders. He started playing his older songs Hello Mary Lou and She Belongs to Me, but then he played The Rolling Stones' Country Honk (a country version of their hit song Honky Tonk Women) and the crowd began to boo. While some reports say that the booing was caused by police action in the back of the audience, Nelson took it personally and left the stage. He watched the rest of the concert backstage and did not reappear on stage for the finale.
Here is John Fogerty's cover of Nelson's tune.
I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
No one recognized me, I didn't look the same
But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself
People came from miles around, everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air
'n' over in the corner, much to my surprise
Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise
Played them all the old songs, thought that's why they came
No one heard the music, we didn't look the same
I said hello to "Mary Lou", she belongs to me
When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave
Someone opened up a closet door and out stepped Johnny B. Goode
Playing guitar like a-ringin' a bell and lookin' like he should
If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck
But if memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck
And it's all right now, learned my lesson well
You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself
-- Garden Party, by Rick Nelson
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