David Peel & The Lower East Side

Hey, Mr. Draft Board

1970 · Elektra EKS 74069 · New York City, New York

Artist
David Peel & The Lower East Side
Title
Hey, Mr. Draft Board
Release
American Revolution
Year
1970
Label
Elektra # EKS 74069
Format
LP · Album
Language
English
Country
New York City, New York, USA
Genre
Rock · Folk Rock
Primary theme
Peace, Protest & Anti-War

Annotation

Psychedelic folk rock group formed in New York City, USA, featuring David Peel, Harold Black, Billy Jo White, Larry Adams. Led by David Peel, born as Angel Perez, to Puerto Rican parents on 1 August 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and died 6 April 2017 in Manhattan, New York, USA, was said to have started out in the 1960s playing on the streets of New York with songs about drugs and dodgy cops. He served in the US military for two years, stationed in Alaska. He released the song "Chicago Conspiracy" on the 1972 album The Pope Smokes Dope about the demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the "Chicago Seven / Eight" - a reference to the high-profile activist arrested and put on trial. This album featured the song "Hey, Mr. Draft Board" (Elektra Records # EKS 74069), which took an anti-war perspective, with the narrator stating that "I don't want to go" and calling it a "dirty war". The narrator complained about being drafted, but not being able to vote. The narrator also suggested that those who started the war, the politicians, did not fight it, and thus it was not fair. The lyrics were backed by a military marching drum beat. At the end of the track, it…

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

formed in New York City, USA. David Peel, born as Angel Perez, to Puerto Rican parents on 1 August 1943 in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and died 6 April 2017 in Manhattan, New York, USA

Themes

Draft · Military

In collections

Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs