In the mid-1980s, I anticipated the first showing of Bruce Springsteen’s video for “Dancing in the Dark” on MTV to support his Born in the U.S.A. album. The rock icon and my favorite artist was entering the modern music video era.

While Springsteen years earlier had released a music video for “Atlantic City” as part of his previous album Nebraska, that video was a grainy black and white video of scenes around Atlantic City with no sign of the artist. The new video for “Dancing in the Dark” featured the legendary live performer in a concert setting, directed by Brian De Palma. While it was obviously staged, right down to his invitation to an audience member (a young pre-Friends Courteney Cox) to join him on stage, it was exciting to be able to repeatedly watch Springsteen perform on TV.

But the video for “Dancing in the Dark” almost looked quite different. There was initially a failed attempt to create a video of Springsteen . . . actually dancing in the dark.

Springsteen Walks Out of Video Shoot

As originally recounted in “The Golden Age of Music Video,” before director Brian De Palma became involved in helping Springsteen with the video that was ultimately released, Springsteen made another attempt at a video with director Jeff Stein and cinematographer Daniel Pearl.

Pearl was already on his way to his legendary career as director of photography, having already shot the landmark videos for Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” But this encounter with Springsteen would not have such success.

Stein, the director, told Pearl that the concept for “Dancing in the Dark” was to have Springsteen dancing in a dark room. Pearl did not think it was much of a concept but began his work when Springsteen arrived. (Stein later explained that he also thought at the time that Sprinsteen should have been shot in a concert setting.)

Pearl immediately noticed Springsteen’s new look: “Big sideburns, he’s pumped, rippling muscles in his arms, good muscle definition, he’s wearing a wife beater sleeveless shirt, sharkskin pants, and black pointy-toe shoes and basically, that’s the New Jersey, sort-of early ‘60s thing going on, right? But very manly, right? So I lit him very hard – hard edge lights for his rippling muscles, and just really chiseled him with light.”

But Springsteen did not like the lighting and asked about using a silk lighting filter to soften the look. Pearl responded that such lighting was for a woman like Stevie Nicks and Springsteen was “manly.” Springsteen was not convinced, but the director asked Springsteen to follow Pearl’s way for a shoot and if he still didn’t like it they could shoot it again with the softer lighting.

And so they did a few takes, producing the following video, including Clarence Clemons at the end.

After a few takes, Springsteen went to the green room for a break, but then he disappeared and never returned for more shoots. He took off, apparently with Clemons, without telling anyone, possibly unhappy with how things were going.

Pearl blamed himself for Springsteen’s disappearance, and in later years director Stein, without saying much about the shoot, claimed that it was Pearl’s fault that Springsteen left.

The New “Dancing in the Dark” Video With Brian De Palma

Subsequently, Springsteen went to movie director Brian De Palma, who created the legendary concert video for “Dancing in the Dark.” In Springsteen’s autobiography, Born to Run, he makes little note of the earlier attempt to make a video for the song, only saying, “We had a false start a week or two previous with another director, so Brian’s come to make sure justice is done to waht will turn out to be my greatest hit.” (p. 325)

De Palma shot the video at the Saint Paul Civic Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on June 28 and 29, 1984 (the second date was the opening of the Born in the U.S.A. tour).

Bruce still danced, but this time he had an audience and performed before calling up the young actress Courteny Cox from the audience to dance with him in the video. Watching it today, you may see Springsteen using some of the same moves he tried out in the Stein-Pearl video. As Springsteen notes in his autobiography, “We would make many videos in the future — I’d even come to enjoy them — but none would ever elicit the same knee-slapping guffaws and righteous, rolling laughter from my kids as me doing my Jersey James Brown in “Dancing in the Dark.” (“Dad . .. you look ridiculous!” (p. 325.)

Others did not find the video ridiculous. The song went to number two on the charts, held out of the top spot by Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” The new music video went on to win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance in September 1985 and was nominated for Best Overall Performance.

Hurt Feelings and a Reunion: “Human Touch” & “Better Days”

As for the cinematographer of the first “Dancing in the Dark” video attempt, Daniel Pearl, he refused to work with Springsteen through the 1980s after his encounter with the fleeing artist. Even while he often was doing cinematography for director Meiert Avis, Pearl declined the work when Avis was directing Springsteen.

But in the early 1990s, that changed. Pearl was working for Avis on a shoot for a band when they went to New Orleans where he expected to continue the shoot. While working at the new location with Avis, though, a surprise walked in. It was Springsteen.

Pearl assumed Springsteen was just visiting the director, and so he tried to ignore Springsteen. Pearl later explained: “I’m not going to talk to him [Springsteen]. So we’re shooting another take and as we finished the take, I get tapped on the shoulder by Springsteen, and he goes, ‘Daniel, the circle becomes complete.’ He says, ‘You were right on how you wanted to light me. I was wrong. This is my song. We’re shooting here now, and this is the only way we could get you to do it. I want to apologize because you were right.’”

