My friend, Laurel Krause, lost her sister, Allison, but is still active today in keeping her memory alive. And thank you, Neil, and the band, for standing up against such a blatant misuse of power.
i worked and served in Vietnam with her uncle Dr. Col. Maynard Krause. he was beyond upset the day it happened and even madder the next when our local paper came out in support of the National Guard and Gov. Rhodes. he read the riot act to the owner and publisher of the newspaper. sad, sad day......
I'm so sorry for your friend's and the world's loss. So senseless. This country was in a lot of turmoil at the time. Racial tension, fighting an unpopular war, and the anti establishment movement all contributed to crating a power keg just waiting to explode. Sad as it is there is still so much senseless violence prevalent in society.
My sister went to Kent in the nursing school during the shooting. Don’t know if she knew anyone, but we (family) were very afraid. She was sheltered in her dorm which had 1 hone on each floor and took couple hours before we heard from her. Very sad. 😢
There is an interesting inyerview with the photographer and the woman in the photo and how it felt to be identified with that photo for the rest of her life.
I'm of that generation. The phrase "we are finally on our own", is exactly how we felt. The government was not looking out for us or sympathizing with us.
I was a college student in Washington state when these murders took place. I find it hard to look at the images and not cry. Peace and love to all my brothers and sisters who served in that horrible war. Healing to all of us who protested it.
The Kent State killings was one of the first big wedges between my mother and me. She was fully in support of the National Guard, while I was in suppirt if free speech and the right to protest. To this day, I still hold those rights as precious. The song keeps our awareness alive
Yes...that Communist brats had already looted downtown Kent and burned the ROTC building to the ground. Then those same geniuses attacked troops with rocks and bottles. Darwin Award winners.
It's been said that this song was recorded in on take, David Crosby's cries of "How Many More " and "Why" were spontaneous, and that by the end of the take, Crosby was sobbing.
I did not know that about Chrissie Hynde. Wow! PERFECT song to start with for CSNY. "Helplessly Hoping", "Woodstock" - so many songs to react to! That video was really good. Showed more than the one iconic, tragic picture of the girl screaming over the dead male student. This is your first taste of what the 60's and early 70's was like. THIS SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL AS A PART OF HISTORY.
It is difficult to express how weird it feels, for someone like myself who was in college at this time, to see that practically no one under the age of 60 has any knowledge of this event. It was a VERY BIG DEAL when it happened…..sharpening hatred for Nixon among many, and deepening the divide of the culture wars. As you read in that comment, Sal, it was also the end of many peoples idealism that “peace and love” could prevail. That such a major historical event in my and many others lives is unknown among our descendants ….in our own lifetimes, is a bit unnerving, depressing and sad.
I'm in complete agreement with this statement! I'm 45, a Canadian, and know about this incident (partly because of the song, a long time fan of CSNY and especially Neil Young, but also as a studier of history). Now I hate to paint a broad stroke, because I know it's not everywhere in the US, but as an outsider looking in, it appears as though there are a few regions that wish to 'erase' history! Avoiding 'sensitive' topics like slavery, Jim Crow, CRT, etc., and treat them like they never existed, instead of owning up to the 'dark' periods, and perhaps, I don't know, apologizing for said atrocities & vowing to not have history repeat! I know Vietnam is another touchy subject with some. I speak of this, as a person of German ancestry, knowing full well the very dark past Germany. I know they, collectively as a country, teach their children, at a young age, of this very turbulent, violent and horrific time (obviously making the teachings 'age appropriate', but never avoiding the pertinent topics!) I wonder if, should more sensible heads prevail, this will ever occur throughout the US? I know it has to a certain degree here in Canada regarding the Indigenous community and the Residential Schools! It is indeed unnerving, depressing & sad...
@@EchoesDaBear thank you for your thoughts. Americans like to avoid thinking at all costs, I’m afraid. Not all of us, of course…..but too high a percentage….
This happened 4 years before I was born, but I grew up in Ohio and it was definitely a part of our state history class in high school. Learning about it was devastating, and definitely colored my opinions on government abuse of protestors. Unfortunately, protests are still sometimes a powder keg and our police are so much more militarized than they were back then. It could so easily happen again, and won't even require the national guard being called in now. Police with military grade weapons could easily do it now. Of course we have so many mass shootings now, it'd probably never even make a blip on the news....
I was a student at Kent State during this senseless tragedy. Most but not all of today's youth see this as a distant event comparable to world war 1and 2 or even Gettysburg so it is SAD. But today youth are protesting Israel and Palestine so they are involved somewhat the same way😢
It was Gov. Jim Rhodes who was responsible for the murder of the four students, the National Guard was just following his orders to shoot to kill. I was a junior in high school at the time, here in Columbus, and we were just as shocked as you are now. The polarization of the political left and right was alive and kicking way back then. Sad bad times. But wonderful song, and CSN&Y were a great group with many fantastic songs. Glad you got to them!
And the massive cover-up to let the trigger pullers go thru life with easy comfort, getting away with murder. We chase and publicize Nazi criminals. My Lai was used as a flag worth flying, but nothing for this. OR two days earlier, the murderers at Jackson State.
I was a kid in the early 70s, and remember the war protests by teens and young Americans while the "adults" said nothing. It as definitely a Young People vs the Establishment time when everyone had an opinion. This song solidified the Youth of America in Protest, it was an anthem.... and music was huge effect on how people felt.
A woman I worked for was a roommate of one the girls killed. Lots of folks romanticize this time period. Never forget that with all the great music came so much pain. I'm happy you took the time to learn about this.
I can't hear this song without tears. What a shitty time in our great nation's history. We can only hope and pray that another lunatic does NOT get into office. ahem.
This event also inspired the concept and creation of Devo. "Most Northeast Ohio residents have at least a passing familiarity with Devo, the visually-driven, post-punk brainchild of Kent State University School of Art alumni Jerry Casale, Bob Lewis and Mark Mothersbaugh. Perhaps less commonly known is the story of exactly how the band came to be. Devo’s creation was inspired and catalyzed by the trauma of the May 4, 1970, shooting of student protesters by the National Guard, for which both Casale and Mothersbaugh, (along with fellow former KSU art student/rock luminary Chrissie Hynde) were present. Two of the victims of the violence (Jeffrey Miller and Allison Krause) had been friends of Casale’s, who later said of the incident, 'I had always been making art and music but the events of May 4th and beyond galvanized my creativity, infusing it with an existential anger and urgency that would otherwise not have happened. In short Devo and the idea of De-evolution as a manifesto would not exist without that defining historic trauma I experienced.'"
