During the 1970s, domestic and international events created mass societal unrest. In response, many musicians participated in expressing this sense of dissatisfaction towards society by creating new forms of music. Using drugs as a means of escape from the tumultuous reality society had created, musicians soon became interconnected with the rock genre itself. The consumption of rock music thus accompanied the consumption of drugs.
Rock audiences looked to their idols with excitement to share in the escapist bliss, enlightenment, and rebellion that the figures normalized. This created a powerful countercultural effect and firmly established the connection between drugs, rebellion, and music. Among the affected population, the rock artists of the 1970s greatly influenced the University of Maryland’s students and the greater University of Maryland community.
Let’s take a look at some of the Greats…
All openly used different forms of drugs in public setting
David Bowie
David Bowie was an English singer and songwriter, who was awarded 10 platinum album certifications and is part of the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Rising steadily in fame through the 1970s, Bowie reached peak commercial success by the early 1980s. In 1976, while touring for Station to Station, Bowie became embroiled in political controversy following a paparazzi scandal. That year, his mental health declined as his cocaine use spiraled, leading to erratic behaviors, including controversial fascist gestures at “The Victoria Station Incident,” where he was photographed appearing to give a Nazi salute from a car.1 Bowie later attributed these actions to the severe drug addiction and mental health crisis he experienced while living in Los Angeles. He was one of the great rock and roll artists who battled drug addiction and made it through to the other side.
Janis Joplin
This legendary singer-songwriter was known for her captivating charisma on stage alongside her powerful, emotional vocals. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, on January 19, 1943, she became well-known in the late 1960s as the main vocalist of Big Brother and the Holding Company based in California. She then went on to have a prosperous solo career. Her honest heartfelt stage appearances in which her behavior went against the grain, and unique fusion of rock, blues genre, and psychedelic rock made her an icon of the countercultural rock community movement in the late 60s.2 Unfortunately, her career was cruelly cut short on October 4, 1970, when she overdosed on heroin at the age of 27. Because of her immense talent and impact, her songs are still relevant to this day.
From 1970–71, many artists, including Joplin, joined the 27 Club. This refers to the phenomena that famous musicians throughout the decades died by the age of 27, largely due to drug overdose. These early deaths only boosted the fame and legend status of each of these artists and their music, with notable successes like Joplin’s “Pearl “and Jim Morrison’s “An American Prayer.” These both went platinum and pushed these artists into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, further cementing their rock legacy.
Lou Reed was the co-founder of the rock band Velvet Underground. He struggled with mental health issues early in life and turned to drinking, drug use, and dealing as a way to cope during college. Reed started using heroin in his senior year of college in order to expand his creative horizons. Eventually, he wrote the song “Heroin,” released in 1964, about the feeling of injecting heroin into your veins. This song was one of the band’s most successful records and made Reed a pioneer for explicitly singing about drug experiences and associated feelings.3
Lou Reed
What do all three of these big names share in common? They all made it into the public spotlight and went down as being some of the greats of their generation and genre. Due to their substantial cultural platforms that influenced millions around the world, we can see the significance of their participation in one of rock’s prevalent subcultures: engagement in drug use.
Impacts…
How do public rock figures impact their listeners?
Impact 1: Growing the Sense of Counterculture
A counterculture group defies mainstream standards and promotes unconventional lifestyles, practices, and perspectives emphasizing themes like love, peace, equality, anti-war emotions, and personal freedom.4 During the 1970s, political and social movements such as the deployment of American soldiers in the Vietnam war and the sexual revolution created a sense of unrest and desire for change within American society. The reaction to these events promoted the importance of escapism: the idea that one can escape the chaotic world they are living in for a world of freedom and bliss.5 In order to obtain this, people often turned to music, specifically psychedelic rock, where musicians and participants could freely express themselves in a way that could be heard and felt. Arguably as important as escapism, psychedelic rock functioned as a means to rebel against conventional themes, promoting counterculture.6 Participating in drug culture is an act of counterculture in itself as drug use has traditionally been often renounced by U.S. society.7
Explore the events that intensified the concept of counterculture in the 1970s! Click through the timeline below!
The Diamondback
The Diamondback is a student authored and organized newspaper that was established in 1921 right on the University of Maryland campus, and is still running into today! This source offers a unique perspective as it gives us a look through the student authors’ eyes.