The two men buried the hatchet and created the video for “Human Touch.”

Pearl later correctly noted, it “is a great video in a lot of ways.”

In the interview, Pearl does not discuss it, but soon after the filming of the “Human Touch” video, he again worked with director Amis to make the video for Springsteen’s song “Better Days.”

This video was recorded on a soundstage in Los Angeles, with the song appearing as part of a double A-side with “Human Touch.”

These songs appeared on two early 1990s albums Springsteen made without the E Street Band, Human Touch and Lucky Town. Because of the new band, some fans disparage these two albums, which were released at the same time. But I love these albums and listen to them often.

One of the things I like about these Springsteen videos created by Pearl and Amis is that like much of the two albums, they capture a confident and happy version of Springsteen, with a genuine smile coming through that did not necessarily appear in some of his more “serious” videos from the previous decade.

Of course Springsteen smiles in the two “Dancing in the Dark” videos, and there are wry smiles at the end of the videos for “Glory Days” and “I’m On Fire.” But the smiles appearing in the early 1990s videos for “Human Touch” and in particular “Better Days” capture a more mature man, a new husband and father, confident, and maybe a little less nervous about being filmed for a music video.

And maybe there was also a little joy about making amends with a cinematographer he once walked out on.

And that is how a failed video for “Dancing in the Dark” led to a reunion and the videos for “Human Touch” and “Better Days.”

Leave your two cents in the comments.

The post The Story Behind Springsteen’s Unreleased “Dancing in the Dark” Video appeared first on chimesfreedom.

In What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome, Jonathan Bernstein traces the life of Justin Townes Earle. The book offers no easy answers for how Earle created great music or how he came to die alone in Nashville at age 38 on August 20, 2020 through an accidental overdose from cocaine laced with fentany. But Bernstein importantly leaves us with a portrait of a troubled man that provides further insight into his musical legacy.

While Bernstein makes no attempts to tie together all of the strands of Earle’s life and music, he provides the reader with a detailed description of Earle’s ups and downs and his music. While he does not delve deep into the recording or writing process, his interviews with others helps bring some insight into the influences and life experiences that helped form the too-short record of a musical life.

The book traces Justin Townes Earle‘s life from childhood through his early musical associations through his solo career and through his struggles with addiction.

Three Themes Running Through the Book

Fathers and Sons. The themes running through the book include Earle’s troubled relationship with his father, musical legend Steve Earle, as well as the son’s devotion to his mother Carol Ann Hunter Earle. Bernstein tries to present an objective perspective of the father-son dynamic, noting it was more complicated than the son often described, with the father — who declined to be interviewed for the book — attempting to play a larger role in the son’s life after the father became sober. But the parental relationships, and Justin’s perception of them, played a large role in his music (which include albums entitled “Single Mothers” and “Absent Fathers”) and in his life choices. Bernstein recounts how near the end of Earle’s life, he sometimes broke down while performing songs like “Mama’s Eyes,” which begins “I am my father’s son. . . .”

Addiction. Another theme running through the book is Justin Townes Earle’s struggles with addiction to alcohol and drugs. Bernstein does a good job of recognizing the story in the context of music history, recognizing “the Myth” believed by many that great music only comes out of addiction and trauma. Although I knew of Earle’s addictions, the book surprised me with the reporting of the persistence of them, so much that the repetition of the problems make you wish you could reach out to Earle. I was surprised to learn that his accidental death was not the result of a short relapse but a long continuing spiral, perhaps a little aided by the isolation during those early days of the Covid pandemic. The addictions often helped make him difficult toward others, such as an eventual break with one-time friend Jason Isbell. But at the same time, as recounted by Steve Earle’s ex-wife Allison Moorer, he was loved and lovable.

The Artist. The third major theme in the book is his ability to make wonderful music through it all, from before he started releasing records, through his debut EP Yuma in 2007 through the eighth and final album released in his lifetime, The Saint of Lost Causes, released in May 2019. Bernstein explains how his music career had its own ups and downs, with the reception of some albums being a disappointment. Near the end of his life, in addition to all his other challenges, he faced what felt like declining relevancy. He found his albums released after 2012 were surpassed in popularity by newer “Americana” artists building upon some of the foundations Earle helped create with his earlier albums.

No Clear Answers

Bernstein recognizes that a person is made up of more than the parts of their lives, and he makes no attempt to tie everything together in a nice bow at the end. But the portrait allows the reader to see the themes and connections, such as the fact that despite the complicated father-son dynamic, Justin Townes Earle’s first recording, the outstanding “Time You Waste,” was released as an extra track on his father’s 2003 album, Just An American Boy.

One may still wonder about Earle’s life and wonder why he was so troubled. It is normal to want more answers. A biographer can never really know everything about a subject. How can one truly know another’s heart and their thoughts? And unless someone is filmed 24/7 since the day they were born, we only know what they and others choose to tell us.

