One of the "landmarks" of the rock-and-roll era is the influx of "anti-war" and "social commentary" songs, especially during the mid-to-late-'60s and early-'70s
...songs like EVE OF DESTRUCTION, SOUNDS OF SILENCE, KEEP ON PUSHING, LIKE A ROLLING STONE for example.
Even The Beatles put in their "two-cents worth" with the likes of ELEANOR RIGBY, FOOL ON THE HILL and REVOLUTION.
Some of the more-overlooked in this category are by recording artists who were either veterans of prior musical eras, or in the general category of "romantic easy-pop"
...like, for example, WHAT COLOR IS A MAN, a minor hit for Bobby Vinton in late 1965.
But even more surprising are three entries by Frankie Lane, Ed Ames (one of the Ames Brothers---who had a number of romantic "adult-contemporary" style pop hits during the '50s), and Jimmie Rodgers (no, not the legendary "yodeler"---the folk/country/pop singer who gave us KISSES SWEETER THAN WINE, HONEYCOMB and others like those)
...at first it might be assumed that since these recording acts were not actually ones who came-of-age during the 60s, but before, either during the '50s or even the late'40s, that their entries in the "social conscious" category might be lame or even "patronizingly tokenistic"---but, actually these songs of theirs were, ironically, among the BEST ones in this otherwise-late-'60s trend.
...the songs in question are as follows: YOU GAVE ME A MOUNTAIN---Frankie Laine's early-1969 top-25 hit; WHO WILL ANSWER? Ed Ames' profoundly inquisitive late-1967/early-1968 poetic masterpiece; and CHILD OF CLAY---Jimmie Rodger's lyrical profile of a failure-in-life and how his chances for something better got thwarted by the misfortunes of being born into a bad domestic environment coupled with unfavorable circumstances (from late-'67)
The Bob Dylan songs, Paul Simon songs, and Phil Oachs songs may be the kind of songs which get the most attention when it comes to "social conscious" type of songs, but I promise you some of the best ones in this category are those I just mentioned above by Ed Ames, Bobby Vinton, Jimmie Rodgers, and Frankie Lane.
Of course the R&B sector had it's contributions as well:
The Impressions...PEOPLE GET READY, WE'RE A WINNER, KEEP ON PUSHING, CHOICE OF COLORS
...A CHANGE IS GONNA COME by Sam Cooke
...THE DOCK OF THE BAY by Otis Redding
...and Motown: CLOUD NINE, BALL OF CONFUSION, PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE, DON'T LET THE JONE'S GET YOU DOWN by TheTemptations; Stevie Wonder's version of Bob Dylan's BLOWING IN THE WIND; FRIENDSHIP TRAIN by Gladys Knight & the Pips; WHAT'S GOING ON?, MERCY MERCY ME, INNER-CITY BLUES by Marvin Gaye; STONED LOVE by The Supremes (Jean Terrel, lead vocalist---after Diana Ross left the group).
Then you have the Chi-Lites FOR GOD'S SAKE (GIVE MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE)
...and, of course, the Staples Singers---taking a hiatus from their gospel roots to infuse a little "message pop/soul" into the air waves.
And let's not overlook country music's contribution to this period:
SKIP-A-ROPE by Henson Cargill (1968), WHAT IS TRUTH by Johnny Cash (1970)
...even "funnyman" Ray Stevens got serious a few times with UNWIND, MR. BUSINESSMAN (both from 1968) and EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL (1970)---although BEAUTIFUL is not exactly one of my favorite Ray Stevens songs...for one thing, the songtitle is too generalizing---not everything is beautiful and neither is everyone...some things are, in fact, terrible and abominable---and so are some people as well.
The "British Invasion" contributed a few as well
Manfred Mann's version of Dylan's WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE
...Donovan's version of Buffy St-Marie's UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
...and The Animal's SKY PILOT---a true "anti-war anthem" masterpiece. The Doors (who were an American group, of course) came out with an offering of theirs in this category, THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER---but, compared to SKY PILOT, that song is so lame and tepid.
Of course the "social conscious" themed song was not an invention of the rock-and-roll era by any means
...during the depression-era 1930s you had songs like HEY BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME? as well as others by the likes of Woody Guthrie and such
...and The Weavers had their hits in the 1950s
And speaking of Pete Seeger, let's not forget WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?---The Kingston Trio's version (1962) and Johnny Rivers (1965)...and, of course, TURN TURN TURN by The Byrds from late-1965.
...and there were a handful of "social conscious" songs from the early '60s
---only a sporadic number of such in the early '60s, yes
...but what few there were around this period were still quite noteworthy
...especially THE BIG BATTLE by Johnny Cash, from the spring of 1962. This profound "anti-war anthem" masterpiece was recorded and released on the COLUMBIA records label at about the same time that record company was signing on a young gifted poet-laureate singer-songwriter from Minnesota---who was fresh from the Greenwich Village scene in NYC---by the name of Robert Zimmerman, but who went by the stagename of Bob Dylan (after the famous poet Dylan Thomas).
...even if you're familiar with most of Johnny Cash's other songs, if you haven't heard THE BIG BATTLE you're missing something special
..it's a "must-hear".
"WAR---What is it good for?...Absolutely NOTHIN'!" Yes, Edwin "Double-O-Soul" Starr---summer of 1970. And UNDUN and GUNS GUNS GUNS by The Guess Who deserves being noted in the "social conscious" song category as well...
