There are several musicians who attracted huge audiences and sold millions of albums in the 1960s and 1970s — a half-century ago — who are not only remembered and revered by millions, but also continue to perform.
Two of them, Stephen Stills, 73, and July Collins, 79, are touring together this summer, after releasing an album last fall titled, “Everybody Knows.” My longtime pal Nancy Ferron and I attended their recent concert at the Colonial Theatre in Keene, N.H., finding ourselves emotionally carried away — “uplifted” might be a better word — by the duo’s strong musical-political statement about our times.
Linked very much to the political ferment of the late 1960s, the music spoke for itself and was not accompanied by political commentary from the performers. Nonetheless, the politics of today was like invisible smoke filling the hall.
Stills and Collins had a brief affair in the late 1960s, around the time that his hit song with the group Buffalo Springfield, “For What It’s Worth,” commented on politics this way: “There’s something happening here; what it is ain’t exactly clear. … I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.” On separate personal and musical paths, they went on to become lifelong friends.
Among the songs they chose were “Everybody Knows” by Leonard Cohen (1934-2016), with the words “The poor stay poor, the rich get rich; that’s how it goes; everybody knows.” They also sang “I Won’t Back down” by Tom Petty (1950-2017).
It wasn’t all politics. Commentary about life was a related theme, as they chose songs such as “Chelsea Morning” by Joni Mitchell (now 74) and “Who Knows Where the Time Goes” by Sandy Denny (1947-1978).
The audience, predominantly gray-haired men and women who obviously grew up with this music, responded with emotional enthusiasm. I associate the politics of that era with the counterculture and consciousness-expanding use of cannabis and psychedelic drugs, so I became teary-eyed when Collins sang “Both Sides Now (Clouds),” which was playing when I took my first acid trip in Berkeley, Calif., in 1968.
When Collins sang a new song with this opening line — “My name is Maria; my daughter is a Dreamer” — to a haunting, sad melody, the audience gave her standing ovation. The lyrics were clearly addressed to immigration politics, though Donald Trump’s name was not mentioned.
Following my Facebook post about the concert, Earle Baldwin of Athol called it “an emotional night,” noting he was there, too, with his spouse, Morgan Ban-Droai.
He explained, “Last evening, at the lovely cozy Colonial at Keene, Morgan and I listened and watched as Stephen Stills and Judy Collins called out for sanity and passion for life.”
He added, “The performance was not resignation, nor is Stephen anything but clear eyed; 1968 was horror for our democracy. The 70s were slow in reacting. Parallels fall on us, and we must not concede one inch. That was clean and clear from the stage. Talk of resignation is the real terror.”
Nancy Ferron emailed a few days after the concert to expand on her feelings. She wrote, “I left the concert feeling very uplifted. Though, certainly, part of it was from being in the company of so many politically like-minded people, it was also very much about the beauty of the voices and the relationship between Stills and Collins. It was about hearing those songs and believing that there are still many people, maybe most of the people, who care about the world, and the people in it. I loved the camaraderie among strangers, who danced and sang with giant smiles on their faces.”
A few days later, some fundraising letters came in my mail, as usual, including from my two favorite national environmental organizations, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Earthjustice. These groups are working on issues that I care about deeply, and I’m glad I support them. Upon reading some of the battles they are engaged in, I felt affirmation in my own feelings and connection to environmental and social justice. I felt my experience at the concert in Keene made me more hopeful.