Personally I watched race relations change when rock'n'roll shows came to town.
There were three versions of Universal Soldier that were on the radio. Buffy St. Marie's own, Donovan's and Glen Campbell's. The Viet Nam war and Country Joe & The Fish's Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag set us up for Imagine.
Except for hateful, stupid jokes from the same thugs who bragged about "nigger nocking,'" the idea of homosexuality never even crossed my young mind. Nothing seemed "gay" about Little Richard to me in 1956 but I knew something was different. Better. I didn't "accept" Little Richard. I idolized him. Still do.
Oh, I could go on. And on. Sexual mores. Intellectual honesty. Politics. Fashion.
Louis Jordan, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie, Wynonie Harris, Bill Haley, Bo Diddley, Elvis, Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield, Bruce Springsteen...
You know the list. You've got your own list.
Rock'n'roll has saved us over and over in my lifetime. Come on rock'n'roll, save us again.
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