This summer commemorates the 50^th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. This “movement” constituted a new awareness in our society’s so called “counter culture.” For many it represented a cosmic awareness unprecedented in our Nation’s history. 

Cue the grainy color film stock of long haired hippies, dancing around flashing peace signs and smiling into the camera. Cue the Mamas and the Papas’ California Dreamin’ or the Byrd’s Turn, Turn, Turn. Show footage of young, mostly white people flocking to the first ever pop festival in Monterey, California, and then cut to Scott McKenzie singing San Francisco, “If you’re going to San Francisco / be sure to wear some flowers in your hair / If you’re going to San Francisco / you’ll meet some gentle people there.”

Before you get too carried away Mrs. Robinson and before Elaine dumps Benjamin Braddock for Jerry Garcia, I think we should talk.

There was another America…Black America. It was spilling its blood and getting shot to pieces in Southeast Asia. This America found out that gains in civil rights would soon be met with brutal mass incarcerations. So as 100 years of Jim Crow finally came to an official end, slavery returned to the African-American community. The government called it the war on drugs. I call it another way to enslave and exploit black males for cheap labor.

These oppressed and newly subjugated individuals couldn’t give a rat’s ass as to how groovy Simon and Garfunkel felt.

They still had their own music and just because commercial interests all but ignored most of it, that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. Oh, and guess what? It was different and yes, it was better. So, here at the JUNCTION we very often take a different look at history. We look at the flip side of that summer. It is the side of that summer that most Americans don’t see as we still view history through purple haze colored glasses.

Albert King’s first recording at Stax, Born Under a Bad Sign, Magic Sam’s West Side Soul as well as B.B. King’s Blues is King, for instance all came out in 1967. All three of these recordings represent different sides of the blues and were hugely influential in the ongoing development of blues music.

I thought it would be appropriate to revisit 1967’s Blues is King and look at another side of the summer of love through a man who seemed to loved everybody, unconditionally and forever, B.B. King.

Our monthly artist spotlight shines on the founder of the Cash Box Kings, Joe Nosek. This Chicago blues collective just released their first album on Alligator Records, Royal Mint.

Alligator Records is also releasing a brand-new album this month by one of their flagship artists, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats. Groovin’ in Greaseland is set to be released on August, 11th. With this in mind we leave the two-part Rick Estrin interview on the top shelf here in August. We have also dusted off a three year-old interview with the Nightcats’ guitarist, Kid Andersen, and placed it next to the Estrin interview. I point this out as Rick Estrin and the Nightcats will be playing in support of that new album at the upcoming San Diego Blues Festival.

We preview the San Diego Blues Festival in this edition of our monthly ezine. This festival is always one of the highlights on our calendar. Once again festival producer, Michael Kinsman, has hit it out of the park. I look forward to visiting with many of our readers who will be attending this event. 

One of the performers this year is the San Diego based band Blue Largo. The guitarist in that band is Eric Lieberman. He is also a writer and occasional contributor to BLUES JUNCTION. Read his thoughts on an outstanding new album by Nathan James entitled What I Believe. That new release sits in our Monthly Album Spotlight. You can also find that in the “New Arrivals” section on Charlie Lange’s Bluebeat Music website.

Many of those new arrivals are brand new recordings like Nathan’s. Others are re-issues and from time to time we get Charlie to roundup a bunch of these exciting new/old recordings and present them in a feature we call Charlie’s Re-Issue Rodeo. I would also like to point out that Charlie and his traveling Bluebeat Music record (CD) store will be at the San Diego Blues Festival. 

I take a look at some brand-new recordings which simply are outstanding. Our August Recommended Listening feature focuses on the music being put out by Germany’s Rhythm Bomb Records (RBR). The folks over at RBR remind us that blues music can be fresh, exciting, fun and full of youthful exuberance without sacrificing what has made it so beautiful for so long. These recordings, which come from musicians based in Norway, Sweden, France, Italy and England, all feature new ideas and are presented within the context of what is generally regarded as traditional blues.

I also urge our readers to do your patriotic duty and join us in the resistance movement. I urge you to check out our page entitled, The Resistance is NOT Futile! and the latest editorial I have written on this topic entitled The Mercy Rule.

Getting back to the summer of love 50 years ago, no one is likely to confuse 2017 with love or even summer, as hatred and winter has descended upon this once great nation. It happened shortly after that short lived utopian myth that was all but gone even before the summer of ‘67 was over. By 1968 America had its most turbulent and violent year since the civil war and elected Richard Nixon, the law and order candidate, to restore some sense of order.

Now nearly 50 years later we have roughly 5% of the world’s population. We also have roughly 25% of the world’s imprisoned population. A hugely disproportionate number of these individuals are of course African-American. They aren’t just laboring in the fields, on the land that we stole from the indigenous people, but engaged in all sorts of manufacturing enterprises run by our prison system. What these new slaves have in common with their ancestors from the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries is that they aren’t allowed to vote.

Blues music is a lot of things to a lot of people. To me it represents freedom, redemption and hope. These are the things that can make America great again in as much as we choose to engage in these ideals. We at BLUES JUNCTION have always believed in three great underlaying principles which have guided our mission since day one. They are now openly under attack by the Trump Administration. By way of reminder to our longtime readers they are Education, Equality and the Environment.

This full-time labor of love is made possible by you, our readers. If you enjoy what you read here at the JUNCTION and want to join us in celebrating our mighty cultural tradition known as the blues, you are welcome to hit one of our PayPal buttons and take a few seconds to make a contribution.

For the moment anyway, we have expanded our mission to include the fight against tyranny. Thanks always for the thoughtful letters and correspondences on social media. Be well and be in touch.

-     - David Mac

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