The Power of Music of The Baby Boomer Generation Changed a Nation!

Buffalo Springfield, left to right: Stephen Stills,
Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Richie Furay,
Neil Young - Wikipedia

One era of time in our country’s history clearly illustrates the power of music and that is of the 1960’s and 1970’s when a movement of socially conscious musicians, who were disturbed by war and the path they felt the government was taking the country, led a young generation to force a change. Music and lyrics started playing the battle cries of a generation who knew the power that this music possessed. It caused the Baby Boomer generation to come together for a purpose of change that could not be ignored. The music didn’t make the change. It brought together a young generation of people who then felt the power they had to shout a message that was unified and undeniable. The government and the mainstream media heard them clearly and one of our nation’s clearest marks of how people can change a nation where imprinted in history. The power of music made that all happen.

Some of the earliest and most influential songwriters who helped use that power were Stephen Stills and Neil Young. There are many others, but these two came together in their beginnings of success and influence in a band named “Buffalo Springfield” and their first successful song, “For What It’s Worth”, written by Stephen Stills. Today’s generations hear this song and others of those times in the numerous movies about the Vietnam War, such as “Forrest Gump”. The music is included in these movies to not only show the role that music played, but to bring that same power to the movie itself.

Here is one of those first songs that made a generation come together and realize the power they had to make change happen.

(Clip of Monterey Pop Concert, 1987 from http://www.rockpeaks.com/)

These social changing musicians were just kids who were influenced by rock n’ roll of the 1950’s and The Beatles, who picked up some guitars and formed bands to have some fun. Their years of growing from teenagers living at home to becoming adults and seeing how much the government was going to direct their lives. They faced being drafted and forced to go to a war that did not have the same clear reason that their parents faced when World War II began. These musicians felt a spark ignite within them and they used music to release their feelings into stories and messages of social change. The rest of the country’s youth heard the same messages, uniting them for a movement of change.


Today's movement of unrest brought on by mistrust of financial, big corporations and government partisanship and special interests have their various portions of the population coming together, but using the Internet as their tool of today. The Internet lacks the passion and power that music has in our daily lives. Music was the key before and only music has that power of movement. The best thing about this emotional power of music is that it can't be bought by the haves to manipulate for their greedy purposes. Music has a truth within it, which is the reason for it's ability to grab onto the soul and inspire to do great things!