Aaron Leonard

Whole World in an Uproar by Aaron Leonard is a fascinating look at countercultural music during the long 60s and how the various power structures sought to repress it.

This is less about any out and out censorship attempts and more about the attempts at repression as well as the monitoring, often unlawfully, of artists. Using declassified FBI files as well as memoirs, publications of the period and interviews, we get a view of just how willing the government was, and still is, to impede citizens even if they aren't breaking any laws. Other institutions, from religious groups to media outlets, also readily did what they could to control people by labeling music as evil, whether for pointing out social ills or for bringing races together to enjoy music. Yes, having Blacks and whites enjoying music at the same venue was enough to get the government and the religious right all up in arms.

Reading this account is both nostalgic (the events and people monitored were part of my youth) and informative. In retrospect, some of the names under surveillance seem unfathomable from our current time and knowing how the rest of their lives played out. At the time, however, just by representing change they were considered a threat.

Highly recommended for those interested in social history and music history, and especially where politics and religion intersect with popular culture.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)