This is how close we once came to authoritarianism in America. Now we face an even greater authoritarian threat. And we mist once again rise up to defend our freedom.✌️❤️🎶
I remember reading an interview by Graham Nash who said Neil Young saw the dead students, went into the woods & wrote the song like the same day....they cut & released it within 10 days after it was written. (American Songwriter magazine, June 2022)
Four dead and, to this day, no one has served as much as a day in jail or prison for what is clearly a crime. As I understand it, the national guard troops weren't much older than the students. The people in power put lethal weapons in the hands of soldiers who were too young to shoot students and never paid a dime or a second for the crime. As far as CSN or CSNY goes, their first two albums, Crosby Still and Nash and Deja Vu, are absolute fire. There's not a bad track on them. In some cases they have aged a bit but the musicianship and harmonies are first rate and well worth a listen.
It was basically a peaceful protest. At least one of the students killed was not even part of the demonstration, was just walking by. In the US you don't get the death penalty for protesting.@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN
Sal, I suggest you check out CSN's "Teach Your Children." About "Ohio," I have this copy of LIFE magazine and the song was one I was raised with. Non-related, but Ohí·yoʔ is the Proto-Iroquoian / Haudenosaunee word meaning "great river."
Radio stations in Ohio wouldn't play it when it came out; actually we heard a rumor of one somewhere in the State. I didn't hear it until I was in the dorm at college, '72 - '73. CSNY (and CSN for that matter) had amazing harmonies. "Suite Judy Blue Eyes," "Our House," "Helplessly Hoping" and so many others
@@SalvoG I suppose that but also it didn't paint the most flattering picture of the State so patriotism stepped in. They may have thought that playing it would fan the flames of rebellion here; they may have been right.
After watching your reaction to Feel like im fixin to die rag (vietnam song) been wanting to suggest ohio and a few others from that time. Grew up in San Francisco during vietnam protests and remember singing along to country joe many times. I miss the consciousness that was such a part of music then. Happy to still find bands like rage against the machine. Anyhow here are a few others Fortunate Son - CCR For What Its Worth - Buffalo Springfield We Should Be Together - Jefferson Airplane War - Edwin Starr
"What if you knew her and Found her dead on the ground?" OMG was that such a terrible time. And I can't think of any more devastating lyrics in all of rock 'n roll
I was only 13 when this happened but I remember it so well. This song gives me chills and makes me cry at the same time. To me the sound of the guitar in the solo absolutely captures the pain and loss of the 4 souls to such a senseless tragedy.
I remember when this happened. It was devastating. That war tore us apart in more ways than one. But I would like to think we came back together and came out stronger than we were before. It's hard to tell that now but there's always hope. Great show, great reaction.❤
I don't think any song in the history of Radio ever was created, produced, released in such a timely manner. I can disparage Neil on many of his songs, but NOT this one. The acoustic version was the meat of so many campus jams for a couple of years with the Draft still in effect until Nixon shut it off in Jan 1973.
I grew up in Cincinnati and remember when this happened like it was yesterday! My husband, a big Pretender fan, did not know that Chrissie Hynde was at Kent state at that time of the shooting. Wow! Such a horrible time in our history!
My husband has a ministerial colleague who was teaching at Kent State that day. She taught English & was on the board of the ACLU. Later in life, she became a Unitarian Universalist minister. May 1970 i was a junior in high school. Don’t think I’ll ever hear this song without my heart breaking. X
I was 11 years old and lived just outside of Cleveland when this happened. I remember my older sisters crying and my Mom telling us to stay inside. 6pm curfew was imposed and we had a special mass at our Catholic School the next morning. 1967-1971 were incredible times and I can certainly see why total distrust in the government was so prevalent. Good reaction.
Hi Sal et al. I grew up in the '50s & '60s and remember this vividly. Crosby said in an interview that they were finishing up work on an album, but when Young brought this song to them, they dropped everything and immediately recorded it. I wasn't involved in any protests (too scared, honestly) but I bought the music as a way to support the movement. I was torn because I had 2 brothers who were drafted and served in Vietnam and knew how they were treated when they came home; people calling them "baby killers" and would spit on them. Today, I thank every soldier (past or present) for their service. Some must listens for other CSN(Y): Teach Your Children, Suite Judy Blue Eyes (about Judy Collins), Our House (about Joni Mitchell), Carry On (an must for the music and harmonies) and finally Helpless Hoping (such wonderful harmony and lyrics!) I hope you will consider any one of these - they're all great songs! Thanks for this reaction.
my first year in college. devastating...this just continued to divide the country and made our generation hate the war that much more. csny are sooo good, i can't believe this is your first foray into them. i've always liked them much more than led zeppelin. keep listening.
Man, you started off hard! This event, and this song, radicalized me in college. But you can never go wrong with this group. After Genesis and Pink Floyd, CSN&Y are my favorite band.
Actually they played it here in Columbus on the radio. Cbus has always been a more liberal city being the home of Ohio State. Quite unlike most of the rest of the state.
It was a very divided country at the time with the Vietnam war and counterculture movement. A lot of parallels to today. I think that's why the music of that era still resonates today. @@SalvoG
I was 10 in Canada when Kent State happened. We had really good news coverage with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation having International offices and studios. Growing up in the 1960's, 1970's, was definitely overwhelming. So much happened so fast. I remember the news coverage of this shooting and this song on the car radio. 🎶✌️🍁
The Army of National guards who supposedly sent for security because young students were protesting the Vietnam War everywhere on University Campos...and tear gas was thrown and bullets were fired and people were killed like with the BLM situation in 2020 with the protesting of George Floyd killing. And I am very surprised that musicians and artists have not put the event into songs. 🎉🎉🎉Everyone scared of the government. But in generation of the 60's and 70's we wanted future generations to know....knowing our government would try to cover it up. Good Reaction.
