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Bill O'Reilly has a plan for the Republican Party to get its mojo back: Go after Bruce Springsteen!
Seriously.
O'Reilly last night, in his Talking Points Memo segment, cites a remark Springsteen made at the Pete Seeger tribute concert the other night:
At 90, he [Seeger] remains a stealth dagger through the heart of our country's illusions about itself. ... He sings all the verses, all the time. Especially the ones that we'd like to leave out of our history as a people.
This incensed O'Reilly -- who nonetheless spotted an opportunity therein:
Now, Bruce Springsteen is not a PhD in political science, obviously. But his snide reference to America defines how the far left sees this country. And you know what? Most liberal and conservative Americans disagree with him.
So let me spell this out to that even the Republican leadership can understand it. Get solutions to problems. Explain your Culture War positions clearly and without spite. And most important, stick up for America! Because the Democrats are certainly not doing that. Use that strategy, GOP, and you'll get back in the game.
He repeats the point a little later with Karl Rove:
All right, but the Democratic Party has been very successful in demonizing the Republicans as a bunch of people who, uh, say no to everything, ah, are bigoted, you know, because of their social issues of gay marriage and illegal immigration. And they've been very, very successful in doing that. And I would say now that conservatives are on the defensive. And the Republican Party certainly is.
Let's hear it for the cultural heroes who always speak the truth as they know it, no matter what the cost to themselves:
NEW YORK — Three months after Bruce Springsteen persuaded Pete Seeger to sing This Land Is Your Land with him at President Obama's inaugural concert, they'll be back together on stage Sunday — on Seeger's 90th birthday.
A sold-out benefit concert at Madison Square Garden will celebrate Seeger, the folk singer/songwriter who was banished from commercial TV for 17 years.
Seeger says a party for 15,000 isn't his idea of a birthday celebration, even with more than 40 musicians, including Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and Arlo Guthrie, whose dad, Woody, taught Seeger how to jump freight trains 60 years ago.
A few weeks ago I posted a Miriam Makeba concert from the Hollywood Bowl in 1962. I made mention of the fact that one of the opening acts was the recently formed Dave Guard's Whiskeyhill Singers. I got a lot of response on that, with readers wanting to know when I would get around to posting it. Sorry for the delay, so here it is.
For those of you not familiar with Dave Guard or the Whiskeyhill Singers, Guard had recently left The Kingston Trio, taking with him David "Buck" Wheat, their accompanist bass player. The Kingston Trio was one of the most successful folk acts of the late 1950's to early 1960's, cresting a wave of popularity that ebbed just around the time The Beatles came on the scene. Folk music in general had achieved a great amount of popularity during this time - first as a true exponent of Americana and later as a means of protest, although the protest part had been around for a long time with the likes of Pete Seeger, The Vietnam War seemed to be the galvanizing point from which a lot of protest Folk singers emerged.
Dave Guard's Whiskeyhill singers consisted of Dave Guard, Cyrus Faryar, Judy Henske and Dave "Buck" Wheat.
The group didn't last very long, splitting up shortly after this concert was recorded. They released one album for Capitol, with another as yet unreleased.
So here is a glimpse of a short-lived group, whose members went on to pursue other musical avenues and achieve names in their own right. Their traditional folk approach is evident in the three songs from this portion of the set: 1. Railroad Bill 2. The Oxdriver 3. Salomila
The "subversive" verses from Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land were sung by the American people today on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
One of our great national anthems has been restored.
Here are the original verses added back into the song today.
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
That side was made for you and me.
In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry,
I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
