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- The Byrds, “He Was a Friend of Mine” (1966): Bob Dylan cut a version of this traditional ballad for his first album (and didn’t end up including it). For their Turn!
- Phil Ochs, “Crucifixion” (1967): Coincidently, the first epic ballad about Kennedy came from Dylan’s friend and rival from the Greenwich Village folk days.
- Misfits, “Bullet” (1978): On one of their first recordings, Glenn Danzig and his early-punk bros didn’t mince words right from the start: “President’s bullet-ridden body in the street/Ride, Johnny ride/Kennedy’s shattered head hits concrete/Ride, Johnny ride.”
- Lou Reed, “The Day John Kennedy Died” (1982): Rarely did Reed let his guard down as much as he did on this thoughtful track from The Blue Mask. With his band playing and strumming respectfully behind him, Reed dreams of all the things he would do if he were the leader of the free world, which includes being able to forget that day in 1963.
In November 1963, classical music was called on to help the nation deal with the emotional fallout in a more elemental way. It often is when tragedy leaves us without the words we need.
Nov 21, 2013 · One of the most moving documents to emerge from the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination is a radio broadcast.
Nov 21, 2013 · The orchestra was mid-performance when news of the president's assassination reached the symphony hall in 1963. The musicians had to decide: suspend the concert or continue?
Nov 25, 2023 · From Bob Dylan to The Byrds and Billy Joel, a host of classics songs have been written about the assassination of President JFK.
Nov 11, 2013 · What was to have been a routine concert became a memorial to the 35th President of the United States, reduced audience members to tears and in some ways redefined what music could be for those...
People also ask
Did John Kennedy die at the Dallas Symphony Hall concert?
What songs were popular in the 1960s?
Where did the first epic ballad about Kennedy come from?
Nov 22, 2013 · The News of JFK’s Assassination. Concertmaster Erich Leinsdorf telephoned William Shisler, the librarian for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He told him to pull the sheet music for Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and bring it to the musicians.