I remember this clearly. I lived nearby and attended a different college. I was anti war but I had friends among both the students and the Ohio National Guard. Such a tragedy.
I was a freshman in high school when this happened and it chilled me to the bone. I had participated in anti-war marches. A different time yet war continues.
"They can't kill us all!!!!" 1968-1972 were my junior and high school years. In the actual video out and about now around 1:24 is a guy in a white shirt sitting on a hill overlooking protestors within the Lawn with the UVA colonnade in the background. That is Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville where I lived at the time. We wore black armbands to protest the bombing of Hanoi in junior high schools....the Virginia SDS threatened to blow up the ROTC building at UVA--state troopers were called in--but the students had gone to DC for the national protest-just us townies were left, lol. Multiple protests over those years against the Viet Nam war...... Yea, people clutch their pearls and look at protests today on campuses and think....oh dear!! They don't know, or have very short memories!!!!! ua-cam.com/video/JCS-g3HwXdc/v-deo.htmlsi=aJOEYSaNESGNmiEI
The picture you picked out was the front page picture in every major newspaper and TV News broadcast on May 4, 1970. I was 11 years old at the time, almost 12, and I do remember this event very well, and it STILL pisses me off. Neil Young being one of my favorite recording artists, and writing this song, made me sad and glad at the same time, Sad because four people died, and a bunch more injured, and then Neil writing a moving and vital song to express own revulsion. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we're finally on our own, this summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio."
I do remember enjoying your Zeppelin saga a few years ago. I'm impressed you stuck to it from beginning to end. They have a notorious reputation to block!
Interesting. I’ve watched at least five reactors do the Zeppelin run, and blockage had not been an issue. Now, The Beatles or Eagles….they are indeed both notorious blockers. Zeppelin, moderately so, in my experience.
Oops forgot to recommend John Prine Amazing song writer A few vietnam favorites - Your flag decal wont get you into heaven anymore, Sam stone, The great compromise Some others from him for a deep dive - Angel from Montgomery, Hello in There, Illegal smile
If you want some great interviews and insights, watch Bob Costas' with David Crosby in 1991. No subject is out of bounds! You will see why Crosby is so well-regarded.....a talented, intelligent, thoughtful, and well-spoken man. Costas did one with Steven Still and also all four, I believe; along with a vast array of stars. Must see TV!
I had to take a Sociology class at Kent. The professor was there when it happened. It was a night class and the guy sitting next to me was at Kent too, but he was in the National Guard. The debates that semester were intense. My takeaway was the Guard members were the same age ... 18-20 something. The student recalled a loud noise that sounded like gun fire and one of the commanders ordered a group in order and then to shoot. It wasn't all of the Guard that fired. Had all of the Guardsmen open fire, the death and injury toll would have been much worse. However, one death or one injury was too much. Many of those kids involved had traumatic lives too. Again, they were told to shoot ... many of which had limited gun experience having recently joined the Guard. The whole thing was tragic. I just wish I could recall more from the time spent covering May 4th, 1970.
I hope you will do more CSN and CSNY in the future. A true @super group” …..so good. We patrons will keep On trying….😏. We’re not kidding when we say there is SO MUCH great music out there.
You're doing "Ohio;" Neil Young is a part of this song in as much as a) he wrote it, b) he's singing the lead melody and c) it is his grunge guitar riffs you're listening to...
I was in high school in NY and had participated in a number of antiwar protests. This event hit me like a ton of bricks. The next day students at my high school staged a walkout and march behind a mock coffin that somebody put together. Radicalization was complete. Of course over the next two years, Nixon pressed his "Vietnamization" of the war, cutting down the number of US troops and suspending the draft, and succeeded in blunting the antiwar movement as a result. By 1972, when McGovern ran against Nixon with a pledge to end the war, he suffered what I'm pretty sure was the most lopsided defeat in US presidential history. I campaigned hard for McGovern, but I couldn't vote, because even though they lowered the voting age to 18, my birthday wasn't until February. On election night when I saw the results, I sobbed uncontrollably -- not because McGovern had lost, but because I knew that Nixon's victory was going to lead to a massive bombing campaign in Vietnam, and thousands of people would die as a result. Which is exactly what happened, with Nixon launching his bombing of the North on Christmas. And when February rolled around and I turned 18, I still had to register for the draft. I was classified "1-H" which stood for Holding. The draft was eventually eliminated altogether. Somewhere I think I still have my draft card. Despite what popular mythology would have you believe, the majority of Americans were never against the war. What they didn't like was that we didn't "win" the war. In New York, in 1970 and 71, union construction workers gleefully beat antiwar protesters bloody. The atmosphere was very much like it is today. The only difference is, it is the far right that has co-opted all the slogans of the 60s, cynically proclaiming "you can't trust the government" in order to oppose everything those who genuinely reflect the "spirit of the 60s" stand for. It's sickening.
I was a college senior at a school not far away, across the state line in PA. We were all shocked on hearing the news. We traveled to Washington DC that weekend to march in protest. There were thousands of students in the streets near the White House, which was encircled be a ring of empty city buses for extra protection. Occasionally the cops lobbed teargas at the crowd, so we had to run for fresh air in our lungs. Jane Fonda spoke out against the war at a stage near the Ellipse on Saturday. I had dinner with her stepmother that evening, who was a guest in the same house where we stayed.
A LOT of radio stations refused to play this song as they saw it as the young people being at fault and the conservative media fanned the flames of that lie!
I was 9 years old when this happened- the 60s impacted my thinking and beliefs as my brain connections formed. I remember looking through my Grandmother's LIFE Magazine and wondering why they wanted to kill kids at school. 16 years later my younger brother and I took our Dad to see Crosby, Stills, and Nash (no Young) in concert in Seattle as a Father's Day present. 'Ohio' is a great gem in the CSN (and sometimes Y) catalog.
I have watched several younger reactors do this song and without exception, none had heard the Kent State shootings. Sal, when you studied US history in high school, was the Vietnam War and the resulting unrest in the US not covered? It would appear not.
