BILL MESNIK OF THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENTS A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING "SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET"- SONG TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD -- ALICE'S RESTAURANT MASSACREE BY ARLO GUTHRIE (REPRISE, 1967). EPISODE #85

DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

From Bill:
Reflecting upon the recent death of Alice Brock, the lady who lived in the bell tower of the abandoned church in Stockbridge, MA, along with her husband, Ray, (and Vacha, the dog) -, and who hosted the now legendary Thanksgiving feast attended by young Arlo Guthrie, that time when he got arrested trying to do his hosts a solid by dumping their excessive garbage - which subsequently soiled his record, making him ineligible for the draft. Well, reflecting upon this landmark recording made me realize how much Arlo and his song had been fundamental to my life-long, anti-authoritarian world view. And how, years later, when the war had escalated, and my turn came up for the draft, even though I escaped with a high lottery number, I was already weighing my options.

I was only 14 when the song was released, but it hipped me to the absurdity of the war in Viet Nam, the legal system, and petty bureaucrats in general. Arlo accomplished this “us against them” subversion with genial irony, which he delivered with an easy charm - not to mention an impressive Travis picking style. It didn’t hurt that he had the name recognition as the scion of the OG of poetical protest singers, Woody Guthrie, whose song “This Land is Your Land,” almost became our national anthem, and was the adopted relative of “uncle” Pete Seeger, whose signature sing-along method of inspiring social change Arlo employs so effectively here.

It was a cultural bombshell, and a first in many ways: At 18 minutes, FM radio usually played it in three separate parts making each rotation an event. It was the longest song to ever gain radio play when spun in its entirety. However, here at the Hotel Bohemia, time has no meaning, so it can be played all the way through on a continuous loop. Alice will be hosting her first post-mortal Turkey Day, so let’s spin it again in her honor.
BEST WISHES FROM BILL AND RICH, THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS!