NO NUKES, May 6 1979, Washington D.C…Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne and the “Quaalude Dude”

nonukes

I don’t really remember who I went with….

It was a big rally and we knew Jane Fonda, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell we gonna be there. It was 6 months after Three Mile Island had a partial meltdown, which scared the shit out of everybody in Baltimore, since we were in the “BAD” range.

You can see how well we killed the whole “Nuclear Power” thing. We can’t even pronounce the word properly. Even Congressmen on the NEW-CLEAR commission say NU-QUOO-LUR….It’s an American thing. SO, we dealt with that as thoroughly as we dealt with WOMEN’S RIGHTS and CIVIL RIGHTS and RACISM…..NOT!

The upside? It was fun. day full of protests…..the resembled a big party. Jane Fonda/Tom Hayden talked…Jerry Brown talked and we “listened” going…When is the music gonna start.

Finally it did start and it was really nice to hear them play, just acoustic, no band. My favorite tune of the day was Jahn Hall’s “POWER”. It’s a lovely song that actually had something to do with the thought of the day. He went on to become a Congressman. One night in the 80’s, when our reggae band, “PRESSURE” was playing in Joplin, Missouri, he was in the bar and asked if he could play with us. He grabbed his guitar, plugged in and played 2 sets with us.

So, back to the protest rally…..It was a big crowd and very hot, lots of pot in the air and alcohol being share. At one point there was a BIG chant going NO MORE NUKES! NO MORE NUKES! NO MORE NUKES! NO MORE NUKES! NO MORE NUKES!

I looked to my left and noticed this well baked young man, fist raised high above his drooping head, yelling NO MORE LUDES! (Quaaludes!) NO MORE LUDES! NO MORE LUDES! NO MORE LUDES! Well, at least we succeeded in getting rid of THEM!

Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne. nonukes22Anti nuclear power demonstration, Washington, DC, May 6, 1979Jerry Brown and Jane Fonda

(Read: Jane Fonda’s Bottom-blog entry here https://myentertaininglifestevecarter.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/jane-fondas-bottom/)nonukes33

Author: myentertaininglife-stevecarter

I am a lifelong musician, spent the majority of my career playing in Austin, Texas. I am, originally from Baltimore, Md. I am married and have 2 kids (Well, "kids", son-33 and daughter-24, from marriage 1 and 2, third time's a charm. At 63, I am still in 4 working bands. I have played with many of my idols. I have traveled, mostly, to Europe, to play. I LOVE history and am blessed to have traveled to many "dream" historical sites.

4 thoughts on “NO NUKES, May 6 1979, Washington D.C…Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne and the “Quaalude Dude””

  1. Hi, just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing this. I was at that no nukes rally, I was 17 years old. Me and my best friend were right up front. What a great day that was, had so much fun. Almost got fired from my job for being late cause I couldn’t leave til I saw Jackson Browne. Sweet memories!!!! Take care.

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  2. So I just come across this article I too was there in 1979. I was 19 years old and with some friends from Baltimore to protest. Bonus was all the great musicians that played that day. I have pictures of the banner No Nukes with my friends and journey Jackson Browne we’re singing together and I have pictures of that as well I’m going to look them up it’s been years since I thought about that day. Crazy I lost two of my friends from AIDS that went with me to that concert years later in the 80s. Always will be a special place in my heart for that day.

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