WOW! I did not know DEVO came out of this event. It was a powerful and tragic time. Protesting the Vietnam War was heating up and when Nixon expanded it with the invasion, he lit a powder keg. Colleges across the country went up in protest, even across the South. At the U of Florida there were huge protests with tear gas shot across my college plaza as I walked to class. The next day I was at the administration building protesting. Anger was thick as conservatives said to shoot all the 'commie' protesters. Others were aghast that these killings could happen here in the US. This is why we need to study history......not just the good parts, but more importantly the bad parts; so that hopefully we do not slide down into the abyss again.
Huh? Then get history right. It was Johnson who expanded the war which had been going on some years in 1965 when he sent 50,000 young US soldiers to Vietnam. There were 500,000 troops in Vietnam in 1967, Nixon took office in Jan 1969 and he started negotiating for withdrawal of troops in June. 25,000 were brought home. His plan was to replace the withdrawn troops with South Vietnamese and train them to defend themselves. Then he had further troop withdrawals in September 1969, and in March 1970 Wow..
@@keelsmac01 Well you are certainly adhering to the party line, just as we are now seeing with Trump's apologists. It was Eisenhower who committed the US to take over from colonial France to 'stop communism' from taking over the world. As you would recall from reading history (unless you lived it as did I) Johnson was a Southern Democrat and conservative. He listened to those right-wing ideologues who kept pushing the war because heaven would fall if we didn't. So you are claiming Nixon was a peace-nick? What hogwash. The Conservatives controlled Congress and it was they AND NIXON who forced the war into the '70s by invading Cambodia and caused college rioting! It wasn't until Nixon was forced to exit that the war ended in defeat. Stop apologizing for Nixon and the Conservatives who drove the war.
@@keelsmac01 Obviously you get your history from a GOP pamphlet. The US backed France in its trying to hold on to Vietnam as a colony. When they gave up, our involvement continued and expanded in 1954 when Eisenhower was president. Johnson did not run for re-election due to the unpopularity of the war. It was Nixon expanding the war further by invading Cambodia that ignited campuses across the country. This led to CSN&Y song 'OHIO". So don't degrade the discussion by bringing your petty politics into this. I LIVED IT.
This song is classic Neil Young. It is a great song that was very significant for its time. Try some of their other songs if you really want to hear the great harmonies this band was capable of. Find the Cost of Freedom that was the flip side is a good one. Suite Judy Blue Eyes, Woodstock, Wooden Ships, etc. Their harmonized cover of the Beatles' Blackbird is killer.
It was a horrible event. The National Guard came out because people at Jent State were protesting the war in Vietnam. They opened fire on unarmed students for no discernable reason. It was plain and simple a massacre. That's what they did.
It makes me angry that today's school system isn't teaching people about these events, especially the shootings at Kent State. I was in high school at the time, facing a future with the strong possibility of being drafted. My older brother was in the Navy at the time. The Vietnam War and all the effects of it were constantly on our minds.
I was a 60's kid...I grew up to be an Econ professor at a small OKC university (like Kent St)... this is still hard... it's like losing one of my kids... #ridleyphd
Good song. Bad memories of a very divisive time in our history. It still has me conflicted. I was in high school while my dad was serving with the US Navy as a fighter pilot (and being spit upon by protesters upon his return), I was shocked by the Kent State incident. I'm still proud of my dad for his 27 years of service. Some of the war protests became violent on both sides. In the chaos of the times, it is really surprising that it didn't happen more than once. Lots of protests were fueled by anarchists like the Weather Underground (known for bombings). Well intentioned students got caught up in it.
The Army claimed that someone started shooting at them first. This has never been proven. No one was ever charged with the deaths of the four students.
The ultimate sad: There were two lehal ways healthy guys could avoid going to Vietnam. One was to go to college. The other was to join the National Guard. The kids shot were 18 and 19 year olds avoiding Vietnam. The kids shooting were 18 and 19 year olds avoiding Vietnam.
EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS. Those who forget history destined to repeat.
My friend, Laurel Krause, lost her sister, Allison, but is still active today in keeping her memory alive. And thank you, Neil, and the band, for standing up against such a blatant misuse of power.
My sister was there that day and knew Allison
Wow. I was almost 8 when that happened. I can't even imagine what they went through.
i worked and served in Vietnam with her uncle Dr. Col. Maynard Krause. he was beyond upset the day it happened and even madder the next when our local paper came out in support of the National Guard and Gov. Rhodes. he read the riot act to the owner and publisher of the newspaper. sad, sad day......
I'm so sorry for your friend's and the world's loss. So senseless. This country was in a lot of turmoil at the time. Racial tension, fighting an unpopular war, and the anti establishment movement all contributed to crating a power keg just waiting to explode. Sad as it is there is still so much senseless violence prevalent in society.
My sister went to Kent in the nursing school during the shooting. Don’t know if she knew anyone, but we (family) were very afraid. She was sheltered in her dorm which had 1 hone on each floor and took couple hours before we heard from her. Very sad. 😢
The photo that gave you chills won a Pulitzer prize. It was taken by a journalism student at Kent State, if memory serves.
There is an interesting inyerview with the photographer and the woman in the photo and how it felt to be identified with that photo for the rest of her life.
Wow…
@@SalvoG National Guard got the nickname Nixon's Gorillas over this one.
I just barely read that interview with the woman in the photo - She was a 14 year old runaway. It nearly ruined her life.
I'm of that generation. The phrase "we are finally on our own", is exactly how we felt. The government was not looking out for us or sympathizing with us.
I was a college student in Washington state when these murders took place. I find it hard to look at the images and not cry. Peace and love to all my brothers and sisters who served in that horrible war. Healing to all of us who protested it.
Alum of Kent State. No classes are held on May 4th in memoriam of the tragedy every year.
Me too . Attended 72 to 74
And its all happening again.
The Kent State killings was one of the first big wedges between my mother and me. She was fully in support of the National Guard, while I was in suppirt if free speech and the right to protest. To this day, I still hold those rights as precious.
The song keeps our awareness alive
I should have spell-checked! Yikes..
Truth.
Everyone should know what happened!
Yes and show anger and respect for our vets from Vietnam 😢
Yes...that Communist brats had already looted downtown Kent and burned the ROTC building to the ground. Then those same geniuses attacked troops with rocks and bottles.
Darwin Award winners.
"Teach your children", "Southern Cross", "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", these guys created magical harmonies, with poignant messages....
