Music History Events: Protests
January 18, 1968 Joan Baez is released from jail after serving 31 days for a protest where she and other antiwar demonstrators blocked the entrance to the Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California. "Jail is really peanuts," she tells reporters. "It's nothing for people like us."
December 31, 1967 Sonny and Cher are suddenly disinvited to appear at tomorrow's Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, after publicly backing the "Sunset Strip Rioters," teenagers protesting the city's new curfew.
December 19, 1967 For the second time, Joan Baez is arrested for leading a sit-in at the Armed Forces Induction Center in Oakland, California to protest the Vietnam War. She's sentenced to 45 days in prison but released after 31.
October 16, 1967 Folk singer Joan Baez is among 124 antiwar protesters arrested for blocking entrance to an Army Induction Center in Oakland, California. She serves 10 days in jail but is undeterred: Two months later she takes part in another protest at the same facility that lands her more jail time.
August 13, 1967 A planned Joan Baez concert at Washington DC's Constitution Hall is canceled after the Daughters of the American Revolution protest her recent anti-war remarks concerning Vietnam.
July 24, 1967 In response to their friend John Hopkins being sentenced to nine months in jail for marijuana possession, The Beatles take out full-page ad in The Times of London calling for legalization of the drug. "The law against marijuana is immoral in principle and unworkable in practice," it reads.
April 5, 1967 Monkees fans march in London in protest of band member Davy Jones' announced induction into the Army. The teen heartthrob is eventually exempted from duty for being his family's main provider.
November 12, 1966 Teens on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip protesting a recent curfew are beaten by police, inspiring Stephen Stills to write the Buffalo Springfield hit "For What It's Worth."
June 11, 1965 Some MBE (Members of the British Empire) recipients return their awards in protest when it is announced that The Beatles will be honored with the award. The group is generally mystified, but their older relatives seem thrilled, so they accept the awards at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.
March 24, 1965 Bobby Darin, Harry Belafonte, and Peter, Paul & Mary take part in a protest against voter discrimination in Montgomery, Alabama.
April 4, 2017 Pepsi posts a commercial featuring the Skip Marley protest song "Lions" that is pulled the next day amid controversy that it makes light of actual protests.More
August 21, 2015 When the Westboro Baptist Church, famous for their anti-gay demonstrations, stage a protest before a Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City, the band responds by driving a truck in front of the demonstrators and Rickrolling them by blasting Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."More
February 21, 2012 In an anti-Kremlin protest, three members of the band Pussy Riot perform an impromptu, obscenity-filled song at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow. They are promptly ejected, and later arrested for hooliganism, making headlines around the world.
January 28, 2005 Members of the "Free Fiona" movement protest outside Sony headquarters in New York City, encouraging the label to release Fiona Apple's long-delayed third album, which shows up in October. As part of the campaign, members also mailed apple-related items (foam apples, pictures of apples) to Sony.
February 15, 2003 With war in Iraq imminent, millions march for peace around the world, including System Of A Down, who shoot the video for their song "Boom" at the protests with Michael Moore directing.
August 14, 2000 Rage Against The Machine play a free protest concert in Los Angeles across the street from the Staples Center, where the Democratic National Convention is being held. After the show, police fire rubber bullets and use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
December 8, 1998 Yoko Ono spreads some Christmas cheer via a billboard in New York's Times Square, reprising her 1969 campaign with the message "War is Over! If you want it. Happy Christmas from John & Yoko."
April 13, 1996 Seconds before their first Saturday Night Live performance, Rage Against the Machine's roadies place upside-down American flags on their amplifiers in a band-sanctioned protest of the American political system - billionaire candidate Steve Forbes is hosting the show. The SNL crew quickly tears them down, and the band is booted from building without a second song.
July 18, 1993 Rage Against The Machine protest music censorship by appearing at their Lollapalooza set in Philadelphia completely nude except for duct tape over their mouths. They refuse to play any music, and simply stand for 25 minutes with the letters PMRC written on their chests, a reference to the Parents Music Resource Center.
October 25, 1992 The "Sinead Brigade," a group supporting Sinéad O'Connor, who tore up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live a few weeks earlier, protests outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, where Cardinal John O'Connor is holding mass. Wearing masks of O'Connor, they mimic her display by tearing up photos of the Pope.
May 30, 1990 Australian rockers Midnight Oil make headlines when they stage a protest concert outside of the Exxon building in New York City in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill that devastated Prince William Sound in Alaska the year before. Vocalist Peter Garrett says: "We can't treat the world like a garbage dump, and there's more to life than profit and loss."More
April 12, 1990 Sinead O'Connor refuses to appear as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in protest of the guest host, comedian Andrew Dice Clay.
October 2, 1980 Members of the First Assembly Church of God in Ankeny, Iowa, burn various books and albums they deem Satanic in influence and that encourage "pre-marital sex, homosexuality and immorality." Albums set ablaze include the Woodstock soundtrack and elections from Peter Frampton and The Beatles.
June 24, 1978 Jackson Browne and Pete Seeger perform in Seabrook, New Hampshire, to protest a nuclear reactor planned for the site. It's one of the first "no nukes" rallies where musicians get involved, and it leads to a more organized effort: Musicians United For Safe Energy (MUSE), which also involves Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor. The Seabrook plant is built, but efforts to build more are thwarted, as opposition to nuclear power becomes more vociferous.
December 20, 1967 Joan Baez and her mother are sentenced to 45 days in prison for the singer's part in the Oakland Demonstration, where she protested the draft. They're abruptly released after serving 31 days.
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