MAY 3rd - You Can Have That



On this day in 1958, Alan Freed, an early rock n’ roll DJ credited with starting the craze and coining the phrase, hosted a rock concert in Boston. Chuck Berry. Jerry Lee Lewis. Sounds like a great show. But by the end of it rock n’ roll was banned in Boston, Freed was suspended from his job at WINS, and he was also charged with inciting a “riot.” All because the po-po wouldn’t let the young audience dance to the music, and Freed made a comment about the cops not wanting the kids to have any fun. A fight broke out and Freed was blamed. So basically he got charged with a crime for being Kevin Bacon’s character from Footloose. It is amazing to me that dancing could be considered to be such a big deal. It’s why I tend to roll my eyes when people wax poetic about how great things were back in the day. Back when police freaked out when kids wanted to dance to music. Those monsters. Every era has issues. But then I guess there has to be a tipping point too. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it didn’t accept rock n’ roll and devolve into debauchery in a day either. But Rome certainly did devolve. So I get the fear that each generation has about Godlessness and moral bankruptcy. But parents in 1958 thought that was because of rock n’ roll music. And granted, rock n’ roll is not known for its moral compass. Allowing teens to fit in. Finding an understanding voice. A voice to which to relate. A discovery of passion. A questioning of authority instead of blind trust. All of that can be moral too. I don’t pretend to know if America is sliding into irreparable depravity. And there is certainly a balance that can be found. But I do know I’d pretty pissed if I went to a concert and it was shut down because I was dancing. You can have that.

This Day has been Marked.

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