Response Alice's Restaurant Massacree

arlo guthrie performing during 2005 alice s restaurant massacree 40th anniversary tour.

alice s restaurant first performed publicly guthrie singing live on radio unnameable, overnight program hosted bob fass aired on new york radio station wbai, 1 evening in 1966. guthrie performed song several times live on wbai in 1966 , 1967, prior song s commercial release. song proved popular @ 1 point fass (who known playing songs liked on , on again in graveyard slot) started playing recording of 1 of guthrie s live performances of song repeatedly; non-commercial station rebroadcast when listeners pledged donate large amount of money.

alice s restaurant performed on july 17, 1967, @ newport folk festival in workshop or break-out section on topical songs, such hit called upon perform entire festival audience. song s success @ newport , on wbai led guthrie record in front of studio audience in new york city , release side 1 of album, alice s restaurant, released in october 1967.

the original album rose #17 on billboard chart. song far long released (or fit) on 45 rpm single, , never made billboard hot 100 (because of this, billboard classifies guthrie one-hit wonder later hit, city of new orleans, without regard success alice s restaurant ). 2 years after album came out, guthrie released alice s rock & roll restaurant single—a shorter (4:43) tune incorporated chorus, removed entire monologue, used different arrangement, , added verses (all of little advertise restaurant). peaked @ #97 on billboard singles chart.

it has become tradition many classic rock radio stations play song each thanksgiving. @ 1 point in original recording, guthrie notes if 2 draftees sing line can want, @ alice s restaurant in harmony military consider them faggots (a slur more acceptable in 1967) and, because open homosexuals not allowed in armed forces until 2012, reject them soldiers. song nonetheless presented uncut , federal communications commission has never punished radio station playing song. when performs song live in concert, guthrie changes line less offensive , topical: ll think re gay—not there s wrong or ll think re trying married in parts of kentucky.

after release of original album, guthrie continued perform song in concert, revising , updating lyrical content. in 1969, instance, performed 20-minute rendition of song (instead of original narrative) told fictional story of how russian , chinese military operatives attempted weaponize multicolored rainbow roaches had found @ alice s restaurant, , how lyndon johnson administration orchestrated plan nation defend itself. recording of version, given title alice: before time began , released in 2009 on cd distributed guthrie s own rising son records label; recording of version, given title alice s restaurant multicolored rainbow roach affair, has been released through record label. late 1970s, guthrie had removed song regular concert repertoire.

in 1984, guthrie, on tour supporting walter mondale s 1984 presidential campaign, revived alice s restaurant protest reagan-era policies (specifically reactivation of selective service system registrations), version has not been released on commercial recording; @ least 1 bootleg of version 1 of guthrie s performances exists. tour, occurred near 20th anniversary of song, prompted guthrie return song playlist every ten years, coinciding anniversary of either song or incident. 30th anniversary version of song includes follow-up recounting how learned richard nixon had owned copy of song, , jokingly suggested explained famous 18½ minute gap in watergate tapes. guthrie re-recorded entire debut album 1997 cd alice s restaurant: massacree revisited, on rising son label, includes expanded version. 40th anniversary edition, performed @ , released recording kerrville folk festival, made note of parallels between 1960s , then-present day iraq war , george w. bush administration. guthrie revived song 50th anniversary edition in 2015, expected last, not believe still able perform song (and may not alive) time 60th anniversary comes around in 2025; if believes can still perform song then, hold 60th anniversary tour.

artist s reflections

in 2014 interview rolling stone, guthrie pointed out believes there such things wars , message targeted @ vietnam war in particular. interviews ron bennington in 2009 , npr in 2005 describe song not anti-war song anti-stupidity song. guthrie considers song relevant today in 1965.

guthrie has said because of length of piece, never expected song released, less become thanksgiving tradition, because such extended monologues extremely rare in era when singles typically less 3 minutes in length. cited inspiration long-form monologues of lord buckley , bill cosby when writing song s lyrics , number of different musicians (in particular mississippi john hurt) in composing piedmont fingerstyle guitar accompaniment. song written events happened on course of approximately 1 year; grew out of simple joke riff guthrie had been working on in 1965 , 1966 before guthrie appeared before draft board (the opening written can hide obanhein @ alice s restaurant, hence how restaurant got tied original story), , later added experience before draft board create song known today. additional portions of song written during 1 of guthrie s many stays english songwriter , music journalist karl dallas , family in london. guthrie recalled friendship dallas in 2016 obituary dallas. guthrie sent demo recording of song father woody guthrie on deathbed; was, according family joke, last thing woody heard before died.