For example, near the end of the book, Bernstein recounts Earle telling an audience about problems in his childhood, includng that he was “abused.” We know that Earle often exagerated his life story, but up to that point, we had not heard that word in the book. Was Earle making it up or just referring to his issues about being abandoned by his father? Or was he referring to something that we might not know about? We can only wonder based on what we know about Earle.

Anyone interested in the music of Justin Townes Earle will be interested in this authorized biography and learn a lot about the singer-songwriter. But, like me, some readers may not find the book an extremely enjoyable read, learning that one of their favorite artists faced so many demons and made so many bad choices.

And it is even sadder to think about all we lost with Earle’s future. Bernstein recounts some of the ideas Earle was considering around the time of his death, such as producing a documentary about John Prine and perhaps finally doing an album with his father.

Then again, I think over time, getting through the sadness presented in the book will make me appreciate Earle’s music that much more. He created such light while facing such darkness in his own life.

What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome: The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle is available at your local bookstore and at Amazon. Note: I “read” this book by listening to the Audible version read by John Pirhalla, who does a great job giving voice to the story.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

The post Trying to Make Sense of the Short Life of Justin Townes Earle (Book Review) appeared first on chimesfreedom.

In light of the fact that The Last Full Measure (2019) grossed only $3 million versus a $20 million budget, most people probably have not seen this film, making it s a movie you might have missed. Should you check it out?

There are some reasons the movie did not attract a large audience. When the film was released, it already was about a war that took place nearly fifty years earlier. The director Todd Robinson was not well known, and at times the production might seem like a TV movie rather than a feature film, with the starring role by a lesser known actor at the time, Sebastian Stan. While featuring some battle scenes, the movie is not really an action story about a battle, and viewers will already know who lived and died at the beginning. Further, the generic title of the film probably did not attract many viewers. Using an Abraham Lincoln quote from The Gettysburg Address that evokes the Civil War only confuses a potential viewer and tells them nothing about what the movie is about. Such a title could be slapped on any war movie (and is also the title of an earlier book about Vietnam). Finally, one reason that reviews were mixed might be that the title and the image on the poster seem to promise a movie set during a fight, most of the film takes place in Washington, D.C., years after the war has ended.

But The Last Full Measure, which took nearly 20 years to make from inception to final editing, is worth your time for two main reasons: First it is a rare film about the aftermath effects of war, doing for the Vietnam War in some ways what The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) did for World War II. Second, it features a number of great performances by many great actors. Even though they come and go, and most of them do not appear together for most of the film, there are wonderful appearances by Christopher Plumber, Peter Fonda, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane, Amy Madigan, and John Savage (whose appearance near the end connects the film back to one of the early great Vietnam War films, The Deer Hunter (1978)).

The Last Full Measure is based on a true story of the campaign to get a Medal of Honor for William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescueman during the Vietnam War. The film includes flashbacks to the battle where Pitsenbarger heroically saved many men. But the majority of the movie is set around the year 2000 where a Washington, D.C. official (Sebastian Stan) is assigned to investigate whether Pitsenbarger should get the Medal of Honor.

While much of the movie, including Pitsenbarger’s heroics, are true, many of the characters are fictionalized to varying degrees. The official’s story is very loosely based upon a real person and many of the vets are fictionalized versions of the veterans who worked to get Pitsenbarger the medal. But those differences do not take away from what the movie is really about. (For more on a comparison of the movie with the true story, check out this article from History vs. Hollywood.)

And what is the movie really about? It is about the effects of war on the survivors, beautifully portrayed by some great actors. I do not want to ruin the film for anyone who has not seen it, but only to suggest you give it a try. Is it a great war movie? No. But if you go in with modest expectations to see a movie about the effects of war on those touched by it, you might be pleasantly surprised that this movie you may never have heard of is a pretty good movie that you missed. You’ll see why so many great actors were attracted to these roles showing characters we rarely have seen on screen.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Almost two decades ago, my future wife and I made our first trip to Ireland, a place where we each had ancestors. As part of my preparation, I rewatched the recent movie Once (2007), starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová as two struggling musicians in Dublin. Although Hansard, born April 21, 1970, was already known by many for his work with The Frames, like many in the U.S., I first fully discovered him from Once (although had seen his work in movie The Commitments previously). From Once, a sweet love story with a beautiful ending, he won an Oscar for the song “Falling Slowly,” which he wrote with Markéta Irglová, his co-star and Swell Season partner.

Anyway, as we boarded our airplane to Ireland from New York City, who ended up next to me in line but Glen Hansard, waiting to board with a guitar on his back. I made a brief joke about hoping he was being treated well, and we exchanged brief pleasantries. It was a brief encounter, but a nice one, and started off making the trip a little extra special. I last saw him at the airport in Dublin near the baggage claim, walking through the airport with his guitar on his back, much like he looked the last time we see him in Once.

That brings us to the sad news this morning that Hansard died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin early this morning, July 29, 2026, at the age of 56. He leaves behind his wife, a young child, friends, family, and many fans. His distinctive voice lost to us, but his music (and film work) will live on.

