American Association for Public Opinion Research

The Popular Protest Song: The Case of "Eve of Destruction" Author(s): R. Serge Denisoff and Mark H. Levine Source: The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Spring, 1971), pp. 117-122 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2747908 . Accessed: 14/04/2011 06:18
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THE POPULAR PROTEST SONG: THE CASE OF "EVE OF DESTRUCTION"

BY R. SERGE DENISOFF AND MARK H. LEVINE*

of During the past severalyearsthe functionand social effect popular music has drawn considerable attention.A cursoryexamination of these discussionsfindsmuch disagreement upon the sociopolitical effect popular music. One interpretation of sees popular songs as a formof "backgroundnoise" whichhas littlemeaningwhen examined as a total entity. David Reisman has conceptualizedpopular music as a manifestation "social atomization,"with individual hits being of sandwichedin betweencommercialand diffuse musical genres.' Given this"disconnectedness" radio programing, of listeners werenot believed to be comprehendingthe sentimentsof Top Forty songs. Jacques Barzun expanded on this argument, adding that the pervasiveness of music in Americansocietyreducesit to littlemore than a narcotizing "thresholdof sound" against which individuals performtheir daily tasks.This role of music,he continues,leads to "an increasingresistance to words... whichis ... reinforced the desireto move into a by world of sensationsremotefromthose of workdaylife."2The sensate aspect of popular music is supportedby the fewstudiesof Hit Parade

songs undertaken during 1940's and 1950's.3 the

In juxtaposition,an increasingnumberof writers have come to see popular music as an opinion formation device. The Beatles, particularly, have been describedas "hypnotizing" and "brainwashing" American teenagers.4 handful of social scientists A have portrayedpopular music as evocativeof a new "social ethic" while at the same time rejecting the "old order." Robinson and Hirsch, illustratively, present

* The writers,who are, respectively, Associate Professorand Teaching Assistant at Bowling Green State University,would like to thank Robert Dannehold and Marjorie Elovich for their assistance in the preparation of this paper. 1 David Reisman, Individualism Reconsidered, New York, Free Press, 1954. 2 Jacques Barzun, Music in American Life, New York, Doubleday, 1958, pp. 23-24. 3 Cf. Donald Horton, "The Dialogue of Courtship in Popular Songs," American Journal of Sociology,Vol. 62, 1962, pp. 569-578; John Peatman, "Radio and Popular Music," in Paul Lazarsfeld and Frank Stanton, eds., Radio Research: 1942-I943, New York, Duell, Sloane, and Pearce, 1944, pp. 335-393, and James T. Carey, "Changing Courtship Patternsin the Popular Song," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 74, 1969, pp. 720-731. 4 "Pop Songs 'Brainwash' Youth, Agnew Asserts," Toledo Times, September 15, 1970, p. 3; David A. Noebel, Communism, Hypnotism, and the Beatles, Tulsa, Christian Crusade Publications, 1965.

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popular songs as "condemningwar, concerningdrugs, or attacking the 'statusquo.' "B Reisman, in treatingpopular songs,polarizes listenersinto a majorityand a minority. The latterunit is one "in whichcertainsocially rebellious themesare encapsulated."6Other studies also have linked songs of protestwith deviant and revolutionary groups.7These endeavorssuggestthat some typeof group interaction cohesionmust or be presentforthe transfer sociopoliticalsentiments. of Lazarsfeldand Merton,in theirclassic studyof radio propaganda,indicate that propaganda by itselfis not sufficient, also must involve what they but termed "supplementation."One evidence of this process is a Billy Graham crusade,where convertsare urged to come forthand make their"stand forChrist,"following prayers and singing.8 The preceding review of the literaturesuggeststhe hypothesisthat popular songs could not be particularly effective devices forconveying sociopolitical sentiments. in termsof propaganda can be definedas inEffectiveness volving three components:(i) the significance the material to the of listener; (2) legibilityof the material; and (3) action upon the mesit sage after has been received-supplementation. As Reisman and Barzun suggest, radio music by itselfis not sufficient to be effective propaganda. Reisman and Barzun insistthat the wordsof popular songsare not particularly the important. Therefore, of lyrics popular songswitha sociopoliticalcontextshould not be particularlylegible to those hearing them on the Top Fortyidiom. We that those personswho have been exposed to protest can hypothesize will not be able to interpret message.Finally,if the two propthe songs thenlittlesocial involvement with the lyric are correct, ositionsabove of itself to be expected.These threepropositions effectiveis or thesong "Eve of ness were testedwith respectto the popular and controversial believed to contain much sociopolitical propaDestruction,"a song ganda. memberof a commerIn August of 1965, BarryMcGuire, a former the ChristyMinstrels, recorded "Eve of Decial folk-singing group, whichwas written a 1g-year writer, F. Sloan. Deold P. struction," by
5 John P. Robinson and Paul Hirsch, "Teenage Response to Rock and Roll Protest Songs," paper read at American Sociological Association meetings,San Francisco, 1969, p. 4. Robert A. Rosenstone,"The Times They Are A-Changin," Annals, Vol. 38i, March, 1969, pp. 131-144. 6 Reisman, op. cit., p. 411. 7 Cf. R. Serge Denisoff,"American Protest Songs of War and Peace: A Selected Bibliography and Discography," Los Angeles, Center for the Study of Armament and Disarmament,California State College, 1970. 8 Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert K. Merton, "Mass Communication, Popular and Organized Social Action," in Lyman Bryson, ed., Communication of Ideas, New York, Harper, 1948, pp. 78-115.

