4 Times Rock Stars Weren’t Afraid To Stand up for What’s Right

The heart of rock music, for at least some of its evolutions, has been steeped in counterculture. It’s a rebellious form of music that continues to stick it to the man today. Let’s take a look at just four times that famous rock stars weren’t afraid to stand up for what was right; sometimes at their own detriment.

1. Neil Young Said “No Thanks” To Spotify

This is a more modern example of rock stars who weren’t afraid to stand up for their beliefs. Back in 2022, Neil Young demanded that his management pull his music from the streaming platform Spotify. 

The reason? He was angry that the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience had become affiliated with the platform, and Young was not happy about Rogan’s propensity for spreading misinformation, specifically medical misinformation. Spotify refused to remove Joe Rogan from their platform, so Young pulled his music. A few fellow artists like Joni Mitchell followed suit.

2. The Beatles Declined Concerts in Segregated States

The Beatles stuck to their guns in 1964 when they kicked off their very first tour in the United States. The Fab Four was planning on performing at one Jacksonville, Florida venue that year, but discovered that the audience had been segregated by the organizers. 

Once The Beatles noticed it, they refused to play the concert; John Lennon even took to the stage to say “We never play to segregated audiences and we aren’t going to start now.” The crowd was eventually allowed to merge together, and the whole debacle is considered a major moment at the conjunction of music and the Civil Rights movement.

3. MC5 Performed an Eight-Hour Protest of The Vietnam War

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago, 1968, marked one of the biggest protests and most notable acts of police brutality in the history of the United States. 

Plenty of bands and musicians showed up to protest the Vietnam War, but proto-punk outfit MC5 was among the most notable. The band performed an insanely long eight-hour concert, which subsequently ended in a riot in which police attacked protesters. A riot may not have been intended, but MC5 stood up for what was right in their own way through music.

4. Paul Simon Opts To Make Music With South African Musicians

Paul Simon boycotted South African concerts along with a number of other famous musicians in the 1980s. However, around 1984, he opted to travel to the country to make music with a group of South African musicians, which resulted in the album Graceland.

Some thought that Simon was breaking the boycott for his own personal (and financial) gain. However, Simon argued that he decided to travel to South Africa in order to provide a platform to South African musicians who were suffering under Apartheid, an act which he said was done to try to help the country from within.

Photo by Daily Express/Archive Photos/Getty Images

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