July 23, 1967: Detroit, Michigan-The Revolution in Song!

Fifty years ago on Sunday July 23, I would normally be at a baseball game.

That was pretty much the pattern with my friends. If the Detroit Tigers were playing and I didn’t have any family plans, I would normally get everyone together and my brother would drop us off at Tiger Stadium.

We would take the bus home after the game including a transfer at Warren and Trumbull.

At that point in time, we were still sitting in the left field grandstands. $2 a ticket if I remember correctly.

On July 23, the Tigers had their usual Sunday afternoon game. For some reason, and I can’t remember why, I didn’t go to the game. I think I wasn’t feeling well. Believe me, next to music, baseball was my next favorite interest, and it was a very close second! I must have been close to being on a deathbed. We were all just kids anywhere from 9 to 11 years old.

Surprisingly, someone else was able to arrange a ride to the game. When I talked to my friends later, they told me that you could see heavy smoke over the top of the stadium. They said they had no idea what was going on, but the game continued so they didn’t worry about it.

But they also said that the atmosphere at the ballpark was strange that day. People seemed on edge. They said the bus ride also began to get scary and they wanted to get out of there fast. People were screaming and yelling. Everyone made it home safely, but not without worry.

Of course, unknown to them or myself, the uprising had begun earlier that day. And it seemed to go on for eternity that week.

And in a sense, it did.

As much as I tried to stay away from this topic on “Prime Time Theme Attic” with @Phil Maq, Mondays, from 8PM-10PM ET, I find that I am drawn to the music about the conflict. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get anywhere with the music, but I think I have it figured out. There will also be the usual but always unusual, Phil’s Faves: Songs, “Top 9 at 9:09!”

Gil Scott—Heron was a jazz beat poet that made his debut afterwards, and produced a song, that if a person could make the “Theme Attic Hall of Fame” on just one song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” would be it. It was played on a consistent basis on all of the underground stations. The song will be featured on the show: