Chicago Seven

Annotation

The song "Chicago Seven" (Warner Bros. Records # 7500) by Memphis Slim (born Pete Chapman) - a highly regarded blues piano player from Memphis, Tennessee (1915-1988), who moved to Chicago in the late 1930s - dealt with political protest during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights. It appeared on the 1971 album Blue Memphis (Warner Bros. Records # WS 1899).1 The title referred to several people arrested outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968 for inciting riots. Originally eight people stood trial, all high profile activists - Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin from the hippie movement, the Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, political activists Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Tom Hayden (married to Jane Fonda - together they released a documentary in 1973 about their visit to North Vietnam, called Introduction to the Enemy). The trial began on 24 September 1969, but soon after the Judge, Julius Hoffman, ordered Bobby Seale to be bound and gagged for contempt of court. He was tried separately, and thus the eight became seven (see the 1970 album Gagged and Chained: The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt).23456 The lyrics suggested that large coverage of the Chicago Seven, as well as the "four dead in Ohio" - a reference to the Kent State shootings on 4 May 1970 - was because those involved were white: "nobody seems worried about all the black blood spilled", and thus a Civil Rights message. The song ended with a guitar solo and police siren sound-effects in the background. The guitar was played by Peter Green. Sources1The Story of Boogie-Woogie: A Left Hand Like God (Peter J. Silvester, 2009)↩2Chicago Tribune (archived copy)↩3nybooks.com: A special supplement the trial of bobby seale↩4Battleground Chicago (Frank Kusch, 2004)↩5Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History [3 Volumes] (Steven L. Danver, 2011)↩6Famous Trials (UMKC Law)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs

The song "Chicago Seven" (Warner Bros. Records # 7500) by Memphis Slim (born Pete Chapman) - a highly regarded blues piano player from Memphis, Tennessee (1915-1988), who moved to Chicago in the late 1930s - dealt with political protest during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights. It appeared on the 1971 album Blue Memphis (Warner Bros. Records # WS 1899).1 The lyrics suggested that large coverage of the Chicago Seven, as well as the "four dead in Ohio" - a reference to the Kent State shootings on 4 May 1970 - was because those involved were white: "nobody seems worried about all the black blood spilled". The song ended with a guitar solo and police siren sound-effects in the background. The guitar was played by Peter Green. Sources1The Story of Boogie-Woogie: A Left Hand Like God (Peter J. Silvester, 2009)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Everybody is talking about Chicago Seven / Four dead in Ohio, that makes eleven / Nobody seems worried about all the black blood spilled / They'd begun to take notice when some of their own got killed / Now I'm from Chicago, but I'm not bragging / Just can't stand that police nagging / Because in Chicago there is one big grudge / Oh Chicago Seven, had a name like a judge... / What goes up and down... / People have gone back to the underground

Notes

Warner Bros. Records 7500 (NA19565)S, white "Promotion – not for sale" label; "Chicago Seven" (Memphis Slim), 3:49; WB Music Corp. – ASCAP; produced by Philippe Rault, arranged by Jerry Long; "From the Warner Bros. album WS 1899 'Blue Memphis'"; made in U.S.A. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

American blues pianist, born 3 September 1915 in Memphis, Tennessee; died 24 February 1988 in Paris, France. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-War · Kent State · Jackson State · Civil Rights · Chicago Seven · Demonstration

In collections

1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs · Blues songs · Civil Rights Songs · Kent / Jackson State Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]