The fact that it was stylish to have faded jeans was a way of identifying with those of the poorer working class, the struggling Americans. But the fact is that a lot of these young people came from wealthy families and could afford a new pair of Levi's if they really wanted. It is possible that some hippies simply couldn't afford new jeans their old ones faded in time, or they inherited some hand-me-downs. It's such a staple of modern fashion that it's strange to think they exist for any other reason than style, but the reason they have become stylish in the first place is because of the hippies. Tie-dyed shirts were perhaps a tribute to the psychedelic drugs people were experimenting with at the time, which often rendered colors especially vivid, and perhaps it was also a celebration of difference-the acceptance of all colors, or all different kinds of people.Īnd why did they wear faded jeans? Jeans fade on their own, of course, but nowadays we buy them pre-faded. The long hair symbolized a freedom from society's gender restrictions, as well as its rigid, dogmatic way of life. These pics are from such locations as Frankfurt and Siegen, Germany and Durness, Scotland where Allison Crowe headlined the 'Northern Lights Festival', a benefit for the John Lennon Memorial Garden.The typical hippie outfit-which could be seen on Janis Joplin almost constantly-often included one or more of the following: faded jeans, big sunglasses, long, untamed hair, tie-dyed shirts, a bandana, maybe some beads, and a good ol' pair of boots.Ĭlothes can tell you a lot about a culture or youth movement, and for the hippies in the 1960s, clothes were an especially vital part of the rebellion. Images are from Billie Woods, ( ), the terrifically talented photographer who regularly tours Europe with Crowe. Yet, performed the same way by almost anyone else, the same tactic would come off as too precious by half." Listen to her inflected pronunciation of 'Baton Rouge' in the first line, 'Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train.' It makes this version of the song her own from that point, giving the song a richer, more complex flavor than those rendered in flat Midwestern intonations. "Although Allison introduces over a dozen significant adaptations to 'Me and Bobby McGee,' I'll point out only one nuance. It is definitely not an Allison Crowe kind of song. So did The Grateful Dead and Dolly Parton. Kenny Rogers, when he was still the Kenny Rogers in Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, sang it, as did Gordon Lightfoot, Bill Haley & His Comets, Sam The Sham, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. Me and Bobby McGee is a Kristofferson-Joplin-Miller kind of song. Nor would it have been on my Possible Allison Crowe Covers #101-200″ list, nor the #201 to 300″ list. radiating dangerous levels of wholesomeness), 'Me and Bobby McGee would not have been on my list. If Allison had asked me to select 100 possible covers for her to play in a concert, a real concert with a fancy piano set in the converted church chapel of the Conservatory of Music in Victoria, British Columbia, a concert that would become the album, Allison Crowe Live At Wood Hall (with album art. "Also noteworthy, however, is the choice of this song itself. " 'Me and Bobby McGee,' the song authored by Kris Kristofferson and popularized by Janis Joplin (although Roger Miller's version was the first to rank as a hit), is not one of my favorites, but it is useful as an example of Allison Crowe's skills, in part because most readers of this blog have, I suspect, heard it sung by at least a couple of performers. Then, for something completely different, listen to her take on Ronnie Shannon's 'I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)', which is (forgive me, Aretha) the best I've heard. If you haven't heard her powerful yet not strident version of 'Hallelujah'. Showalter explains: "Of course, the credentials that matter most are her performances. "Allison Crowe is the best thing to happen to 'Me And Bobby McGee' since Janis Joplin changed Kristofferson's lyrics," says Allan Showalter of "Cohencentric" blog ( ), noted as “arguably the greatest living (Leonard) Cohen expert”. Canadian musician Allison Crowe performs live in concert "Me and Bobby McGee", the Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson song recorded most famously, iconically, by Janis Joplin.
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