Additionally, JOE WALSH was a student when the shootings occurred. I recall him saying that he was traumatized by it and he dropped out.
It's been said that this song was recorded in on take, David Crosby's cries of "How Many More " and "Why" were spontaneous, and that by the end of the take, Crosby was sobbing.
I did not know that about Chrissie Hynde. Wow! PERFECT song to start with for CSNY. "Helplessly Hoping", "Woodstock" - so many songs to react to! That video was really good. Showed more than the one iconic, tragic picture of the girl screaming over the dead male student. This is your first taste of what the 60's and early 70's was like. THIS SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL AS A PART OF HISTORY.
One of DEVO's leaders was, too.
@@Cbcw76 I did see that too. Wow.
It is difficult to express how weird it feels, for someone like myself who was in college at this time, to see that practically no one under the age of 60 has any knowledge of this event. It was a VERY BIG DEAL when it happened…..sharpening hatred for Nixon among many, and deepening the divide of the culture wars. As you read in that comment, Sal, it was also the end of many peoples idealism that “peace and love” could prevail.
That such a major historical event in my and many others lives is unknown among our descendants ….in our own lifetimes, is a bit unnerving, depressing and sad.
Amen.
I'm in complete agreement with this statement! I'm 45, a Canadian, and know about this incident (partly because of the song, a long time fan of CSNY and especially Neil Young, but also as a studier of history).
Now I hate to paint a broad stroke, because I know it's not everywhere in the US, but as an outsider looking in, it appears as though there are a few regions that wish to 'erase' history! Avoiding 'sensitive' topics like slavery, Jim Crow, CRT, etc., and treat them like they never existed, instead of owning up to the 'dark' periods, and perhaps, I don't know, apologizing for said atrocities & vowing to not have history repeat! I know Vietnam is another touchy subject with some.
I speak of this, as a person of German ancestry, knowing full well the very dark past Germany. I know they, collectively as a country, teach their children, at a young age, of this very turbulent, violent and horrific time (obviously making the teachings 'age appropriate', but never avoiding the pertinent topics!)
I wonder if, should more sensible heads prevail, this will ever occur throughout the US? I know it has to a certain degree here in Canada regarding the Indigenous community and the Residential Schools!
It is indeed unnerving, depressing & sad...
@@EchoesDaBear thank you for your thoughts. Americans like to avoid thinking at all costs, I’m afraid. Not all of us, of course…..but too high a percentage….
This happened 4 years before I was born, but I grew up in Ohio and it was definitely a part of our state history class in high school. Learning about it was devastating, and definitely colored my opinions on government abuse of protestors. Unfortunately, protests are still sometimes a powder keg and our police are so much more militarized than they were back then.
It could so easily happen again, and won't even require the national guard being called in now. Police with military grade weapons could easily do it now.
Of course we have so many mass shootings now, it'd probably never even make a blip on the news....
I was a student at Kent State during this senseless tragedy. Most but not all of today's youth see this as a distant event comparable to world war 1and 2 or even Gettysburg so it is SAD. But today youth are protesting Israel and Palestine so they are involved somewhat the same way😢
Can't go wrong with CSN (and sometimes Y).They are a major part of the soundtrack of the sixties and seventies.
It was Gov. Jim Rhodes who was responsible for the murder of the four students, the National Guard was just following his orders to shoot to kill. I was a junior in high school at the time, here in Columbus, and we were just as shocked as you are now. The polarization of the political left and right was alive and kicking way back then. Sad bad times. But wonderful song, and CSN&Y were a great group with many fantastic songs. Glad you got to them!
And the massive cover-up to let the trigger pullers go thru life with easy comfort, getting away with murder. We chase and publicize Nazi criminals. My Lai was used as a flag worth flying, but nothing for this. OR two days earlier, the murderers at Jackson State.
Ohio Vietnam should never be forgotten we didn't 😢
I was a kid in the early 70s, and remember the war protests by teens and young Americans while the "adults" said nothing. It as definitely a Young People vs the Establishment time when everyone had an opinion. This song solidified the Youth of America in Protest, it was an anthem.... and music was huge effect on how people felt.
What's wrong with the world today?It's music sucks.We had the best and it had meaning
Great reaction..
Omg..classic song..
A woman I worked for was a roommate of one the girls killed. Lots of folks romanticize this time period. Never forget that with all the great music came so much pain. I'm happy you took the time to learn about this.
such a powerful song! ♥
A friend of mine was a student at Kent State when this happened. This song has so much meaning.
Neil Young wrote this song shortly after seeing the photos of dead students at Kent State. They rushed to record it and get in out and on the radio.
I can't hear this song without tears. What a shitty time in our great nation's history. We can only hope and pray that another lunatic does NOT get into office. ahem.
Biden?
Trump!@@tshouse2782
4 dead and 11 wounded on that day in May. National Guard opened fire on peaceful, unarmed student protesters.🥺. Shame
Don't attack armed soldiers, don't loot downtown Kent and don't burn down the ROTC building. Problem solved.
So much of everything music from 65-75 was about the Vietnam police action, that’s what the deployment was referred to as.
Tragic beyond belief...but Thank YOU **Neil Young** **& Crosby Stills & Nash**
This event also inspired the concept and creation of Devo.
"Most Northeast Ohio residents have at least a passing familiarity with Devo, the visually-driven, post-punk brainchild of Kent State University School of Art alumni Jerry Casale, Bob Lewis and Mark Mothersbaugh. Perhaps less commonly known is the story of exactly how the band came to be. Devo’s creation was inspired and catalyzed by the trauma of the May 4, 1970, shooting of student protesters by the National Guard, for which both Casale and Mothersbaugh, (along with fellow former KSU art student/rock luminary Chrissie Hynde) were present. Two of the victims of the violence (Jeffrey Miller and Allison Krause) had been friends of Casale’s, who later said of the incident,
'I had always been making art and music but the events of May 4th and beyond galvanized my creativity, infusing it with an existential anger and urgency that would otherwise not have happened. In short Devo and the idea of De-evolution as a manifesto would not exist without that defining historic trauma I experienced.'"
