John Coltrane
Alabama
In 1963 four black girls died in the racially motivated bombing of a Birmingham church. "Alabama" was John Coltrane's musical response.
Listen
John Coltrane Quartet performs "Alabama" for "Jazz Casual" (YouTube)
Big Bill Broonzy
Black, Brown & White
Jonny Meister reports on Big Bill Broonzy's 1947 song on racial discrimination.
Listen
Bruce Springsteen
Born in the USA
Bob Bumbera says he misinterpreted the meaning behind Bruce Springsteen's 1984 tune. It turns out he wasn't the only one.
Listen
Bruce performs "Born in the USA" live in (then) East Berlin, 1988 (YouTube)
Leadbelly
Bourgeois Blues
Jonny Meister reports on Leadbelly's 1938 song written after the bluesman, Alan Lomax and their wives tried to find a restaurant willing to seat the interracial foursome.
Listen
Leadbelly's original Library of Congress version from 1938 (audio with still photos, YouTube)
Billy Bragg
Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with one of contemporary Britain's most iconic political songwriters.
Listen
"Mr. Love & Justice" in 2008 (YouTube)
Rage Against the Machine
Bulls on Parade
Jim McGuinn reports on "Bulls on Parade", Rage Against the Machine's ferocious 1996 denouncement of the military industrial complex.
Listen
Video for "Bulls on Parade" (YouTube)
Sam Cooke
A Change is Gonna Come
Gene Shay talks about Sam Cooke's first stab at a civil rights song.
Listen
Sam Cooke performs "A Changes is Gonna Come" (YouTube)
The Clash
The Clash
Mojo magazine declared The Clash's 1977 self-titled debut "the ultimate punk protest album" and "searingly evocative of dreary late '70s Britain, but still timelessly inspiring". Jim McGuinn discusses the album's powerful screeds ("Police and Thieves", "I'm So Bored with the USA", "White Riot" and more) and its enduring legacy.
Listen
The Edge of U2 inducts The Clash into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame (YouTube)
Woody Guthrie
Deportee
Tracey Tanenbaum talks to Jeb Loy Nichols about the Woody Guthrie tune "Deportee" and his own attempts at writing protest songs.
Listen
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan perform "Deportee" in 1976 (YouTube)
Tracy Chapman
Fast Car
Helen Leicht talks about Tracy Chapman's 1988 tune, a profile of generational poverty.
Listen
Live performance from 1988 (YouTube)
Public Enemy
Fight the Power
Dan Reed talks about Public Enemy's politically hard hitting song featured in Spike Lee's 1989 movie Do the Right Thing.
Listen
Spike Lee's video for "Fight the Power" (YouTube)
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Fortunate Son
Helen Leicht reports on the origins of John Fogerty's anti-Vietnam song.
Listen
CCR performs "Fortunate Son" (YouTube)
Bob Marley
Get Up Stand Up
Jim McGuinn discusses the power of Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up", a call for personal empowerment across the globe and in particular to Rastafarians. It is also a testament to fundamental Rastafarian beliefs. "Get Up, Stand Up" was the last song Marley ever performed on stage, on September 23, 1980 at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Listen
Bob Marley performing "Get Up Stand Up" live (YouTube)
Tom Robinson
Glad to be Gay
Michaela Majoun reports on the inspiration for Tom Robinson's 1978 gay rights anthem.
Listen
Video of "Glad to be Gay" (YouTube)
John Lennon
Imagine
Helen Leicht reports on John Lennon's iconic and subversive call for peace.
Listen
Official video for "Imagine" (YouTube)
Iraq Medley
Bob Bumbera offers a sampling of songs that have come out in opposition to the war in Iraq.
Listen
James Brown
King Heroin
Jonny Meister talks about James Brown's gorgeous 1972 song, a precursor to rap. It addressed the deadly addiction in the form of metaphor.
Listen
James Brown's recording of "King Heroin" (Audio only with photos, YouTube)
Jackson Browne
Lives in the Balance
Michaela Majoun reports on Jackson Browne's 1986 album - his response to the policies of the Reagan administration.
Listen
MTV video of Lives in the Balance (YouTube)
Grandmaster Flash &
the Furious Five
The Message
Jim McGuinn turns his attention to one of hip-hop's earliest anthems of unrest, "The Message", a searing portrait of the hopelessness of inner-city life.
Listen
