Music has always been used as a vehicle to protest conditions or provide uplifting messages to the masses. Whether used during the Vietnam era anti-war protests or the civil rights movement of the 1960s or as personal and/or political anthems of the 1970s, ’80s, or ’90s, this list of songs has become an indelible part of the American landscape, giving voice to millions of Americans searching for a better way of life.
1. “This Land Is Your Land” – written as a response to Irving Berlin’s patriotic “God Bless America,” Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” has transcended its original Communist leanings and has become an American anthem for the disenfranchised.
2. “Say It Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud” – Soulster James Brown’s anthem of Black pride arrived on the scene as America was being ripped apart by the Vietnam war, the disintegration of the civil rights movement following the assassination of Martin Luther King and the rise of the Black Power movement with the Black Panthers, becoming a powerful and affirmative statement for African Americans that continues to this day.
3. “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye wrote this as searing portrait of a country torn by war, but its origins came from more personal reflections: Gaye was inspired to write this song after his own brother returned from Vietnam. The album of the same title is also a searing social commentary on modern day America and the states of relations of Black people during the early seventies in the post-civil rights era. Haunting and evocative, “What’s Going On” represents the highest of what R&B; could achieve in message songs.
4. “A Change Is Gonna Come” – Inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” R&B; croonster Sam Cooke wrote this song specifically to address the growing changes that were coming about for Black people because of the civil right movement. A classic in social commentary, “A Change Is Gonna Come” has since become an anthem for racial change and justice.
5. “Imagine” – John Lennon’s “Imagine” is less a song about protest or social commentary as it is a wish fulfillment for all those who have been struggling in the anti-war movement of the 1970s. Still, its plaintive call for peace and justice continues to be one that resonates with contemporary audiences still facing the same problems which inspired it.
6. “Fight the Power” – Public Enemy’s song, which was included on the soundtrack of Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing, is an incendiary bomb of social commentary in the modern post-civil rights era. Its propulsive beat and aggressive lyrics were a fist in the mouth for many Americans who thought that racism and social justice was a thing of the past.
7. “The Message” – one of the first rap songs to address the problems of the inner city, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message” continues to be an anthem for the disenfranchised in America. The Message” proved that rap can be more than just party music but can be insightful social commentary as well.
8. “Strange Fruit” – Haunting and powerful, Billie Holliday’s performance on this song creeps under the skin and refuses to leave. Written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher, activist, and songwriter/poet, “Strange Fruit” addressed the incidious tradition of lynching in the South. Though not traditionally a jazz song, “Strange Fruit” is a potent song of protest and social uplift.
9. “Sun City” – one of the most memorable protest songs of the 1980s, “Sun City,” written by E-Street bandmate and Sopranos star Little Steven Van Zandt, protested the South African resort town that exploited the Apartheid system in that country and had become a playground for the elite. Forceful and aggressive, the song, which featured an array of recording artists from that period, such as Bruce Springsteen, Bono, and Afrika Bambaataa, not only had an amazing dance groove but also forced the problem of Apartheid into the American mainstream.
10. “Blowin’ In the Wind” – Dylan’s folk classic was an instant anthem for the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. As much a prognostication as a song of social uplift, “Blowin’ In the Wind” continues to stir and uplift.