THE POPULAR PROTEST SONG

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spite severalorganizedcampaignsby the Radical Right and othersopposed to it to ban the record,the song became the numberone selling 45 rpm recordin the United Statesforseveralweeks.Afterfiveweeks of airplay the song was ranked first the Billboard rating in San in Francisco, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Pittsburgh. In Baltimoreand Washington"Eve" was ranked numbertwo. Unlike other popular songs "Eve of Destruction" was a political dissent song stressing point thatman was on the brinkof nuclear annihilathe tion. The significance the piece was thatit was the first of protest song dealingwithspecific issuesto reachthisheightof popularity. Using a narrative style, songdocumented, emotionally the in charged terminology, manyof the areas of discordin theworld and stressed the notion that unless man became aware and involved,nuclear disaster would befallmankind.The following lyrics illustrative: are The Eastern world is explodin' it Violence flarin' bullets and loadin' You'reold enough kill, notfor to but votin ... If thebutton pushed, is there's running no away. There'llbe no one tosave, with world a grave the in ... Ah,youdon'tbelieve we'reon theeve ofdestruction. Take a lookaround boy, you boundto scare boy, you Ah,youdon'tbelieve we're theeveofdestruction on ... The last line servedas a chorusand was repeatedfourtimes,followed by a harmonica riff further emphasizingthe chorus. Each new verse chroniclesvarious dysfunctions Americansociety.This structure in is for customary political protestsongs,e.g. labor and civil rightssongs such as "Join the CIO" or "We Shall Overcome." The major difference, here,was that the music was rhythmical dance music in a mass medium,ratherthan the more standardized"folk" or "hymnal"structurewhich stresses lyrics the ratherthan the music.At the time "Eve" was receiving maximumexposure,a numberof topical song writers in the folkidiom and musiccritics objected to and questionedtheuse of a commercialdance genre to communicatesocial protest.9 "Eve of Deto struction" seemed an ideal opportunity analyze the question of the of effectiveness popular songswithsociopoliticalmessages. In Septemberof 1965, when "Eve of Destruction"was at the top of the national charts,a questionnairewas administeredto a stratified sample of sociologystudentsat San Francisco State College ranging fromincomingfreshmen graduate students.This choice of sample to was predicated upon two considerations:(1) sociology studentsare
* "Eve of Destruction," Copyright 1965 Trousdale Music Publishers, Inc., words and music by P. F. Sloan, Steve Barri. 9 Tom Paxton, "Folk Rot," Sing Out! Vol., 15, January1966,pp. io-104.

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generallyregardedas more "liberal" in their political views; and (2) the capricious nature of the Top Fortyand a local campaign to ban "Eve" fromthe airwavespromptedthe use of the mostreadilyaccessible sample. The reason that a sample believed to be sympathictoward the lyrics was chosenwas thatin a studyof a local junior collegeconsidered "conservative," respondents were highlycriticalof the song and its appearanceon theTop Forty. This finding withseveralconcorresponded tentanalysesofprotest songsin social movements, whichgenerally were designedto appeal to believers.'0Maximum effectiveness, appeared, it would be shownby a sample believed to be favorableto themessagein ''Eve of Destruction."' The respondents were asked a numberof open-endedopinion questionsfocusedon the notionof legibility and involvement with thematerial. The main question we were interestedin was, Did the Top Fortylistenerscomprehendthe intended messageof the song? Sloan definedthe meaningof the song as the nuclear weapon being a "cloud hangingoverme all the time."For Sloan, "this is" the reality. Further, the song impliesthat"if the world is full of hate, we have to changeit to love." One of the questionsposed to the students was, "If you have listened to the 'Eve of Destruction,' can you interpret lines, 'take the a look around you boy,bound to scareyou boy.' " The responses this to question were then rated as "understoodtheme,""partiallycorrect" and "incorrectdescription"by three judges. The findingsare presented in Table i. There was total agreement classifying on 86.9 per cent of the responses;two of the threejudges concurredon 13.1 per cent. A majorityof respondents eitherwould not or could not interpret the meaning of the song correctly, apparentlylending supportto the Reisman-Barzunview of popular music. Of those studentswho had heard the protestsong, 14 per cent interpreted song correctly the and TABLE 1
CORRECTNESS OF INTERPRETATIONS OF "EVE OF DESTRUCTION" AND OF "UNIVERSAL SOLDIER"

Correctness Category Understood theme Partially understood theme Did notunderstand theme No response

"Eve ofDestruction" ( 56) 14.0% (179) 44.8 ( 93) 23.3 ( 72) 18.0
(400) 100.0%

"Universal Soldier" (151) 46.8 ( 64) 19.8

( 57) 17.6% ( 51) 15.8

(323) 100.0%

10 R. Serge Denisoff,"Protest Movements: Class Consciousness and the Propaganda Song," Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 9, 1968,pp. 228-247.