In addition to his wonderful original work, Hansard was known also as a great interpreter (including some great Springsteen covers) and duet partner. Even after he became famous, he was often caught busking on the streets of Dublin.

He seemed to truly love music and brought that joy to his listeners. Below he sings Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” with Irglová.

“Yeah, when that fog horn blows / I will be coming home.” RIP.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Margo Price has released a 9-track EP entitled Days of Unrest, featuring five timely covers of protest songs as well as three original instrumentals as well as Price’s song “Can’t Stand Still.” The protest songs include the Mexican folk song “De Colores,” Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” Blaze Foley’s “Oval Room,” and Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).” On the Guthrie song, Joan Baez joins Price and the Memphis Mariachi.

We previously have written about how Guthrie was inspired to write “Deportee” by a 1948 plane crash that killed 28 undocumented immigrants. In the case of the album, Price sings “Deportee” as part of a statement about our current times and treatment of immigrants in the U.S. These are songs have meant a lot to her for a long time (such as playing “Deportee” at Farm Aid 40), as her embrace of protest music is not something new for Price.

Margo Price recently explained to Salon about her choice to include “Deportee,” a song she has been singing for some time, on Days of Unrest: “[I]t needs to be sung and we cannot look away from what is happening right now. We cannot act like this is normal. I mean, I think a lot of people think that I’m radical because I’m talking about this stuff. But I think 20-30 years from now, we’re going to say, ‘Why are more people not concerned about the way that folks are being treated right now. It’s inhumane.”

Check out Price’s cover of “Deportee” with Joan Baez in the official lyric video, which includes current events.

Part of the proceeds from sales of Days of Unrest will go to The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, which helps immigrants facing detention and deportation. The members of Memphis Mariachi are José Patiño, Eniel Pineda, Alejandro Quijano, Martín Granados, José Pérez, and Juan Viamontes.

Days of Unrest is available at Amazon and other locations. Leave your two cents in the comments.

The post Margo Price Meets the Moment Through Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee” (With Help From Joan Baez and Memphis Mariachi) appeared first on chimesfreedom.

Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of the adoption and signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. But for those of us old enough to remember the United States celebration of the 200th anniversary in 1976, the current semiquincentennial celebration seems to pale in comparison to the 1976 Bicentennial.

In 1976, you could not escape hearing about the Bicentennial. In 2026, most of what we hear about the 250th celebration seems related to controversy and cancellations rather than celebrations. There are books about the American Bicentennial celebration on Amazon (and that is not counting things like Bicentennial cookbooks published in many communities in 1976). I don’t think there are many, if any, 250th celebration cookbooks, and it is hard to imagine a very long book for future generations to read about our current efforts to celebrate.

Why Did the Bicentennial Feel Different From America’s 250th Birthday?

What happened to our celebration? There are a number of reasons one may point to for the disappointment with the current anniversary, including the divisions on social media and other forms of entertainment that all make it more difficult for uniting Americans around anything. Maybe we lost something about our connections to our communities that fifty years ago did much of the 1976 planning. Also, it is easier to say “Bicentennial” than “Semiquincentennial,” so how do you celebrate something you can’t remember the name of?

Some argue that the government failed to plan properly. Or maybe the current White House resident hijacked the holiday to make it more about himself, making the Semiquincentennial partisan versus the more (but not completely) bipartisan Bicentennial.

So, instead of celebrating, for many, the this year’s anniversary is more for acknowledging the faults of the country and thinking of ways to heal. For many, they will have their barbeques and fireworks, but it will be just like any other Fourth of July.

Maybe 200 seems like a more important number than 250, or maybe people do not feel like celebrating. Yet,in 1976 we also also faced inflation, gas shortages, political scandals, and other issues but still found a way to reflect and party.

Maybe, a failure of commercialism is partly to blame. Whether good or bad, fewer media sources and less product access allowed companies in 1976 to create more focused marketing around the Bicentennial that continuously reminded us of the celebration. All of your favorite products, including soda and beer, included special versions labeled for the Bicentennial.

In our house, we bought Bicentennial medallions off television, giving them as gifts. I also remember drinking a lot of 7-Up to collect the Bicentennial cans, collecting a can representing each of the fifty states. When you stacked up the fifty cans they revealed an image of Uncle Sam.

Yes, today, you may buy 250 shirts and hats on Amazon or at your local store. I bought a shirt at Lowes. But anyone can make a shirt and sell it online these days. For better or worse, there is no official merchandise that any of us would recognize, in contrast to the well-recognized licensed Bicentennial symbol.

The Uniting Thread of the Bicentennial Minute

Finally, today’s more fractured entertainment universe means we do not have the daily reminders of the anniversary we had in 1976. In the mid-1970s, for more than a year, we watched the Bicentennial Minutes, remembered by most Baby Boomers and members of Generation Jones (like me). Every night on TV there was a favorite actor or personality who would tell us an important event that happened 200 years ago that night.