Listening to Music on the Radio: The FCC’s Mediation
The Diamondback article by Elizabeth Hall explains the government’s concerns about WMUC, the radio station of the University of Maryland. The local station is called out under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), for playing rock music. The FCC claimed that rock music was “tending to glorify the use of drugs” and therefore, they wanted to put an end to this encouragement. It is pertinent to note that the WMUC was an independent college station, not a federal radio station, at the time of this publication in 1971 that was outside of the scope of the FCC’s responsibilities. It wasn’t until 1979 that WMUC obtained their FCC license. 8
Hall points out that over seven million students are being restricted in their consumption of rock music, exemplifying the immense impact of Counterculture. By attempting to mediate the rock genre on independent student radios, the government is acknowledging the strong relationship between rebellious activities, such as drug use, and the rock genre itself. The presence of the FCC’s attempted control outside of their authority, demonstrates their urgency to relieve this pressing issue.
The DiamondBack, UMD Digital Collection
Consuming music on the stage: Rock concerts
Click to see where University of Maryland Students attended concerts!
Rock concerts were a forum for the University of Maryland community to experience rock music in a liberating and immersive way. Concerts were held at a variety of venues on and around campus, and the advertisements for these events were listed in the popular media of the period: newspapers! Let’s take a look at one of the local newspapers produced during this time, The Unicorn Times.
Unicorn Times
The Unicorn Times was an independent pop culture regional newspaper based out of D.C. — only half an hour away from College Park! Before the age of social media, or even the internet, news traveled via physical print or radio. The newspaper served many important functions from the perspective of our research including informing the readers of local performances of musicians nearby, giving important social context of the events of the era, and providing the means businesses utilized to advertise their companies.
Lists of upcoming concerts appear in all of The Unicorn Times, promoting and advertising the performances for local residents so they could gain awareness of the upcoming productions. This spread the counterculture by showcasing rock performers at concerts, where they presented not just their music, often consisting of drug themes, but also their rowdy stage personas. Rock musicians frequently encouraged drug use through their image, performance, stage presence, and in their song content. Through all of these aspects, drug culture was encouraged and spread to youth audiences.
Impact 2: Normalization
A major consequence of rock music and its associations was a mass normalization of drugs. Though we discuss this at a separate impact, it is indeed intertwined with the rise at the counterculture. A stark demonstration of the societal condemnation of drug use occurred when President Richard Nixon, supported by Congress, passed stricter laws regulating the enforcement of drugs in 1971. These government actions reflect a negative tone towards the dominant mainstream society. 9 Due to this (attempted) restriction of drugs in American society by the dominant powers, the act of participating in the drug culture of the 1970s was inherently countercultural. Because of this, by normalizing drug use, rock musicians are also spreading a sense of counterculture. Many rock stars during the 1970s actively consumed different forms of drugs such as cocaine or marijuana in the public eye while also incorporating drug themes into their music. Let’s take a look into the evidence of the normalization of drugs during this time in and around the University of Maryland.
Advertising Drugs to the Everyday Consumer
The advertisements in the newspapers give us a good look into the local business scene during the 1970s. Upon inspection, we can see a lot of evidence of drug-based corporations marketing their drug-related products to the consumers of The Unicorn Times. The very same newspapers that promoted the performances nearby had drug advertisements on the same pages! This shows the normalization of drug paraphernalia and the subconscious association that was building between music, concerts, and substance use. 10 Seeing drug advertisements in a pop culture newspaper like The Unicorn Times further fortified this connection. It is reasonable to assume UMD students read local pop culture newspapers such as The Unicorn Times and similar prints due to their proximity and cultural commentary. The combination of concert promotion and drug ads in such news outlets reinforced the idea that substance use was not only acceptable but also intertwined with musical experiences. As students engaged with this content, it likely contributed to their perception that enjoying music and using drugs were part of a shared lifestyle.
Advertisements found in popular local newspaper: The Unicorn Times
Pysche Delly Venue
The name of a popular local music venue and restaurant, the Psyche Delly, is an example of drug themes being incorporated into life outside of a strict music realm. While the venue itself was related to music, the name of the establishment in a populated city normalized the associated substances. The Psyche Delly became a central location in the D.C. area for rock (and other) musicians to come together in an intimate environment with their audiences to perform. Located about a half an hour away from University of Maryland’s campus in Bethesda, Maryland, the small deli-turned-nightclub offered locals the opportunity to let loose and experience music in a close-up setting. Unlike the larger local concert venues, the smaller size favored a more personal intimate concert experience. 11
Promotion for upcoming performances at local venue, Psyche Delly printed in The Unicorn Times, SCPA
Dr. Hugo Keesing’s 1976 American Studies Course Syllabus, SCPA
Dr. Hugo Keesing’s Syllabus
Dr. Hugo Keesing was a Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland during the 1970s. His incorporation of drug-related music into his American Studies course curriculum emphasizes the growing normalization of the topic and its prevalence in the college student scene—he, in part, chose songs that would appeal to his students. The number of songs on the list, although not all classified as rock, also indicates the strong tie between music and drug use. The existence of this syllabus also indicates an important idea: we now know that the University of Maryland students enrolled in this class actively consumed this “drug” music, if not in their free time, certainly for the purpose of this course.
