Black Day

[Paul Farnham]

Just curious: it has been mentioned here that Gord does not include "Black Day In July" in his current shows and in fact the song is not among his favorites. Are there any corfidians who, like me, grew up in Detroit and are old enough to remember the '67 riot and recall watching the tanks roll down the neighborhood roads? For us, "Black Day" has always had and retains great significance.

[Borderstone]

I'm not old enough to recall the riot(born 1968) and honestly,knew nothing about that one specifically until I heard "Black Day In July".

I read about it in a online search though. What a small thing like a closed store to spark such insanity!

[Kilgore]

He doesn't play it because of the controversy I heard. It is really a great song particularly lyrically when you know what it is about.

[Kathy in Michigan]

Paul,

I'm old enough to remember...
I lived in Redford Township (6 mile and Beech Daly).

My dad bought a gun to protect us, though I don't think he knew how to shoot it and I never saw any ammo for it. We kept our shades pulled down, even during the day.

My foolish brother decided to go to Plum St (old Det hippie hangout) to see what it was like down town. He never said what went down there, but he never went back. I think something scared him pretty bad.

It wasn't until about 3 or 4 years ago that I actually read an account of the chain of events that led up to the riot. It made me sad. I was 15 when it happened and up until that time, we often took the 6 mile bus to Woodward and then a bus to down town to hang out for the day. There was a great record store where I used to buy all my 45's on Griswold (I think). We never ventured too far off Woodward and Jefferson Ave (?)- too dangerous.

Bittersweet memories, eh?

[Paul Farnham]

Hi Kathy! Looks like we're the same age. I was also 15 at the time, about to enter my junior year at Detroit Catholic Central. We were living in the Fenkel (aka 5 Mile)and Schaefer area, so we weren't in the thick of it, but close enough to see the smoke. My most vivid memory is watching a column of tanks roll down Fenkel. Surreal. I lived in Detroit 'til '89 when we moved here to Central PA. My sister lives in Rochester Hills, so we go back from time to time. A few years ago we drove up Woodward through what used to be downtown. I say "used to be" because what we saw was a ghost town of boarded up buildings and grafitti. It was heartbreaking. I see you're still in MI. Where? Nice meeting and talking to ya! Paul

[charlene]

Originally posted by Borderstone:


I read about it in a online search though. What a small thing like a closed store to spark such insanity!

I'm reasonably sure there was a whole lot more than a store closure that 'caused' the riots B.It was just ther proverbial straw...

[Paul Farnham]

To the best of my recollection, it was sparked when the cops raided a "Blind Pig" i.e. an illegal after hours drinking and gambling establishment.

[Borderstone]

You're most likely right Char,just going by what I read.

[Jennifer]

I wasn't even yet a sparkle in my Dad's eye in '67!

I don't know too much about the actual occurences that lead to the riot. Good song though.

[Winter's Claw]

That's probably Gordon's only "dated" song. It's not a bad tune, but I understand why he wouldn't want to play it live.

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

According to the CBC Archives It was on this day in 1968 BDIJ was banned from the US airwaves.


http://archives.cbc.ca/on_this_day

[Islandgirl]

There's another song that is "dated" - Go Go Round - there haven't been go-go girls since the late 60's. That said, I think BDIJ is a great song. When asked about it during the more recent interviews, Gord states he now believes that, as a Canadian, he had no right writing a song on an American issue. I was a 13 yr. old US citizen in 1967. I remember people saying that the riots happened because of the hot weather. I first heard BDIJ when I was around 21 yrs. - certainly more politically sophisticated and able to read between the lines. I was amazed by lyrics and music of BDIJ. I'm glad Gord wrote the song.

-Dorothea

[BILLW]

Originally posted by Islandgirl:
There's another song that is "dated" - Go Go Round - there haven't been go-go girls since the late 60's.-Dorothea

True but what a wonderful song Go Go Round still is. The Edmund Fitz sunk long ago and people still love that one. As did the Yarmouth Castle...

Bill

[Borderstone]

Unless you count the girls in the group The B-52's or The Go-Go's themselves,there hasn't been any go-go girls. :D LOL!

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

Originally posted by Islandgirl:
There's another song that is "dated" - Go Go Round - there haven't been go-go girls since the late 60's. That said, I think BDIJ is a great song. When asked about it during the more recent interviews, Gord states he now believes that, as a Canadian, he had no right writing a song on an American issue. I was a 13 yr. old US citizen in 1967. I remember people saying that the riots happened because of the hot weather. I first heard BDIJ when I was around 21 yrs. - certainly more politically sophisticated and able to read between the lines. I was amazed by lyrics and music of BDIJ. I'm glad Gord wrote the song.

-Dorothea

I can't see why'd he'd feel in such a way assuming he meant no harm. I'm puzzed at why he chose Detroit and not write a song about the US riots in general though I'm aware of the fact Detroit had the worst of it at the time.

[Islandgirl]

I wasn't knocking Go Go Round. Although not in my top ten, I like it. It has a catchy tune and lyrics. In fact, my niece [now 13] loved GGR when she first heard it several years ago. She still loves it. We play the CD whenever we are riding around in my car. I used to spend a lot of time with my niece [now that she's a teen she spends more time with her friends although we make sure we spend quality time together every once in a while]and as a result of hanging with me she has been inundated with Gord's music. In fact, and I can't believe I forgot this, when she first started listening to his tunes, around age 4 there were two favorites. The obvious was PONY MAN but the other [and I was shocked and kind of worried/puzzled]was BDIJ! I don't know what drew her to that song. I love spending time with my niece and I do wish we could see each other more often. But the most feel good experience was about a year ago, when she called me on the phone all excited and announced that she heard a song on the radio [really heard it] and now it was her most favorite song. She was so drawn to it that she downloaded the MP3. She impishly asked me if i knew the song. . . . .
That song was IYCRMM. Although IYCRMM was always in the repretoire of Gord's music, she never really showed an interest although I told her I thought it was one of the best he ever wrote. My niece was growing up and discovering her own music. She already was into artists and groups that I never heard of and out of the blue she picks up on IYCRMM all on her own and decides it's a wonderful song. I reveled in her excitement and was proud of her exquisite taste in music.

-Dorothea

[louisemnnpls]

Had just moved to Minneapolis (from Northern MI), but it seemed like all of North Minneapolis was burning, too. It was over so much of the country.
Was appalled to see last year, though, when we went to Flint and the surroudning area that there are still big areas that are burnt and all the blocks of houses with bars on the windows. Was not prepared to see that. Was all that from the riots, too? Or do fires just keep happening???? Do people live in the houses with bars on them?