As July 4 and the Declaration signing approached, each episode reminded us of the approaching holiday. With no Netflix, no cell phones, no streaming options, and mostly just network TV, the Bicentennial Minutes were a communal event.

The Bicentennial Minutes ran for more than two years, beginning on July 4, 1974 and running through December 31, 1976. The last episode featured President Gerald R. Ford.

During that time, as a kid, I took out my blue tape recorder every night (audio only, we did not have VCRs in those days), waiting between CBS shows for a few minutes before 9pm. As the Bicentennial Minute started, I pushed the Record/Play button to record the audio off of the TV. We did not have the Internet so it was the only way to preserve the important history lessons we received every night on TV.

Here is actor Darren McGavin on April 2, 1976.

I don’t recall how many I recorded on my blue tape recorder. And I don’t know how often I ever listened to the audio cassette. I do not even remember what happened to those cassette tapes.

But creating the recordings seemed important to do at the time. It was an American thing to do.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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On July 1, 1955, Jackie Keith Whitley — who would become known as the country music singer-songwriter named Keith Whitley — was born in Ashland, Kentucky. Whitley died at the age of 33 on May 9, 1989, reportedly from alcohol poisoning. But in his short life he left behind a lot of great songs such as his 1988 country hit recording of “When You Say Nothing at All.” One of my favorite Whitley songs, though, only survived as a demo and was first released after Whitley’s death in 1990 on Greatest Hits, “Tell Lorrie I Love Her.”

The Lorrie in “Tell Lorrie I Love Her” was Whitley’s wife, country singer Lorrie Morgan, who had struggled to help Whitley battle his alcoholism before being left a widow. The song is a strong statement of love with the singer recounting the ways he would try to tell his love about his feelings even in the face of death, whether in the desert or lost on the ocean.

Reportedly, he recorded the demo in his living room around two years before he died.

Jesse Whitley’s Performance of His Dad’s Song

Morgan and Whitley had been married in 1986, about two and a half years before his death. Whitley adopted Lorrie’s daughter, and the couple had their own child, Jesse Keith Whitley in June 1987.

Several years ago, Jesse brought his mom on stage to sing his father’s song. In the video below, you can see how moved Morgan was to hear her husband’s song from her son.

Relation to “Tell Laura I Love Her”?

The title of “Tell Lorrie I Love Her” reminds one of the 1960s hit song, “Tell Laura I Love Her,” which was written by Heff Barry and Ben Raleigh and became a hit in 1960 for Ray Peterson in the U.S. and for Ricky Valence in the U.K. Like “Tell Lorrie I Love Her,” the song is about someone facing death trying to get a message to his love.

Yet, where the “Lorrie” song imagines possible tragic scenarios, the “Laura” song is a specific story, recounting a teenager who wants to earn money for a wedding ring so he enters a stock car race, where he is killed. I do not know the extent that “Tell Laura I Love Her” inspired Whitley, but in some ways his song is the adult counterpart.

There are not many professional covers of Whitley’s “Tell Lorrie I Love Her,” perhaps because the song was so personal between two singers. But if you go on YouTube, you will find numerous amateur covers of the song. Apparently the song that Whitley never professionally recorded still resonates with fans. Rolling Stone lists it as one of Whitley’s ten greatest love songs.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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On June 18, 2026, U2 performed “City of Blinding Lights” at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The song has long been a favorite of President Obama, who used the song as his entrance theme when he announced his candidacy for the presidency in 2007, before his acceptace speech at the 2008 Democtratic Convention, and at other events. The performance at the center this week put a bow on the history of the song and its connection to the Obamas, including a subtle rebuttal of a recent hateful comment at a Trump White House event.

U2 released the song from How to Dismantale An Atomic Bomb as a single in 2005. But Bono and the band had been working on the song since 1997. Eventually, part of the inspiration for the song came when U2 was playing in the United States following the September 11 attacks in 2001. Perhaps because of the long writing process, though, one may take different things out of the song, such as the inspiration found by former President Obama.

I’ve seen you walk unafraid;
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made;
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

And I miss you when you’re not around;
I’m getting ready to leave the ground.

Oh, you look so beautiful tonight,
In the city of blinding lights.

Time, time, time, time, time;
Won’t leave me as I am;
But time won’t take the boy out of this man.

The U2 performance this week at the Obama Prsidential Center added a new layer to the song. As the song ended, Bono added lines acknowledging the presence of four former presidents as well as a faith in democracy. In closing, without mentioning the current president — or the recent event held at the White House where one of the president’s guests insulted the former first lady — Bono rebutted the hate with a lovely tribute to Michelle Obama, ending with the chorus of the Beatle’s “Michelle” (with Barack Obama mouthing the words too).

“In the company of Jackknife Lee, 46, 42 and 43. Civility. Hold tight to Democracy, community. Isn’t she lovely, 44 and the family. . . . Michelle My Belle.”