Keesing Collection
Dr. Hugo Keesing was a popular culture Professor at the University of Maryland throughout the 1970s and 80s, American Studies class, a popular course for students at UMD in the 1970s. The course syllabi, now included in the Special Collections in Performing Arts archive at UMD, were insightful for this project, as they included popular songs intended for student analysis. Dr. Keesing donated many of his personal memorabilia, including his syllabus and coursework for these classes, research artifacts on the Vietnam War protests, and a plethora of music publications. 12
Delving into Keesing’s song choices from his 1976 Syllabus…
“Journey to the Center of the Mind”–The Amboy Dukes
Click below to listen to “Journey to the Center of the Mind”
“Journey to the Center of the Mind” by the Amboy Dukes, #63 on Keesing’s syllabus, displays many aspects of the criteria and characteristics of psychedelic rock. Released in 1968, the title, lyrics, and sonic aspects of the song allude to the use of psychedelic, mind-altering drugs. It is also relevant to note that this song was included in Keesing’s UMD syllabus almost 10 years after its release date implying that Kessing felt that the song was emblematic of the time of release and perhaps still relevant in 1976!
Lyrics:
With a title like “Journey to the Center of the Mind,” the assumption that the song contains lyrical allusions to drug use would be correct. The song uses the lyrics: “Where fantasy is fact,” “Beyond the seas of thought beyond the realm of what,” and “Take a ride to the land inside your mind” to encourage listeners to experience the “highs” that psychedelics have to offer referring to the outcomes of drug usage as “pleasures.”13
Sound:
“Journey to the Center of the Mind” has many sonic aspects that imitate the state of mind of a “trip.” The electric guitar, a key feature of rock music, mimics the sound of a synth, using distortions and sound oscillations. The music has dimension and stereo where the song travels from one side (speaker or headphone) to the other, and has two different audios playing in different ears representative of a “loopy” cognitive state. The Amboy Dukes also incorporate echoes of sound into their song. All these auditory characteristics contribute to replicating the experience of “tripping” on psychedelic drugs. 14
The No No song”– Ringo Starr
Click below to listen to “The No No song”
Ringo Starr’s “No-No Song,” #71 on Keesing’s syllabus, offers a playful yet powerful anti-drug message. The song narrates Starr’s inner struggle with peer pressure to use substances. Although not traditional psychedelic rock, its upbeat rhythm, groovy bass, and humorous lyrics make it engaging and feeds into the more anti-drug message conveyed throughout. The exuberant tune and bouncy rhythm make it enjoyable to listen to, while the lyrics convey an anti-drug message. For the audience, it provides a lighter yet compelling approach for tackling important concerns, demonstrating that music can be enjoyed without the use of drugs. The “ahhs” between choruses mimic the relaxed feeling often associated with drug use, while the melody underscores the irony of drug culture, proving music can be both entertaining and purposeful.
Lyrical Analysis:
The lyric “No no no no, I don’t smoke it no more, I’m tired of waking up on the floor” implies that the narrator of the song has dabbled with drugs in the past, and knows that it’s so easy to fall into the rabbit hole of addiction.
Lyrics like “A woman that I know just came from Majorca Spain…Then she held out a 10 pound bag of Cocaine,” and “A lady that I know just came from Columbia… Then she held out some marijuani ha-ha,” show how in the industry of rock music, one is constantly surrounded by the peer pressure of doing drugs and drinking. The references to different locations around the world provide a critical message; despite cultural differences, the artist notes that there is a common “tongue” of drug use that is understood between different cultures. 15
…and yet, during the fade out at the end of the song, Ringo orders a brandy from the bartender. Even though he successfully resisted the peer pressure throughout the rest of the song, by the end he cracks under the pressure and drinks.
