In their award-winning book “We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War”—which Rolling Stone magazine named the best music book of 2015—co-authors Doug Bradley and Craig Werner place popular music at the heart of the American wartime experience. Based on this compassionate study of the ways in which U.S. troops turned to music as a means of connection and coping with combat and the lingering effects of PTSD, Bradley and Werner have developed a healing presentation merging indelible songs from the 1960s and ‘70s with personal stories told by U.S. troops.
For this afternoon program that honors all veterans and gives voice to their pasts and legacies, Bradley and Werner will provide a brief overview of how music functioned during and after the Vietnam War; share songs by Bob Dylan, Bill Withers, Creedence Clearwater Revival and other era-defining musicians; relate firsthand accounts from a chorus of veterans; and engage the audience in a Q&A session, all in a nonjudgmental environment of sharing, listening and understanding.
Doug Bradley is a Madison, Wisconsin–based Vietnam veteran who has written extensively about his war and postwar experiences, notably in books “Who’ll Stop the Rain: Respect, Remembrance, and Reconciliation in Post-Vietnam America: and “DEROS Vietnam: Dispatches from the Air-Conditioned Jungle.”
Professor emeritus Craig Werner taught literature, music and cultural history in the department of African American Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a member of the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for two decades and he has written liner notes for rereleases of classic soul albums and contributed to documentaries on topics ranging from the Harlem Renaissance to Motown. Werner’s books include “Higher Ground: Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul” and “A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race and the Soul of America.”
“Doug and Craig’s program…is outstanding. They grab your attention from the start and the music transports you. It’s amazing to hear the music and the effect it had on the soldiers. You come away with a whole new perspective on the war and the music of the era.”
—Sonia Outlaw-Clark, West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center
This event is free with admission; limited-capacity general admission seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Details:
Saturday, Nov. 9
1 p.m.
Bob Dylan Center
116 E. Reconciliation Way, Tulsa, OK 74103
Tickets:
Free with admission
Free admission for veterans and active military personnel
