Bruce Springsteen took some hits on social media during Tuesday’s Concert for Valor in Washington, D.C., for singing John Fogerty’s Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Fortunate Son.” Some viewers argued that the song was an inappropriate choice for the event honoring the nation’s military veterans.
13 comments:
I'm inclined to agree with the critics because a Veterans Day concert is neither the time nor the place to try to get people to think about uncomfortable subjects.
Getting in the reserves, or the Coast Guard, in that era depended a lot on where you lived as well as who you (or your parents) knew. Quota systems developed by DOD resulted in some states having excess slots, others none.
When I was in VN, I recall running into some reserves, so getting in was not necessarily a get out of jail free card.
On the other side of that coin, 2 Canadian boys were also in my unit. They volunteered, obviously. About the same time, guys from back on the block were hightailing it to Canada to escape the draft/lottery.
(Those Canadians volunteered into the USArmy, not Canadian forces.)
I like John Fogerty.
But, that's one of my least favorite Fogerty songs.
I wonder if Hunter Biden cringed w/ the lyrics, "I ain't no Senator's son" as he did a line.
Perfect Jon Fogarty song for Veterans Day.
Speaking of...
Last night I had dream about Bob Denver sinking 1500 gallon fuel tank into the mountain side at his Aspen home during a period of energy squeeze, high prices, and songs about conservation and saving the earth.
He was fun to sing along with because it was easy, in one's own key, and you could really take off as if singing in a bathroom.
Then he abruptly died.
As if Nature itself commanded with finality, enough, knock it off, all of you, and I mean it.
I think you mean John Denver.
Bob Denver was Gilligan.
One of my personal heroes as he banged both Ginger and Mary Ann.
Insty has a point.
A lot of Lefties vote dry and drink wet on the subject.
Our Secretary of Swift Boat, f'rinstance.
LOTS of AFNG reservist fighter-pilot squadron/Wings were called to active duty in Vietnam..
Not a very enthusiastic fan of either CCR or Fogerty. Fogerty's from Berkeley, California but his songs sound like he's channeling from some hardscrabble flyover area. I don't mind fake but I do mind hypocritical.
I was in the service--in a non combat role--in that era. As I recall, Fortunate Son and that song by Country Joe & the Fish were popular with the troops. OK, Fogerty is a hypocrite, but he wrote some catchy tunes. Better to go to war with a song with a strong back beat than with Kate Smith singing America the Beautiful......... All the music from that era was anti war. "Shit, it don't mean nothing," was the standard grunt obervation about the war, its larger purpose, and the possibility of early death or disfigurement. The soldiers were even more nihilistic than the protesters, and such songs offered catharsis......I'd compare the songs of that era to those of WWI. You wonder why that war, especially towards the end, didn't inspire any anti war songs. Maybe it's all to the best that there were anti war songs.......If you count the first Gulf War, we've been involved in this present conflict for over twenty years. I don't follow popular music anymore, but, so far as I know, there hasn't been a single hit song, pro or con, about the conflict. This neglect is a worse fate than the protest music. Your actions are too unimportant to care about, one way or another.
Shouting Thomas said...
I like John Fogerty.
But, that's one of my least favorite Fogerty songs.
I second that. It's not in my iTunes. The larger point is that artist like Springsteen are stuck in rut philosophically. That sis why his fan base is shrinking. People have outgrown him.
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