Buffalo Springfield
recorded the song “For What It’s Worth” on December 5, 1966. In November of the
same year, a strict 10 p.m. curfew and several laws dealing with loitering were
passed due to disgruntled residents of the area. Theses laws attempted to
diminish the amount of traffic due to young people going to clubs. Outraged at
this apparent infringement on their rights, the young club patrons demonstrated
along the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles on November 12, 1966. Buffalo Springfield
played as the band of the Whisky a Go Go, a club along the Sunset Strip. The
first of the “Sunset Strip riots” inspired Buffalo Springfield to write “For
What It’s Worth.” Since the song generically mentions the protest, it is often
misunderstood as an anti-war song. Due to its simplicity, “For What it’s Worth”
was incorporated as an anthem for larger social and political protests. Were it
not for the strong political turbulence of the time, the song might have gone
unnoticed. Because many believed this song evoked feelings of protest against war,
and it was subsequently used in several films involving war, including the
Vietnam scenes in “Forrest Gump.”
-Andrew Fein
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