Back in 1966 when the Vietnam War was raging, folk singer Arlo Guthrie started performing a song called Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.
The 18-minute talking blues tune was about a Thanksgiving gathering in Western Massachusetts, after which Guthrie and a friend were arrested for dumping some garbage in the town of Stockbridge.
The song was turned into a movie and despite its length became a Thanksgiving standard on rock radio.
WBGO’s Jon Kalish tells us how a New York radio station helped launch the song.