This is how close we once came to authoritarianism in America. Now we face an even greater authoritarian threat. And we mist once again rise up to defend our freedom.✌️❤️🎶
CSN&Y made and wrote some of the BEST music ever
I remember reading an interview by Graham Nash who said Neil Young saw the dead students, went into the woods & wrote the song like the same day....they cut & released it within 10 days after it was written. (American Songwriter magazine, June 2022)
Four dead and, to this day, no one has served as much as a day in jail or prison for what is clearly a crime. As I understand it, the national guard troops weren't much older than the students. The people in power put lethal weapons in the hands of soldiers who were too young to shoot students and never paid a dime or a second for the crime. As far as CSN or CSNY goes, their first two albums, Crosby Still and Nash and Deja Vu, are absolute fire. There's not a bad track on them. In some cases they have aged a bit but the musicianship and harmonies are first rate and well worth a listen.
That's cause the rioters were throwing rocks
It was basically a peaceful protest. At least one of the students killed was not even part of the demonstration, was just walking by. In the US you don't get the death penalty for protesting.@@DENVEROUTDOORMAN
Sal, I suggest you check out CSN's "Teach Your Children." About "Ohio," I have this copy of LIFE magazine and the song was one I was raised with. Non-related, but Ohí·yoʔ is the Proto-Iroquoian / Haudenosaunee word meaning "great river."
Radio stations in Ohio wouldn't play it when it came out; actually we heard a rumor of one somewhere in the State. I didn't hear it until I was in the dorm at college, '72 - '73.
CSNY (and CSN for that matter) had amazing harmonies. "Suite Judy Blue Eyes," "Our House," "Helplessly Hoping" and so many others
radio stations feared the backlash they would receive?
@@SalvoG I suppose that but also it didn't paint the most flattering picture of the State so patriotism stepped in. They may have thought that playing it would fan the flames of rebellion here; they may have been right.
After watching your reaction to Feel like im fixin to die rag (vietnam song) been wanting to suggest ohio and a few others from that time. Grew up in San Francisco during vietnam protests and remember singing along to country joe many times. I miss the consciousness that was such a part of music then. Happy to still find bands like rage against the machine.
Anyhow here are a few others
Fortunate Son - CCR
For What Its Worth - Buffalo Springfield
We Should Be Together - Jefferson Airplane
War - Edwin Starr
CSN and sometimes Y ❤❤❤
I can’t watch this video without tears
They often sound more rock than folk rock when Neil Young is playing
"What if you knew her and
Found her dead on the ground?"
OMG was that such a terrible time.
And I can't think of any more devastating lyrics in all of rock 'n roll
And Trump wanted to do the same thing in DC... wanted to just shoot people in the legs.
I'll never forget that day, May 4,1970. May 4th of every year I think about it.
That photo you pointed out was seen worldwide-I believe it won a Pulitzer. It's still embedded in the brain for those who remember.
I was only 13 when this happened but I remember it so well. This song gives me chills and makes me cry at the same time. To me the sound of the guitar in the solo absolutely captures the pain and loss of the 4 souls to such a senseless tragedy.
I remember when this happened. It was devastating. That war tore us apart in more ways than one. But I would like to think we came back together and came out stronger than we were before. It's hard to tell that now but there's always hope. Great show, great reaction.❤
I don't think any song in the history of Radio ever was created, produced, released in such a timely manner. I can disparage Neil on many of his songs, but NOT this one. The acoustic version was the meat of so many campus jams for a couple of years with the Draft still in effect until Nixon shut it off in Jan 1973.
I grew up in Cincinnati and remember when this happened like it was yesterday! My husband, a big Pretender fan, did not know that Chrissie Hynde was at Kent state at that time of the shooting. Wow! Such a horrible time in our history!
My husband has a ministerial colleague who was teaching at Kent State that day.
She taught English & was on the board of the ACLU.
Later in life, she became a Unitarian Universalist minister.
May 1970 i was a junior in high school. Don’t think I’ll ever hear this song without my heart breaking. X
I was 11 years old and lived just outside of Cleveland when this happened. I remember my older sisters crying and my Mom telling us to stay inside. 6pm curfew was imposed and we had a special mass at our Catholic School the next morning. 1967-1971 were incredible times and I can certainly see why total distrust in the government was so prevalent. Good reaction.
One of the best groups an music of my life
I remember as if it was yesterday. I was a senior in high school at the time.
Hi Sal et al. I grew up in the '50s & '60s and remember this vividly. Crosby said in an interview that they were finishing up work on an album, but when Young brought this song to them, they dropped everything and immediately recorded it. I wasn't involved in any protests (too scared, honestly) but I bought the music as a way to support the movement. I was torn because I had 2 brothers who were drafted and served in Vietnam and knew how they were treated when they came home; people calling them "baby killers" and would spit on them. Today, I thank every soldier (past or present) for their service. Some must listens for other CSN(Y): Teach Your Children, Suite Judy Blue Eyes (about Judy Collins), Our House (about Joni Mitchell), Carry On (an must for the music and harmonies) and finally Helpless Hoping (such wonderful harmony and lyrics!) I hope you will consider any one of these - they're all great songs! Thanks for this reaction.
I think that was right after the massacre at My Lai
Add "Southern Man"
my first year in college. devastating...this just continued to divide the country and made our generation hate the war that much more. csny are sooo good, i can't believe this is your first foray into them. i've always liked them much more than led zeppelin. keep listening.
Man, you started off hard! This event, and this song, radicalized me in college. But you can never go wrong with this group. After Genesis and Pink Floyd, CSN&Y are my favorite band.
I live in Ohio and remember this happening-no radio station in Ohio would play this song.
Actually they played it here in Columbus on the radio. Cbus has always been a more liberal city being the home of Ohio State. Quite unlike most of the rest of the state.
Fear of backlash?
It was a very divided country at the time with the Vietnam war and counterculture movement. A lot of parallels to today. I think that's why the music of that era still resonates today. @@SalvoG
I was 10 in Canada when Kent State happened. We had really good news coverage with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation having International offices and studios. Growing up in the 1960's, 1970's, was definitely overwhelming. So much happened so fast. I remember the news coverage of this shooting and this song on the car radio. 🎶✌️🍁
The Army of National guards who supposedly sent for security because young students were protesting the Vietnam War everywhere on University Campos...and tear gas was thrown and bullets were fired and people were killed like with the BLM situation in 2020 with the protesting of George Floyd killing. And I am very surprised that musicians and artists have not put the event into songs. 🎉🎉🎉Everyone scared of the government. But in generation of the 60's and 70's we wanted future generations to know....knowing our government would try to cover it up. Good Reaction.