“Incense and Peppermints“–Strawberry Alarm Clock
Click below to listen to “Incense and Peppermints”
“Incense and Peppermints” by American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock was #96 on Keesing’s class syllabus. Released in 1967, it quickly became a legendary hit during the psychedelic era, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list. The song is notable for its appealing harmony, featuring rich, layered vocals that create an enchanting, almost mesmerizing vibe. The characteristic synthesizer riff adds a distinctive feel, giving the song a peculiar, almost extraterrestrial quality that complements its bizarre mood. This riff, combined with the arrangements, transports listeners to a new mental state, aligning perfectly with the counterculture movement’s focus on musicians expressing themselves. Often associated with drug usage, incense was frequently used to create a calm and magical environment, similar to that of drugs. As a component of drug culture, incense was often used to bridge the euphoria of drug use and the mental transportation of music. 16
Lyrics:
“Good sense, innocence, cripplin’ mankind” suggests that while naivety and logic are admirable, they can be limiting in complex situations. “Dead kings, many things I can’t define” reflects the heightened awareness and confusion often linked to drug use, with “dead kings” symbolizing past influences and “many things I can’t define” highlighting the difficulty in interpreting abstract thoughts during altered states. “Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind” captures the mental disarray and overload of ideas, emotions, and experiences caused by drug use. “Incense and peppermints, the color of time” evokes heightened sensory experiences, with incense creating a magical atmosphere and peppermint representing vivid, intense sensations associated with drug effects. 17
The psychedelic experiments with mind-altering chemicals are reflected in the song’s ambiguous language which encapsulates the values of the era, highlighting affection, tranquility and independence. Songs like “Incense and Peppermints” questioned norms of society while providing an alternative type of enjoyment beyond simply listening to music.
The Lasting Impact
When we look at the influence of rock artists and their music, it’s clear that they had a huge impact on youth culture, both at the University of Maryland and across a generation of youth who listened to their work. Rock music wasn’t just about entertainment, it became a way for young people to express rebellion and challenge societal norms. Through their lyrics, style, and lifestyle, rock musicians helped normalize drug use and spread counterculture ideals that encouraged individualism and resistance to authority. The influence of these artists went far beyond the music itself, shaping how young people viewed the world and their place in it. The normalization of drug use and countercultural attitudes that became common in youth culture can be traced back to the powerful impact of rock music, showing just how much it shaped social and cultural shifts during that time. Even today, the effects of that era are still felt, proving how music can play a significant role in driving cultural change. Rock music profoundly impacted the local community by providing a vibrant space for students at the University of Maryland to engage in counter cultural activities, fostering a sense of rebellion and shared identity. This local engagement mirrored larger societal movements, normalizing drug use and promoting ideals of individualism and resistance that defined an entire generation’s challenge to conventional norms.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
“Does Your Snow Turn To Slush?” Earthworks Headshops. Unicorn Times. July 1978. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
Gent, George. “Janis Joplin’s Death Led to Heroin.” New York Times, October 6, 1970. Folder 12, Box 68. Series 3: Subject Files, 1869–2001 and Undated. John Owen Ward Papers. Special Collections in Performing Arts. University of Maryland Libraries.
Hall, Elizabeth. “WMUC Under Investigation.” The Diamondback. April 30, 1971. Student Newspapers, Digital Collections, University of Maryland Libraries. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/63bdd7e6- 1df6-4a93-b269-5ad27b67edc9?relpath=pcdm&query=FCC.
Harrington, Richard. “Psyche Delly Gives up the Beat.” The Washington Post. January 18, 1983.
Keesing, Hugo. American Studies 298: Popular Music in American Society Fall 1979. July 1977. Box 1, Folder 7. Series 5: Personal, 1919–1958, 1971–1997, undated. Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
Keesing, Hugo. American Studies 298: A Survey of American Popular Music Since World War II, Dr. Hugo Keesing Fall 1976. July 1977. Box 1, Folder 2. Series 5: Personal, 1919–1958, 1971–1997, undated. Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
“Legalize Marijuana.” Marijuana Reform Rally. Unicorn Times. July 1977. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
“Maryland: Our Side.” Highlife. Yipster Times. July 1977. SCPA Serials Collection. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
Psyche Delly. “July at the Psyche Delly.” Unicorn Times. August 1978. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
“Rock Concert Every Night.” Louie’s Rock City. Unicorn Times. July 1977. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
“Silver Spring Station, Washington’s Premier New Wave Rock Club.” New Wave Rock Club. Unicorn Times. July 1978. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
Starr, Ringo. “No-No Song.” Track 8 Goodnight Vienna. Recorded November 15, 1974. Calderstone Productions Limited 1974.
Strawberry Alarm Clock. “Incense And Peppermints.” Track 9 on Incense and Peppermints. Recorded May 1967. UMG Recordings, Inc. 1967.
“Strike A Blow For Freedom, Buy US Bongs.” Progressive Plastics Advertisement. Unicorn Times. July 1977. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
The Amboy Dukes. “Journey to the Center of the Mind.” Track 6 on Journey to the Center of the Mind. Mainstream Records 1986. YouTube.
