Blasts From the Past: Music in Ann Arbor, 1960s
In the late 1960s, in particular with the Ann Arbor Blues Festivals in 1969 and 1970, the blues were coming to town. Since Chicago is only a few hours drive from Ann Arbor, some of the Chicago blues greats were finding their way here.
I am feeling a little nostalgic. I just read the book on a friend of mine, the great blues guitarist-- “Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero” by Ed Ward. Excellent book. I don’t blog much on my musical background, but I have one. Here is a little taste of that both in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.
In Ann Arbor, the 'Summer of Love' was a time of political protests
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AADL Talks To: Pun Plamondon
Pun Plamondon was a directionless teen with left-wing leanings when he met John Sinclair, Leni Sinclair, and Gary Grimshaw in Detroit in the mid-1960s. He grew to become the co-founder of the White Panther Party/Rainbow People's Party as well as its Minister of Defense. In that role he found himself on the run as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Criminals and the subject of a case before the United States Supreme Court. In this episode we talk to Pun about that journey, including the formation of the White Panther Party and Rainbow People’s Party, being there for some of the key events in 1960s Ann Arbor, and finding his Native American roots.
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AADL Talks To: John Sinclair (May 3, 2011)
In this interview from May 3, 2011, John Sinclair elaborates on the importance of Black culture and, in particular, the Black Panther Party, in the formation of both the White Panther and Rainbow People's Parties in Ann Arbor; as well as the more humorous and theatrical elements of their antics during those years. He also reflects on his brother David Sinclair, his ex-wife Leni Sinclair, White Panther co-founder, Pun Plamondon, and artist Gary Grimshaw.