It was a stark reminder of what civility and love looks like.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Although Bobby Darin is most well-known for his hits like “Splish Splash, “Mac the Knife,” and “Beyond the Sea,” in the 1960s he turned toward folk music, writing and recording some wonderful music often overlooked today. His turn toward political and folk music was not a marketing ploy, but a sincere artistic direction by a talented man genuinely concerned about the way the nation was heading.

Although Darin was recording some folk music by the mid 1960s, his music became more political after the death of his friend Bobby Kennedy. After Kennedy’s assassination in June 1968, Darin retreated to Big Sur, living in seclusion in a trailer near the beach, writing songs about subjects like Vietnam, poverty, and Civil Rights. Soon, he started his own record label to promote folk and protest music.

Meaning of “Simple Song of Freedon”

In 1969, Darin, having already taken a turn toward folk music on his previous two albums, wrote one of his most popular political songs, “Simple Song of Freedom.” The song protested the Vietnam War by asking people to join together and announce that “we the people . . . don’t want a war.”

Now no doubt some folks enjoy doing battle;
Like presidents, prime ministers and kings;
So let’s all build them shelves where they can fight among themselves,
And leave the people be who love to sing.

Come and sing the simple song of freedom;
Sing it like you’ve never sung before;
Let it fill the air, tell the people everywhere,
We the people here don’t want a war.

The song appealed to the common people who did not want to be led into battle. He asked us to ask questions about what our leaders told us: “Seven hundred million are you list’nin’?/ Most of what you read is made of lies.” (Note that some listings apparently mishear the line as “seven hundred million men are enlisted”).

The song also refers to someone many young listeners may not recognize:

Brother Solzhenitsyn are you busy?
If not, won’t you drop this friend a line?
Tell me if the man who is plowin’ up your land
Has got the war machine upon his mind.

“Brother Solzhenitsyn” refers to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who was a famous Soviet novelist and dissident prosecuted in the Soviet Union. Darin appeals to a brother across the Cold War, highlighting that the average Russian no more wanted war than the average American.

Versions by Darin and Hardin

Tim Hardin first had a hit with the song. But Darin soon began performing “Simple Song of Freedom” live and released his own version in 1971. Hardin’s success with Darin’s song was an interesting turn of events, since Bobby Darin had been the first one to score a hit with Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter” in 1966.

During his folk period, Darin stopped wearing his toupee and grew long sideburns and a mustache. As discussed previously, in 1969, he walked off a national TV show when the producers would not let him sing one of his protest songs unchanged.

But his protest music was not profitable, and many in his audience wanted the old swinging singles, not the folk singer. Darin soon had to sell his record company, songs, and publishing company.

Darin’s Return to Popular Performances

A guy has to make a living. So, Darin returned to show business and began performing more of his old hits and less protest music, donning his toupee again, using a full band instead of just a guitar. He also begin appearing on and hosting television variety shows.

But Bobby Darin stayed true to himself through it all, as he was deep down a great entertainer. And he never gave up on trying to reach people with the message of “Simple Song of Freedom.”

As portrayed in the film Beyond the Sea about Bobby Darin’s life, the song is presented as a turning point in Darin’s career. Darin, played by Kevin Spacey, wants to make a difference despite advice from those in the business. He eventually discovers a way to make his political statement to his audiences by presenting the song as a big stage act instead of an acoustic folk song. In the movie, Spacey performed the vocals of all of Darin’s songs.

The video below features one of these later performances of “Simple Song of Freedon.” Darin performs the song with more than a guitar, donning a tuxedo.

But he is still asking his audience to join in telling our leaders that we don’t want a war.

A little more than two years after releasing his recording of “Simple Song of Freedom,” Darin died on December 19, 1973 at the age of 37 while recovering from open-heart surgery.

Darin had had rheumatic fever as a young child that had weakened his heart.

Bobby Darin knew most of his life he likely would not live to old age and that every day was a gift to make and create what you can. Thus, he lived with a passion for life and tried to make an impact on the world, which of course he did throughout his life.

Read more about Bobby Darin in the book “Bobby Darin: Roman Candle.” Leave your two cents in the comments.

The post We the People Here Don’t Want a War: Bobby Darin’s “Simple Song of Freedom” appeared first on chimesfreedom.

Stephen Colbert closed out his final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert with a couple of musical performances that made a perfect send off. The final song, of course, was the Beatles classic “Hello Goodbye,” led by Paul McCartney. It was a wonderful uplifting ending, saying goodbye to us while reminding us it was not the end. The Beatles song finale was even more touching with the recognition that Paul McCartney was turning out the lights on the show in the Ed Sullivan Theater, a place where the Beatles captured America so many years ago. But what was that acoustic song before “Hello Goodbye”?

This final segment began with Colbert wandering around before sitting and starting to sing, “Everybody’s talking like they can’t sit down / And looking like they can’t stand up.” And then for the next line, the camera moved to the songwriter of that song,”Jump Up,” Elvis Costello. Then, the song continued with Jon Batiste in a touching inclusion of the former Late Show band leader, and then Louis Cato, the current Late Night band leader.

