Music promoter Jim Cassell organized concerts as fundraisers for the farmworkers’ movement with the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Garcia, Cheech and Chong, Crosby and Nash, Taj Mahal, Malo, Tower of Power and others.
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TRANSCRIPT
- We used music for the movement, and then of course Jim [Cassell] was a lifesaver for us because he did these big concerts, music concerts as fundraisers.
And that's where we got a lot of money to continue doing our work together.
- I met with Cesar in this little office in Delano and I told Cesar I was really into photography a lot.
I said, "I wanna be a photographer for the union."
He says, "No, no, we have Joan Baez available, "we want you to go out and do concerts and fundraisers."
So I said, okay.
And so I did that for the next five years.
(upbeat '60s rock music) I could go after any band I wanted to, and it was an era when the United Farm Workers Union movement was so supported by everybody.
So the bands would perform basically for free.
And some of them even spent their own money, Kris Kristofferson was one of 'em.
- I identified with the farm workers because of where I grew up.
As soon as I knew that it was Cesar and that it was for the farm workers, I was committed.
- Jerry Garcia and Crosby Nash, Taj Mahal, I did one show at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. with Cheech and Chong, Malo and Tower of Power.
Sold out at the Shrine.
(smooth music) - So it was just the '60s, I mean it wasn't only sex, drugs and rock and roll.
It was some high political times and conscious, the consciousness of the people and the heart that they showed to stand up and like I said, make things right for the workers.
- I was just always hearing horror stories about what's going on, and then all of a sudden this Cesar Chavez shows up and things are getting done.
And I remember the guy just getting roasted in the press and roasted with politicians, but still the communities were really showing up.
(upbeat '60s style music) These big benefits, the farm worker benefits that we did at the time were just phenomenal and all our buddies were doing it.
The Azteca, the Malo guys, Cheech and Chong, these guys that we were all running around the country with them and stuff.
There was no way in hell we were gonna miss this.
- Oh man, it was so exciting.
Musicians were excited.
The people were excited.
You know, we were actually saying that this is what we're doing for those we love, and those who were not being treated so well and they knew that we could do something.
You didn't have to beat people over their head to get them to do these things, the musicians came out and did it.
- I think the times affected the music and the music affected the times.
And just the whole idea of bringing rock musicians behind a movement, it was really in vogue then.
I mean, because it was a very effective thing.
I mean, these farm workers benefits, it wasn't like, oh, some little, some tiny little concert in a park, I mean, there was thousands of people.
(poignant music)