{"id":16835,"date":"2020-11-01T00:11:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T07:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/?p=16835"},"modified":"2020-10-30T11:32:37","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T18:32:37","slug":"arlo-guthrie-and-richie-furay-release-new-songs-of-pandemic-and-patriotism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/arlo-guthrie-and-richie-furay-release-new-songs-of-pandemic-and-patriotism\/","title":{"rendered":"Arlo Guthrie and Richie Furay Release New Songs of Pandemic and Patriotism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Any man under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart, and any man over 30 who is not a conservative has no brains.
\n<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014Winston S. Churchill<\/p>\n

When Winston Churchill was identified with this frequent quote it was taken as the wisdom from an old guy being humorous. Little did anyone know the turn of phrase would play out in the 21st Century. Now, in 2020, former Buffalo Springfield co-founder Richie Furay and Woodstock alumnus Arlo Guthrie have released their respective music videos \u201cAmerica, America\u201d and \u201cHard Times Come Again No More.\u201d They were once considered liberal musicians determined to bring change to the world.<\/p>\n

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Richie Furay<\/p><\/div>

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Arlo Guthrie<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

But today Furay and Guthrie have created a modern illustration of Churchill\u2019s famous quote during this time of patriotism and crisis. I would argue that maybe the term \u201cwisdom\u201d should replace \u201cconservative\u201d in the case of these iconic artists from the decade known as the \u201960s. Neither Furay nor Guthrie would succumb to any easy labels in their music or their political views. Both artists have their roots in 1965 when America was embroiled in the controversy over the Vietnam War, social unrest, racial strife, civil rights, and outspoken activism.<\/p>\n

Furay and Guthrie have noteworthy parallels during their life and times. Furay is known for helping to create an essentially soulful form of good-time country rock while Arlo has spent his career as a folk singer, songwriter, and troubadour of good-humored tales and songs, epitomized in his classic Thanksgiving tale of a mischievous youthful trash-dumping and a commentary on the draft in the Piedmont blues-based talking-blues ramble, \u201cAlice\u2019s Restaurant.\u201d Both artists have moved into more conservative ventures. Both have actively pursued spirituality as the center motivations of their lives. Most recently, both artists have decided to retire from the hard road of touring. Probably most important, these latest music videos from Richie Furay and Arlo Guthrie point to the hope of community as the path to redemption.<\/p>\n

Back in 1966 and beyond, many artists from Richie Furay\u2019s circle of friends responded with powerful songs of protest critical of the government\u2019s actions. The band Furay co-founded in 1965, Buffalo Springfield contributed the landmark song based on the Hollywood riots of 1966, \u201cFor What It\u2019s Worth, written by his bandmate Stephen Stills. The song remains today an anthem for demonstrations and protest as well as a symbol of the times.<\/p>\n

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Buffalo Springfield: Dewey Martin, Stephen Stills, Furay, Neil Young, Jim Messina.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

Through a career that includes co-founding the pioneering country-rock band Poco and a critically successful solo career that spans 40 years, Furay has created a legacy of uplifting and appealing songs of love with the emphasis on the positive. When he converted to Evangelical Christianity in 1975, his debut solo album, I\u2019ve Got a Reason<\/em>, allowed him to translate his experience on an album that stands today as a breakthrough the expression of faith to the rock medium without religious overtones. He would later become a pastor of a Christian non-denominational congregation in Colorado.<\/p>\n