Saving the world
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Love and peace were very common themes in rock music during the 60s and 70s. Rock musicians have often attempted to address social issues directly as commentary or as calls to action. During the Vietnam War the first rock protest songs were heard, inspired by the songs of folk musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which ranged from abstract evocations of peace Peter, Paul, and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer" to blunt anti-establishment diatribes Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's "Ohio". Other musicians, notably John Lennon and Yoko Ono, were vocal in their anti-war sentiment both in their music and in public statements.
Famous rock musicians have adopted causes ranging from the environment (Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)" and the anti-apartheid movement (Peter Gabriel's "Biko"), to violence in Northern Ireland (U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday") and worldwide economic policy (The Dead Kennedys' "Kill the Poor"). On occasion this involvement would go beyond simple songwriting and take the form of sometimes-spectacular concerts or televised events, often raising money for charity and awareness of global issues.
Rock and roll as social activism reached a milestone in the Live Aid concerts, held July 13 1985, which were and outgrowth of the 1984 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and became the largest musical concert in history with performers on two main stages, one in London, England and the other in Philadelphia, USA (plus some other acts performing in other countries) and televised worldwide. The concert lasted 16 hours and featured nearly everybody who was in the forefront of rock and pop in 1985. The charity event raised millions of dollars towards famine relief in Africa.
Live Aid became a model for many other fund-raising and consciousness-raising efforts, including the Farm Aid concerts benefiting family farmers in North America, and televised performances benefiting victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Live Aid itself was reprised in 2005 with the Live 8 concert raising awareness of global economic policy. Environmental issues have also been a common theme, the greatest example being Live Earth.
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