The Drug Company

Annotation — 1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs

Abbie Hoffman, born 30 November 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, died 12 April 1989 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA, an American political activist in the 1960s/70s, who helped found the Youth International Party (Yippies), took an active interest in the Vietnam War during the period. Hoffman faced trial in 1969 for inciting riots, as one of the eight people arrested outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August 1968 (The Chicago Eight) The album Wake Up, America (Big Toe Records # 1) contained several references to Vietnam, such as the tracks "Our National Anthem" and "Texas Tweezers" (which referenced My Lai). The song "The Drug Company" contained the line "we came to Chicago...there isn't a court in this country where we could have put Mayor Richard Daley, and LBJ". It also included the song "Chicago", a 7-minute spoken-word / comedy sketch, with elements of song, about the 1968 demonstration and subsequent trial.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

Abbie Hoffman (30 November 1936 - 12 April 12 1989), an American political activist in the 1960s/70s, who helped found the Youth International Party (Yippies), took an active interest in the Vietnam War during the period. Hoffman faced trial in 1969 for inciting riots, as one of the eight people arrested outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August 1968 (The Chicago Eight), 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, 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. The court tried him separately, and thus the eight became the Chicago Seven (see the 1970 album Gagged and Chained: The Sentencing of Bobby Seale for Contempt).12345 This is referenced in the Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson song H20 Gate Blues and in the Memphis Slim song Chicago Seven.Sources1Chicago Tribune (archived copy)↩2nybooks.com: A special supplement the trial of bobby seale↩3Battleground Chicago (Frank Kusch, 2004)↩4Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History [3 Volumes] (Steven L. Danver, 2011)↩5Famous Trials (UMKC Law)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Caller: / "Mr. Hoffman...I just want to say...you have myopic point of view... / You have no conception of what life is all about / I accuse you of being a fraud, you're an exhibitionist... / If this country were run by people like you... / Society couldn't exist with creatures like you / You show your ignorance of what American is about / Your constant criticism, you wouldn't exist in Russian for five minutes / You'd be on the firing line... / The people in power made this country what it is" / Hoffman: / "You damn right they did! What the hell is it man? / I mean we killed a million people in Vietnam, don't you think that is damaging the public image of the country? / They killed a million people, what do you think My Lai was / What do you think My Lai was, a god damn Connie Island trip

Notes

Big Toe Records BIG TOE 1, stereo, pink labels, "Big Toe Records, Flat Edward, New York • Made in America", "Music by The Joint Chiefs of Staff". Side 1: Our Nat'l Anthem / Malachy's Bar & Grill / Texas Tweezers / The Drug Co. / Ave Maria / Jesus (total time 25:30); Side 2: Rubin / Flush Cool Water for Nixon / Chicago / Washington at Valley Forge / Religion of Sorts / Out of Doors / God Bless America / The Only Dope Worth Shooting (total time 25:04). The cover, "Abbie Hoffman sings on his friends The Joint Chiefs of Staff...", is a comic-strip drawing signed "p bramley": Hoffman in a stars-and-stripes shirt juggling a top-hatted baby, ringed by panels of a smog-choked city, an astronaut planting a flag on the moon, Uncle Sam with a hippie ("Lids?"), a haloed figure fleeing a boat ("Hey! Hippie!"), a fife-and-drum trio and the Statue of Liberty with a raised fist and a women's symbol.…

About the artist

Abbie Hoffman, born 30 November 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, died 12 April 1989 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, USA. Political and social activist of the 1960s/70s who helped found the Youth International Party (Yippies), and took an active interest in the Vietnam War. Hoffman faced trial in 1969 for inciting riots, as one of the eight people arrested outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago in August 1968 (The Chicago Eight), all high-profile activists - Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin from the hippie movement, the Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, political activists Rennie Davis…

Themes

Anti-War · LBJ · Chicago Seven · Nixon · MLK

In collections

1968 Chicago Seven / Eight Songs · My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]