This article is sponsored by Newseum
Since its rise to popularity in the 1950s, rock ‘n’ roll has been one of history’s most influential music genres. Rock performers have enormous influence on their listeners, expressing themselves not only through music, but through their fashion choices, their lifestyles and even their activism. It’s no wonder, then, that certain iconic performers continue to rock attitudes about social change around the world.
“Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics,” an exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., explores the impact rock music has had on society, with artifacts from rock’s greatest legends. The exhibit is on display through July 31, 2017.
Patty Rhule, director of exhibit development at the Newseum, said that “Louder Than Words” displays one-of-a-kind artifacts from the “gods and goddesses of rock who have effected social change over the last 50 years.” Here are just five of the incredible artifacts on display:
- John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” guitar
One of the most beloved peace anthems of all time was written and recorded in a hotel room in Montreal, Canada, during John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s honeymoon in 1969. Lennon and Ono invited reporters into their room at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel for the couple’s second “bed-in for peace” protesting the Vietnam War. There, Lennon recorded the immortal song, “Give Peace a Chance.” You can see the guitar he used at the Newseum’s “Louder Than Words” exhibit.
“Give Peace a Chance” has been sung at peace demonstrations worldwide ever since, including during the National Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, when Pete Seeger led half a million people in singing the song in Washington, D.C.
Fascinating Fact: Lennon drew and carved caricatures of himself and Ono into the acoustic guitar.
- Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to his 1963 song, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
The night after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Bob Dylan opened his concert with a performance of his newly released song, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” The crowd was electrified. The Newseum’s exhibit displays Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to the song and his harmonica. Dylan’s song became an anthem for the seismic social changes that echoed throughout the 1960s, and the lyrics still resonate today.
Fascinating Fact: Dylan also wrote a song condemning the military industrial complex, “Masters of War,” which you can hear in the Newseum’s interactive kiosk, “Songs of War.”
- Bruce Springsteen’s notebook of lyrics for 1984’s “Born in the USA” and the clothes he wore on the album cover
Often mistaken as a patriotic song, “Born in the USA” was actually Bruce Springsteen’s commentary on the poor treatment and lack of opportunity Vietnam veterans faced upon returning home from the war. The Newseum’s “Louder Than Words” exhibit displays his notebook with handwritten lyrics for the song, and the jeans, t-shirt, cap and belt he wore for the famous album cover.
The song topped charts around the world. When presidential candidate Ronald Reagan referenced the song’s “message of hope” in a 1984 campaign speech, Springsteen said he wondered if Reagan had listened to the lyrics.
Fascinating Fact: Springsteen was rejected for military service in Vietnam because of injuries from a motorcycle accident. His selective service card and 4F rejection notice is also on display at the Newseum.
- Cyndi Lauper’s red pumps, which she wore on the cover of her 1983 album, “She’s So Unusual”
Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” captured the new spirit of feminism that smashed social, religious and sexual boundaries in the early 1980s. The red leather pumps she wore on the album cover are on display in the Newseum exhibit, “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics.”
The song’s message of female empowerment continues to inspire women today.
Fascinating Fact: “She Bop,” another song on Lauper’s debut album, was an ode to female sexuality. It earned a place on the Parents Music Resource Center’s list of “Filthy 15” songs the group wanted to be labeled for adult content.
- Kendrick Lamar’s musical arrangement for a 2015 performance of “Alright”
Artists today continue to influence social change with their music. This has never been more evident than with Kendrick Lamar, whose song “Alright” has become an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement protesting police violence against black Americans. Lamar delivered a groundbreaking performance of the song with the National Symphony Orchestra in 2015 at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center.
Lamar’s personal musical arrangement of “Alright” is on display at the Newseum, along with a playbill from his Kennedy Center performance.
Fascinating Fact: Pharrell Williams co-wrote “Alright” with Lamar. Lamar was inspired to write the song after a trip to Africa.
Created in partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, “Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics” features 164 artifacts that explore the power of rock to change attitudes about patriotism, peace, equality and freedom. The exhibit is open at the Newseum through July 31.
