Stand and Be Counted

Book excerpt: "NOBODY KIDS THEMSELVES INTO BELIEVING THAT THEY CAN SOLVE THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS. WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, TO CHANGE THINGS FOR THE BETTER WHEREVER WE CAN. AND IF IT TAKES A LONG PUSH, THEN WE'RE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL. A LOT OF TIMES THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE GENIUS OF THE MOMENT. IT'S ABOUT PERSISTENCE. IT'S ABOUT BEING IN THERE AND STAYING IN THERE." Since the early sixties, musicians have put themselves on the line for the causes they believed in, raising public awareness about important issues through songs, rallies, and benefit events. For more than thirty years, musician David Crosby has been one of rock 'n' roll's most outspoken voices for social change. in Stand and Be Counted, he and coauthor David Bender recount the stories of the artists who made a difference and the passionate convictions that moved them. Crosby's personal participation and his friendships with many of the artists involved give readers a behind-the-scenes look at events from the civil rights marches and antiwar moratoriums of the sixties, to the antinuclear events of the seventies, to Live Aid and the Amnesty International events of the eighties--right up to the Tibetan Freedom concerts of today. This compelling story includes new interviews with such diverse artists as Harry Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, Adam Yauch, Phil Collins, Robin Williams, Eddie Vedder, Joan Baez, and Jimmy Buffett. Poignant and inspirational, Stand and Be Counted is an unforgettable document of the history of activism in late twentieth-century America.