...songs like EVE OF DESTRUCTION, SOUNDS OF SILENCE, KEEP ON PUSHING, LIKE A ROLLING STONE for example.
Even The Beatles put in their "two-cents worth" with the likes of ELEANOR RIGBY, FOOL ON THE HILL and REVOLUTION.
Some of the more-overlooked in this category are by recording artists who were either veterans of prior musical eras, or in the general category of "romantic easy-pop"
...like, for example, WHAT COLOR IS A MAN, a minor hit for Bobby Vinton in late 1965.
But even more surprising are three entries by Frankie Lane, Ed Ames (one of the Ames Brothers---who had a number of romantic "adult-contemporary" style pop hits during the '50s), and Jimmie Rodgers (no, not the legendary "yodeler"---the folk/country/pop singer who gave us KISSES SWEETER THAN WINE, HONEYCOMB and others like those)
...at first it might be assumed that since these recording acts were not actually ones who came-of-age during the 60s, but before, either during the '50s or even the late'40s, that their entries in the "social conscious" category might be lame or even "patronizingly tokenistic"---but, actually these songs of theirs were, ironically, among the BEST ones in this otherwise-late-'60s trend.
...the songs in question are as follows: YOU GAVE ME A MOUNTAIN---Frankie Laine's early-1969 top-25 hit; WHO WILL ANSWER? Ed Ames' profoundly inquisitive late-1967/early-1968 poetic masterpiece; and CHILD OF CLAY---Jimmie Rodger's lyrical profile of a failure-in-life and how his chances for something better got thwarted by the misfortunes of being born into a bad domestic environment coupled with unfavorable circumstances (from late-'67)
The Bob Dylan songs, Paul Simon songs, and Phil Oachs songs may be the kind of songs which get the most attention when it comes to "social conscious" type of songs, but I promise you some of the best ones in this category are those I just mentioned above by Ed Ames, Bobby Vinton, Jimmie Rodgers, and Frankie Lane.
Of course the R&B sector had it's contributions as well:
The Impressions...PEOPLE GET READY, WE'RE A WINNER, KEEP ON PUSHING, CHOICE OF COLORS
...A CHANGE IS GONNA COME by Sam Cooke
...THE DOCK OF THE BAY by Otis Redding
...and Motown: CLOUD NINE, BALL OF CONFUSION, PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE, DON'T LET THE JONE'S GET YOU DOWN by TheTemptations; Stevie Wonder's version of Bob Dylan's BLOWING IN THE WIND; FRIENDSHIP TRAIN by Gladys Knight & the Pips; WHAT'S GOING ON?, MERCY MERCY ME, INNER-CITY BLUES by Marvin Gaye; STONED LOVE by The Supremes (Jean Terrel, lead vocalist---after Diana Ross left the group).
Then you have the Chi-Lites FOR GOD'S SAKE (GIVE MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE)
...and, of course, the Staples Singers---taking a hiatus from their gospel roots to infuse a little "message pop/soul" into the air waves.
And let's not overlook country music's contribution to this period:
SKIP-A-ROPE by Henson Cargill (1968), WHAT IS TRUTH by Johnny Cash (1970)
...even "funnyman" Ray Stevens got serious a few times with UNWIND, MR. BUSINESSMAN (both from 1968) and EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL (1970)---although BEAUTIFUL is not exactly one of my favorite Ray Stevens songs...for one thing, the songtitle is too generalizing---not everything is beautiful and neither is everyone...some things are, in fact, terrible and abominable---and so are some people as well.
The "British Invasion" contributed a few as well
Manfred Mann's version of Dylan's WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE
...Donovan's version of Buffy St-Marie's UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
...and The Animal's SKY PILOT---a true "anti-war anthem" masterpiece. The Doors (who were an American group, of course) came out with an offering of theirs in this category, THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER---but, compared to SKY PILOT, that song is so lame and tepid.
Of course the "social conscious" themed song was not an invention of the rock-and-roll era by any means
...during the depression-era 1930s you had songs like HEY BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME? as well as others by the likes of Woody Guthrie and such
...and The Weavers had their hits in the 1950s
And speaking of Pete Seeger, let's not forget WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?---The Kingston Trio's version (1962) and Johnny Rivers (1965)...and, of course, TURN TURN TURN by The Byrds from late-1965.
...and there were a handful of "social conscious" songs from the early '60s
---only a sporadic number of such in the early '60s, yes
...but what few there were around this period were still quite noteworthy
...especially THE BIG BATTLE by Johnny Cash, from the spring of 1962. This profound "anti-war anthem" masterpiece was recorded and released on the COLUMBIA records label at about the same time that record company was signing on a young gifted poet-laureate singer-songwriter from Minnesota---who was fresh from the Greenwich Village scene in NYC---by the name of Robert Zimmerman, but who went by the stagename of Bob Dylan (after the famous poet Dylan Thomas).
...even if you're familiar with most of Johnny Cash's other songs, if you haven't heard THE BIG BATTLE you're missing something special
..it's a "must-hear".
"WAR---What is it good for?...Absolutely NOTHIN'!" Yes, Edwin "Double-O-Soul" Starr---summer of 1970. And UNDUN and GUNS GUNS GUNS by The Guess Who deserves being noted in the "social conscious" song category as well...
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