That’s because the current generation of musicians doesn’t have the talent or involvement to do this justice. We Boomers were lucky in that respect.
😢😢😢It was a horrifying event made even sadder given the political conflict in our country today.😢❤😢
I remember this clearly. I lived nearby and attended a different college. I was anti war but I had friends among both the students and the Ohio National Guard. Such a tragedy.
This speaks volumes and in today's viotile world ... please learn from the past.
Neil Young is the one who wrote this song after reading about the shootings & wrote it that day.
Listening ang getting tears. Yep, important song in my life. Thanks. Great reaction
I was a freshman in high school when this happened and it chilled me to the bone. I had participated in anti-war marches. A different time yet war continues.
"They can't kill us all!!!!" 1968-1972 were my junior and high school years. In the actual video out and about now around 1:24 is a guy in a white shirt sitting on a hill overlooking protestors within the Lawn with the UVA colonnade in the background. That is Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville where I lived at the time. We wore black armbands to protest the bombing of Hanoi in junior high schools....the Virginia SDS threatened to blow up the ROTC building at UVA--state troopers were called in--but the students had gone to DC for the national protest-just us townies were left, lol. Multiple protests over those years against the Viet Nam war...... Yea, people clutch their pearls and look at protests today on campuses and think....oh dear!! They don't know, or have very short memories!!!!! ua-cam.com/video/JCS-g3HwXdc/v-deo.htmlsi=aJOEYSaNESGNmiEI
The picture you picked out was the front page picture in every major newspaper and TV News broadcast on May 4, 1970. I was 11 years old at the time, almost 12, and I do remember this event very well, and it STILL pisses me off. Neil Young being one of my favorite recording artists, and writing this song, made me sad and glad at the same time, Sad because four people died, and a bunch more injured, and then Neil writing a moving and vital song to express own revulsion. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, we're finally on our own, this summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio."
Not only was Hynde a student, her good friend's boyfriend was one of the four killed.
I do remember enjoying your Zeppelin saga a few years ago. I'm impressed you stuck to it from beginning to end. They have a notorious reputation to block!
Interesting. I’ve watched at least five reactors do the Zeppelin run, and blockage had not been an issue. Now, The Beatles or Eagles….they are indeed both notorious blockers. Zeppelin, moderately so, in my experience.
Oops forgot to recommend John Prine
Amazing song writer
A few vietnam favorites - Your flag decal wont get you into heaven anymore, Sam stone, The great compromise
Some others from him for a deep dive - Angel from Montgomery, Hello in There, Illegal smile
If you want some great interviews and insights, watch Bob Costas' with David Crosby in 1991. No subject is out of bounds! You will see why Crosby is so well-regarded.....a talented, intelligent, thoughtful, and well-spoken man. Costas did one with Steven Still and also all four, I believe; along with a vast array of stars. Must see TV!
I had to take a Sociology class at Kent. The professor was there when it happened. It was a night class and the guy sitting next to me was at Kent too, but he was in the National Guard. The debates that semester were intense. My takeaway was the Guard members were the same age ... 18-20 something. The student recalled a loud noise that sounded like gun fire and one of the commanders ordered a group in order and then to shoot. It wasn't all of the Guard that fired. Had all of the Guardsmen open fire, the death and injury toll would have been much worse. However, one death or one injury was too much. Many of those kids involved had traumatic lives too. Again, they were told to shoot ... many of which had limited gun experience having recently joined the Guard. The whole thing was tragic. I just wish I could recall more from the time spent covering May 4th, 1970.
I hope you will do more CSN and CSNY in the future. A true @super group” …..so good. We patrons will keep On trying….😏. We’re not kidding when we say there is SO MUCH great music out there.
Such a sad time in our history. So proud of all the artists who spoke out against this horrible event and other events that chilled us to the bone. 😥
Those pictures are chilling.
Devo did Whip It
You're doing "Ohio;" Neil Young is a part of this song in as much as a) he wrote it, b) he's singing the lead melody and c) it is his grunge guitar riffs you're listening to...
I was 12 years old but this massacre was on everybody's radar. Total disbelief.
I was in high school in NY and had participated in a number of antiwar protests. This event hit me like a ton of bricks. The next day students at my high school staged a walkout and march behind a mock coffin that somebody put together. Radicalization was complete. Of course over the next two years, Nixon pressed his "Vietnamization" of the war, cutting down the number of US troops and suspending the draft, and succeeded in blunting the antiwar movement as a result. By 1972, when McGovern ran against Nixon with a pledge to end the war, he suffered what I'm pretty sure was the most lopsided defeat in US presidential history. I campaigned hard for McGovern, but I couldn't vote, because even though they lowered the voting age to 18, my birthday wasn't until February. On election night when I saw the results, I sobbed uncontrollably -- not because McGovern had lost, but because I knew that Nixon's victory was going to lead to a massive bombing campaign in Vietnam, and thousands of people would die as a result. Which is exactly what happened, with Nixon launching his bombing of the North on Christmas. And when February rolled around and I turned 18, I still had to register for the draft. I was classified "1-H" which stood for Holding. The draft was eventually eliminated altogether. Somewhere I think I still have my draft card. Despite what popular mythology would have you believe, the majority of Americans were never against the war. What they didn't like was that we didn't "win" the war. In New York, in 1970 and 71, union construction workers gleefully beat antiwar protesters bloody. The atmosphere was very much like it is today. The only difference is, it is the far right that has co-opted all the slogans of the 60s, cynically proclaiming "you can't trust the government" in order to oppose everything those who genuinely reflect the "spirit of the 60s" stand for. It's sickening.
I never knew this song was about a school shooting, thanks Salvog! I always liked this song but now it definitely fills my heart with sorrow🙏
I was a college senior at a school not far away, across the state line in PA. We were all shocked on hearing the news. We traveled to Washington DC that weekend to march in protest. There were thousands of students in the streets near the White House, which was encircled be a ring of empty city buses for extra protection. Occasionally the cops lobbed teargas at the crowd, so we had to run for fresh air in our lungs. Jane Fonda spoke out against the war at a stage near the Ellipse on Saturday. I had dinner with her stepmother that evening, who was a guest in the same house where we stayed.
