This week, Ryan Walsh joins us to discuss Boston in 1968, the James Brown concert that might have prevented a riot, a cult that took over Roxbury’s Fort Hill, the strange history of LSD in our city, and a musical movement called the Bosstown Sound. Most of all, though, we will discuss his book Astral Weeks, a Secret History of 1968 and the Van Morrison record that inspired it.
Astral Weeks
- Buy the book Astral Weeks, A Secret History of 1968 from Penguin, Amazon, or Brookline Booksmith.
- Ryan’s author event at Brookline Booksmith on March 6, 2018.
- Follow Ryan Walsh on Twitter, or visit the websites for his book or his band.
- The famous 1968 James Brown concert at Boston Garden that helped calm the city after Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination.
- Earth Opera, Orpheus, and Chamaeleon Church were all Bosstown Sound bands.
- I thought Earth Opera’s The Red Sox are Winning had the most interesting lyrics of any of the Bosstown songs I listened to.
- Chamaeleon Church had the unique claim to fame of featuring Chevy Chase on drums. Yes, that Chevy Chase.
- Orpheus, Can’t Find the Time
Featured Historic Site
The Commonwealth Museum, located on Columbia Point in Dorchester, is the official museum of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and houses an amazing Treasures Gallery full of precious documents from the founding of our state and the nation. You can see the original 1629 charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, and the 1692 Charter of William and Mary that reestablished self government in Massachusetts. Nearby, you can see the original copy of the Massachusetts Constitution, a copy of the Declaration of Independence signed by John Hancock, and a copy of the Bill of Rights signed by John Adams. You can also see the Copper plate Paul Revere used to engrave his famous print “Bloody Massacre in King Street, March 5, 1770.”
The museum is open Monday-Friday 9-4:30, as well as on weekends from 9-3 from May to October.
Upcoming Event
On March 20, the John F Kennedy Presidential Library will be hosting a forum called “Vietnam 1968: The War, the Turmoil, and the Presidential Election.” It will be hosted by Laurence O’Donnell, Fredrik Logevall, Christian Appy, and Ellen Fitzpatrick.
They will be discussing the relationship between events in the Vietnam War during 1968 and events in domestic American politics in 1968. The forum is part of the National Archives’ Remembering Vietnam initiative, and the program will be introduced by David S Ferreiro, archivist of the United States.
The event is free, but advanced registration is strongly recommended in order to get a seat in the main hall. There will also be a live webcast, so you can follow along at home.