“Who’s Appearing Where.” Unicorn Times. August 1978. Box 55, Folder 6. Series 4: Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
Scholarly Sources
Clarke, David, and Eric F. Clarke. Music and Consciousness: Philosophical, Psychological, and Cultural Perspectives. Oxford University Press Oxford, 2011.
Covach, John R., and Andrew Flory. What’s that Sound? An Introduction to Rock and Its History. W. W. Norton, 2018.
Groce, Stephen B. “What’s the Buzz?: Rethinking the Meanings and Uses of Alcohol and Other Drugs Among Small‐Time Rock ‘n’ Roll Musicians.” Deviant Behavior 12, no. 4 (1991): 361–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.1991.9967886
Kaemmer, John. Music in Human Life: Anthropological Perspectives on Music. University of Texas Press, 1993.
Kohn, Paul M., and G. W. Mercer. “Drug Use, Drug-Use Attitudes, and the Authoritarianism-Rebellion Dimension.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 12, no. 2 (1971): 125–31. https://doi.org/10.2307/2948519.
MacDonald, Ewen, and Jarmo Saarti. Drugs and Popular Music: Shake Your Nerves and Rattle Your Brain. University of Eastern Finland, 2020.
Medovoi, Leerom. “Mapping the Rebel Image: Postmodernism and the Masculinist Politics of Rock in the U.S.A.” Cultural Critique, no. 20 (1991): 153–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/1354226.
Miller, Kathleen, and Quigley, Brian. “Sensation-Seeking, Performance Genres, and Substance Use Among Musicians.” Psychology of Music, 40, no.4 (2012): 389–410. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735610387776
Pinch, Trevor, and Frank Trocco. “The Social Construction Of The Early Electronic Music Synthesizer.” Icon 4 (1998): 9–31.
Reuter, Peter. “Why Has US Drug Policy Changed So Little over 30 Years?” Crime and Justice 42, no. 1 (2013): 75–140. https://doi.org/10.1086/670818.
Rodnitzky, Jerry. “Janis Joplin: The Hippie Blues Singer of Feminine Heroine.” Journal of Texas Music History volume 2, no. 1 (March 2001).
Slonecker, Blake. “The Counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. (2017) https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.392
Smith, Iain. “Psychostimulants and Artistic, Musical, and Literary Creativity.” International Review of Neurobiology 120 (2015): 301–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn. 2015.04.001
Sounes, Howard. The Life of Lou Reed: Notes from the Velvet Underground. Diversion Books, 2019.
Turino, Thomas. Peircean Thought As Core Theory For A Phenomenological Ethnomusicology. University of Illinois Press. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 58, No. 2, pp. 185-221
Additional Sources
Bowie, David, Derek Boyes, John Eager, and Dek Fearnley. “David Bowie.” Decca Music Group, 2010. https://minitesting.com/pdf/music_david-bowie.pdf
Cuningham, Aimee. “Incense May Act As a Psychoactive Drug during Religious Ceremony.” Scientific American. 2008. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mass-appeal/#:~:text=Incensole%20acetate%20is%20a%20mild,feel%20its%20effects%2C%20he%20adds.
Foy, Chris. “Janis Joplin’s Struggle with Addiction.” FHE Health, 3 November 2022, fherehab.com/news/janis-joplin-addiction.
Levin, Sala, John T. Consoli, and Geoff Sheil.. “And the Nominees Are: Two UMD-Affiliated Albums Up for Grammys” Maryland Today. February 08, 2019. https://today.umd.edu/and-nominees-are-d4b5167c-874e-4713-ad7c-ba1d74d21ce7.
Mack, Dan, and Jennifer Waits. “Saving College Radio: WMUC Past, Present and Future” University of Maryland Libraries. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://exhibitions.lib.umd.edu/wmuc.
Ochs, Michael. “The 27 Club: A Brief History.” Rolling Stone. December 8, 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/the-27-club-a-brief-history-17853/mia-zapata-25661/.
Oyefusi, Daniel, and Jason Keisling. “Terp | A-Listers.” Terp Magazine. Spring 2018. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://terp.umd.edu/a-listers.
“Peppermint Flavor: What is it and where is it used?” 2024. Drugs.com. Accessed October 20, 2024. https://www.drugs.com/inactive/peppermint-flavor-89.html.
Rohani, Dorsa. “Musical Escapism.” PsyArXiv (July 20, 2024). Accessed November 13, 2024. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/acxzs