In 1974, America was still reeling from the racial chaos that had only a few years ago swept throughout the country. The sixties had changed everything. Some people were relieved, some were angered, and some were inspired while others were doomed to pessimism. Whatever the case, everyone was affected. Throw in the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War and it’s a wonder folks got along at all. The one good thing that resulted from all that tension was the evolution of some of the best music the world has ever known.
Ask anyone who grew up during that era; music was the most important thing in America (second to rampant indiscriminant sex, and an unrelenting desire to find new ways to get high). Every genre of music saw a heightened sensitivity directed toward making sense of why so many people could be so severely against the idea of treating each other fairly. At fourteen years old, I surely didn’t understand it. All I wanted to do was play music.
The music of that era seemed to be the only thing that got people to chill out and ignore the craziness of it all. During the riots, James Brown was scheduled to give a live concert in Boston, a city that, at that moment in time, had become a powder keg of racial unrest. The mayor had arranged with Brown to show a live television broadcast of the concert, knowing that because Brown’s popularity was at such a high point, there would be virtually no chance that anyone would be angry enough to go out rioting and miss the rare opportunity to watch J. B. do his thing for an entire program. The strategy worked, and some people credit Mr. Brown for “saving Boston” from total mayhem. *
I was still in junior high when my band started playing in clubs and bars. Somehow, two “managers” had found out about us and had convinced us that we were going to be the next big thing. I recall being all excited at the fact that they had printed up business cards for us. One day, while listening to one of the local R&B stations, I heard the deejay advertising that our band would be featured as the live entertainment on Baltimore’s local party ship, “The Port Welcome.” I think we each got paid twenty-five dollars for that gig. Oh yeah, we knew we were stars then. But as is the case with most beginners in the music business, we too, eventually discovered that all is not fair in love and music.
G.
*Ironically, rumor has it that after the concert, Brown had accused the City of Boston of failing to uphold its financial end of the deal regarding the City’s multiple rebroadcasts of the concert, which apparently Brown had explicitly addressed in the original agreement. Although Brown eventually conceded to a settlement, it has been said that Brown was hurt by the alleged breach, and was forever disillusioned by his belief that the City of Boston had not dealt squarely with him.
(This is the sixth installment of a continuing story).
Coming soon, Part 7, “Black and Blue”