In my music collection, I have “Jump Up” as a bonus acoustic demo song on my special CD edition of Elvis Costello’s 1977 debut album My Aim is True. Of all the songs in the world, why did Colbert choose an obscure bonus track from the 1970s as the penultimate song for his show?

Colbert has been a fan of the song “Jump Up” for a long time, so, as you can see from the look on his face, it was a joy for him to sing a favorite song with the songwriter. And it must have been cool to then “close” the show with the song and “goodnight,” and then go into the encore where the four “Jump Up” singers joined Paul McCartney for “Hello Goodbye.”

Why “Jump Up”?

But why did Colbert choose the obscure Elvis Costello song, as he loves other songs too? The likely reason for Colbert’s fondness for “Jump Up,” and the reason it worked so well in closing the show, arguably cancelled by CBS at least partly for its criticisms of a thin-skinned Donald Trump, is its satirical take on untrustworhty politicians.

Candidate talkin` on the radio from the “Cheaters Jamboree”;
It must be their latest fool;
`Cause it`s a two-horse race and he changed his bets,
Like it was just another brand of cigarettes.

Way back in 2012, Colbert explained his love of “Jump Up” in this interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air: “I love the song because it’s sort of a satirical song. It’s got a parodic nature to it, or not a parodic nature, but it’s really, it’s got sort of a political, satirical song. And I’ve never discussed this song with Elvis, so I might get a message from Elvis Costello after this interview with you, saying, ‘You know nothing of my work. What are you talking about?’ But I’ve always thought of it as a – it’s sort of like a – it’s a person who is talking about insignificance in the name of power or of something that they want, and also talking about the hypocrisy of politicians.”

Colbert further explained how the song captures a young man on a street corner, looking to get noticed, who has no power. And maybe he felt a little like that with his show’s cancellation. But the song, in Costello’s skillful writing, has a power behind it with its uplifting melody, jokingly making fun of those in power. And isn’t that what The Late Show was always about since the first episode with David Letterman?

For those of us who grew up watching The Late Show since David Letterman started the show, through Colbert’s ongoing journey from The Colbert Report to The Late Show, it was a touching send off, looking back and looking forward.

And the look of joy on Colbert’s face as he sang “Jump Up” with Costello, Batiste, and Cato, I’m sure, far surpassed any joy left in the hearts of the politicians in Washington or the people running CBS.

Hello Goodbye indeed.

Jump up–hold on tight,
Can`t trust the promise or a guarantee;
`Cause the man `round the curve says that he`s never heard,
Of you or me.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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With the price of gasoline surging recently, it is a good time for the rare song that praises the choice of a fuel-efficient car. Perhaps there is no better song referencing the topic than Justin Townes Earle‘s song about the singer’s love for a woman driving a “Champagne Corolla.” In the song, the singer notes how the woman must have a good head on her shoulders because, “She can run all week on just one tank.”

“Champagne Corolla” appeared as the lead track on Justin Townes Earle’s 2017 album, Kids in the Street. At the time, Allmusic praised “Champagne Corolla” as a “stompin’ exercise in New Orleans-influenced R&B.” The song also appeared on the posthumous 2024 All In: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years) in a version Earle had performed on his father Steve Earle’s Satellite radio show (see below). Steve Earle also recorded a nice version of his son’s song on his 2021 album made in tribute to Justin Townes Earle, J.T.

I don’t care what no man say,
She can run all week on just one tank;
Goes to show you,
Maybe baby got a head on her shoulders, yeah;
And she sure looks sweet driving by in that champagne Corolla.

I know every man think that he need some high tone woman,
Something built for speed;
But you can’t trust a rich girl,
No farther than you can throw her;
Need a middle class queen riding by in a champagne Corolla.

As for the car, Toyota has been making Corollas since 1966. As the singer in the song implies, the Corolla is seen as a practical compact car known for its fuel efficiency.

In the video below, Justin Townes Earle, who passed away on August 20, 2020, performs “Champagne Corolla” in May 2017 on Steve Earle’s Hardcore Troubadour Radio show on SiriusXM.

Until there is a great song about an electric car, is “Champagne Corolla” the champagne of songs mentioning fuel efficiency? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Country legend David Allan Coe passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. While articles about his life focus on certain songs he wrote, like “Take This Job and Shove It,” and on certain singles, like “Tennessee Whiskey,” “Longhaired Redneck,” and “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” the man’s vast catalog cannot be summed up by a few songs. And while there will be the usual labels for the Ohio-born Coe, like “Outlaw,” he had a long and complex career full of highs and lows.

And where does one start with David Allan Coe? There were some troubled times, including stints in prison and bankruptcy. But for fans, one has to start with the music. There’s forty-two studio albums, as well as some controversial X-rated independent ones. Among his catalog is some amazing work.