Peace. Someday, I hope. Check out “Suite Judy Blue Eyes by CSNY. It’s a classic. For sure .
A LOT of radio stations refused to play this song as they saw it as the young people being at fault and the conservative media fanned the flames of that lie!
How those soldiers could do that,and some of them go home and look their children,in the face,I’ll never know.
It hurts. It HURTS when I find out there are young people who have never learned about this.
I personally prefer CSN without Y. My favorite song is Southern Cross. Their harmony is sooo nice.
mine too.
I was 9 years old when this happened- the 60s impacted my thinking and beliefs as my brain connections formed. I remember looking through my Grandmother's LIFE Magazine and wondering why they wanted to kill kids at school. 16 years later my younger brother and I took our Dad to see Crosby, Stills, and Nash (no Young) in concert in Seattle as a Father's Day present. 'Ohio' is a great gem in the CSN (and sometimes Y) catalog.
Joe Walsh of the Eagles was also a student there that day.
I remember it well, I started high school in 1970...
Joe Walsh and the members of Devo were there that day, too.
I have watched several younger reactors do this song and without exception, none had heard the Kent State shootings. Sal, when you studied US history in high school, was the Vietnam War and the resulting unrest in the US not covered? It would appear not.
Hardly, history class was terrible. Everything was always so skimmed over. The subject that caught my attention the most was English.
@@SalvoG I can tell. You are always well-spoken and have a good grasp of the language. 😁
WOW! I did not know DEVO came out of this event. It was a powerful and tragic time. Protesting the Vietnam War was heating up and when Nixon expanded it with the invasion, he lit a powder keg. Colleges across the country went up in protest, even across the South. At the U of Florida there were huge protests with tear gas shot across my college plaza as I walked to class. The next day I was at the administration building protesting. Anger was thick as conservatives said to shoot all the 'commie' protesters. Others were aghast that these killings could happen here in the US.
This is why we need to study history......not just the good parts, but more importantly the bad parts; so that hopefully we do not slide down into the abyss again.
Huh? Then get history right. It was Johnson who expanded the war which had been going on some years in 1965 when he sent 50,000 young US soldiers to Vietnam. There were 500,000 troops in Vietnam in 1967, Nixon took office in Jan 1969 and he started negotiating for withdrawal of troops in June. 25,000 were brought home. His plan was to replace the withdrawn troops with South Vietnamese and train them to defend themselves. Then he had further troop withdrawals in September 1969, and in March 1970
Wow..
@@keelsmac01 Well you are certainly adhering to the party line, just as we are now seeing with Trump's apologists. It was Eisenhower who committed the US to take over from colonial France to 'stop communism' from taking over the world. As you would recall from reading history (unless you lived it as did I) Johnson was a Southern Democrat and conservative. He listened to those right-wing ideologues who kept pushing the war because heaven would fall if we didn't.
So you are claiming Nixon was a peace-nick? What hogwash. The Conservatives controlled Congress and it was they AND NIXON who forced the war into the '70s by invading Cambodia and caused college rioting! It wasn't until Nixon was forced to exit that the war ended in defeat. Stop apologizing for Nixon and the Conservatives who drove the war.
@@keelsmac01 Obviously you get your history from a GOP pamphlet. The US backed France in its trying to hold on to Vietnam as a colony. When they gave up, our involvement continued and expanded in 1954 when Eisenhower was president. Johnson did not run for re-election due to the unpopularity of the war. It was Nixon expanding the war further by invading Cambodia that ignited campuses across the country. This led to CSN&Y song 'OHIO". So don't degrade the discussion by bringing your petty politics into this. I LIVED IT.
This song is classic Neil Young. It is a great song that was very significant for its time. Try some of their other songs if you really want to hear the great harmonies this band was capable of. Find the Cost of Freedom that was the flip side is a good one. Suite Judy Blue Eyes, Woodstock, Wooden Ships, etc. Their harmonized cover of the Beatles' Blackbird is killer.
you gotta hear this with 'Find the Cost Of Freedom' as the intro, its the best way to hear them both I think
It was a horrible event. The National Guard came out because people at Jent State were protesting the war in Vietnam. They opened fire on unarmed students for no discernable reason. It was plain and simple a massacre. That's what they did.
My cousin was there at the college when it happened.
This was originally called Four Dead in Ohio but, they changed it to lessen its impact!
It makes me angry that today's school system isn't teaching people about these events, especially the shootings at Kent State. I was in high school at the time, facing a future with the strong possibility of being drafted. My older brother was in the Navy at the time. The Vietnam War and all the effects of it were constantly on our minds.
Nobody was charged with criminal responsibility and the civil lawsuit against the Ohio National Guard was settled for 675,000 dollars.
I was a 60's kid...I grew up to be an Econ professor at a small OKC university (like Kent St)... this is still hard... it's like losing one of my kids... #ridleyphd
The song wqs written by neil young and it was released within q week
54 years ago in May, the end of my senior year was canceled at Ashland College which was about an hour from Kent State. 😢
Crosby Stills and Nash are great. Neil Young is GREAT. His amazing solo career continues with a scheduled tour this year.
Good song. Bad memories of a very divisive time in our history. It still has me conflicted. I was in high school while my dad was serving with the US Navy as a fighter pilot (and being spit upon by protesters upon his return), I was shocked by the Kent State incident. I'm still proud of my dad for his 27 years of service. Some of the war protests became violent on both sides. In the chaos of the times, it is really surprising that it didn't happen more than once. Lots of protests were fueled by anarchists like the Weather Underground (known for bombings). Well intentioned students got caught up in it.
For what It's Worth is on this same premise.
The Army claimed that someone started shooting at them first. This has never been proven.
No one was ever charged with the deaths of the four students.
Joe Walsh and David Letterman. Kent St. Alumni.
The ultimate sad:
There were two lehal ways healthy guys could avoid going to Vietnam. One was to go to college. The other was to join the National Guard. The kids shot were 18 and 19 year olds avoiding Vietnam. The kids shooting were 18 and 19 year olds avoiding Vietnam.