THE POPULAR PROTEST

SONG

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45 per cent partiallycorrectly. Twenty-three cent gave totallyinper correct answers, and 18 per cent did not respond.The nonrespondents who had heard "Eve" were considered as not having been affected by the song.This judgmentwas based upon the factthatall the availrate able studiesdealing with "protestsongs" reportan above-average of nonresponse, which seems to support the Barzun position of backgroundnoise.'1 The respondents were also asked to interpret anothersong, "Universal Soldier," with the answersbeing coded and sortedin the same manneras "Eve." However,in this case only the titleof the song was providedand no lyrics otherinformation supplied.'2This techor was nique was utilized to determine whetherprovidinga line from"Eve" had in factskewedthe results. The percentage thosewho had heard "UniversalSoldier" and did of not understandits themewas over twice that of those incorrectly responding to "Eve." Either the greaterexposure of "Eve" on the Top Fortydid increaseits legibility, the supplementary or information provided in thequestionnaire had some impact.
DISCUSSION

Totally correct interpretations the themesof the pop songsunder of consideration, even with a segmentof the lyric provided, is rather small (14-17 per cent). This confirms part Robinson and Hirsch's in findings regarding relationships Michigan teenagers "deviant the of to songs" on the Top Forty.However, the partiallycorrectcategoryis significantly larger here than in Michigan. This discrepancyis undoubtedlycolored by differences the two samples. The sample rein portedhere was composedof college students believed in favorof the songsin question.Robinson and Hirschrandomly sampledhigh school in students two Michigan cities. Our paper also supportsRobinson and Hirsch and Reisman in suggestingthat protestsongs appeal to only a small segmentof the socalled "Big Sound" audience. Propaganda songs may still be geared only to "converting the faithful," and may evoke negative responses in fromnonbelievers, Sorokin'ssenseof idealisticmusic.'3This subject requiresfurther research.
Robinson and Hirsch, op. cit., p. 12. The lyrics to "Universal Soldier" were withheld from the respondentsto control for the intrusion of a supplied lyric. Also, the explicitness of "Universal Soldier" made the use of an excerpt from the piece self-defeating measuring the in respondents' ability to interpret Top Forty material. All three judges agreed in classifying81.4 per cent of the responses; two of the three, on i8.6 per cent. 13Cf. Pitirim A. Sorokin, Social and Cultural Dynamics: Fluctuation of Forms of Art, V. 1, New York, American Book Co., 1937, pp. 531-594.
11 12

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One inference here fromstudiesof the political use of televisionis that while listenersdo tend to tune in candidates and commentaries congenialto theirown ideological set,the use of a disconnective idiom such as the Top Fortywill createa negativereaction.The reason for this appears to be that the listener has control,at least by turningthe set on and off, networkprograming. of The listenerto the Top Forty does not have any controlover contentif he desiresto hear music. In thislattercontext, negativeresponses maybe intensified. This studyalso has implicationsfor the methodologicalaspects of the studyof popular music. Horton,Carey,and othershave presented extensivecontentanalyses of popular songs as indicatorsof teenage mores and values.14These indicators,if not legible to potential receivers,may only be reflective what record producersbelieve the of marketwill bear. This is especiallytrue of the popular music of the 1950's,when professional songwriters-"overthirty"-composedmost Top Fortysongs. The samplingof reactionsto popular songsis anotherarea of difficulty. The high number of nonrespondents, here as well as in the Michigan study,indicatesthat the classroomsetting may be a barrier. The "intellectual"responses also mayhave been affected the college by milieu. But the environmental problem, believe,has to be balanced we againsttimeconsiderations. The ideal timeto administer questionnaires about popular songs is while the material is receivingmaximumairplay. Given the rathershortlifespan of pop singles,especiallythose generatingcontroversy, researcheris forced to act quickly, thus the compellingtheuse of readilyavailable samples. In sum, the impact of sociopoliticalsongson the Top Fortyat this writing appears somewhere betweenthe Barzun positionand the position thatmusic mustbe "a cryforjustice,"in the Brechtiantradition. Given the noveltyof this area of research,thereare still many probto lems,bothqualitativeand quantitative, be resolved.
14 Cf. R. Serge Denisoffand Mark H. Levine, "The One-Dimensional Approach to Popular Song Analysis," Journal of Popular Culture (forthcoming).