And one way to start is to go back near the beginning. Some of his great songs and recordings came out during the early 1970s before finding wider success and before the rise of Outlaw country. He released his debut album Penitentiary Blues in 1970, including songs he had written in prison.

But before he had much success he worked as a staff songwriter for Window Music publishing, writing songs and creating demos for other artists. In 2005, many of these demos were finally released on For the Soul and for the Mind: Demos of ’71-’74 . Although none of the songs eventually became a hit, as Allmusic notes, they are further evidence that David Allan Coe was a poet.

One of those demos was a song called “Don’t You Cry.” And it seems like a fitting way to say goodbye for now.

Don’t you cry, children;
Don’t you cry
I’ll see you in the sweet bye and bye.

I’ve been staring at tomorrow,
knowing it might never come;
I’ve been talking about salvation,
Thinking I might get me some.

It’s so hard to beat the devil,
When he don’t play by the rules;
And I know that the Savior
Has a special place for fools.

What is your favorite David Allan Coe song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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Oklahoma singer-songwriter John Fullbright has an amazing voice that backs up his fantastic songs. While his albums have received some acclaim, he is one of those artists who does not get the national recognition he deserves.

I first discovered his YouTube cover of a Steve Earle song, and I have been following his career, waiting for his next album. I strongly recommend his album Songs as one of the great Americana albums of the last few decades.

While he does not release albums frequently enough to make me happy, he remains active performing around Oklahoma and elsewhere while also helping other artists. B

Fortunately, the camera was rolling during one of his recent performances at the Summer Breeze concert series in Oklahoma on June 29, 2025. Check it out.

Don’t let Fullbright’s everyman appearance fool you. The band rocks and plays blues, but the highlight for me is when Fullbright stands on the stage solo starting around the 47 minute mark, after which he does some songs solo while playing the piano. In these moving songs about love, heartbreak, death, and God, his ragged voice and the emotion conveys a deep power that touches one’s heart directly.

For some bonus John Fullbright, check out him covering two Elvis Presley songs, “Never Been to Spain / Saved.”

What is your favorite John Fullbright song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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In January 1974, the band Redbone released the single “Come and Get Your Love.” The catchy song, which appeared on the 1973 album Wovoka, rose to number 5 on the Billboard chart by April of that year. Many of those who only heard the song on the radio, though, did not realize the song was making history as the first song by an all-Native and Mexican-American band to have a top 10 hit on the chart.

The man singing lead on the song, Lolly Vegas, also wrote the song and played the guitar and electric sitar on the track. Other members of the band included Tony Bellamy, Peter DePoe and Pat Vegas (Lolly’s brother, who, according to his biography, co-wrote “Come and Get Your Love”).

While their hit song was not a political song, the band recognized the impact of their heritage. On the same album, they included the song “We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee,” which became a hit in the Europe even as the record company refused to release it as a single in the U.S.

The record company and the band instead released “Come and Get Your Love” as the single. Pat Vegas once explained the song is about more than romantic love: “It’s love all around, in every facet and every part of your being, you know? And that’s the message: What’s the matter with your mind and your sign? Come and get your love. In other words, where you come from and who you are doesn’t matter as much as what you believe, and what you feel.”

If you were around in the 1970s, you knew the song from the radio and from it repeatedly playing in your head. More modern listeners may know the song from its many appearances in movies and TV shows, including Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), and F is for Family (Netflix).

But back on February 22, 1974, Redbone performed “Come and Get Your Love” on NBC’s The Midnight Special. They introduced the song with a traditional Native American dance.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

The post The Native American Band Redbone and the Hit Song “Come and Get Your Love” appeared first on chimesfreedom.

Anna Tivel, a singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon, has been recording and performing for more than a decade. Her seventh album Animal Poem was released in August 2025, and has been described as deep “with wisdom into the experience of existence, forgiveness, love for humanity, nature, and reconciliation with mortality.”

On the album, Tivel hoped to capture the spirit of people sitting on a porch playing songs for each other. And she accomplished that goal.

She explained, “Everyone in the studio made it feel so open, made it easy to forget technology and permanence and just play, messy and alive. It’s this vital mess that moves me when I listen now – ghost notes in the high register of the piano, melodic guitar and bass lines briefly interwoven, earthy cymbals breathing, my dog barking. . . . Most of what you hear is just people sitting together in a small room, listening and talking with tenderness and abandon.”

I love the album’s title track, where Tivel spins a number of lessons together into a tribute to living, presented as a poem that one may hear as a bedtime story.

Courage is a tired mom, milk crate and a cardboard sign,
Trying to find a story for her daughter;
This is how the world exists, let me spin it for you kid,
In a way that’s easier to swallow.

Everyone is in a play, characters in constant pain,
Reaching for a way to taste some beauty;
You can be someone who loves, or you can be somebody else;
That’s all there is, you breathe, then you’re not breathing.

Check out “Animal Poem” by Anna Tivel.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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