No Nukes (film)

Last updated
No Nukes
No Nukes FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed byDaniel Goldberg
Anthony Potenza
Julian Schlossberg
Produced byDaniel Goldberg
Julian Schlossberg
Barbara Kopple (Uncredited)
Starring Jackson Browne
Graham Nash
Bonnie Raitt
John Hall
James Taylor
Carly Simon
The Doobie Brothers
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Cinematography Haskell Wexler
Edited byNeil L. Kaufman
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • July 1980 (1980-07)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

No Nukes is a 1980 documentary and concert film that contained selections from the September 1979 Madison Square Garden concerts by the Musicians United for Safe Energy collective, with Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall being the key organizers of the event and guiding forces behind the film. Also included were scenes of the organizers getting the event together, expounding upon the dangers of nuclear power, and staging an anti-nuclear rally at Battery Park in New York City.

Contents

History

This was the first official appearance of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's live act on film, and many critics hailed their performances as the best in the documentary. Additionally, the future Springsteen classic "The River" was debuted at these shows and on the film, as well as Chaka Khan's consternation at being "Broooced" (Raitt deadpanned backstage, "Too bad his name wasn't Melvin"). The other generally acclaimed highlight of the film was Carly Simon and then-husband James Taylor's physically dynamic duet on "Mockingbird". On the other hand, Graham Nash's earnest spoken part about having seen "giant sponges" as a side effect of nuclear waste dumps earned itself a Spinal Tap-like reputation for rock star verbal blundering.

No Nukes was released for home consumption on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc along the way, but as of 2023 not on DVD. Two of Springsteen's three numbers are available on his 2001 The Complete Video Anthology / 1978-2000 DVD, however.

The No Nukes live album was also released in May 1980 from this event, although it contained varying musical contents from the film (generally, the artists' biggest hits make it into the film but not the album, while some artists are on the album but not in the film).

Performers and songs

Those who performed in the film in order of appearance,

at Madison Square Garden:

at Battery Park:

Other famous personalities and celebrities are seen during the film, including Jane Fonda, Chaka Khan, Maggie Kuhn of the Gray Panthers, Ray Parker Jr., Ralph Nader, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Nicolette Larson, Phoebe Snow, and ubiquitous backup singer Rosemary Butler.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Raitt</span> American musician (born 1949)

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American songwriter, blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk, and country. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Pointer Sisters, John Prine, and Leon Russell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Browne</span> American singer, songwriter and political activist (born 1948)

Clyde Jackson Browne is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musicians United for Safe Energy</span>

Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, is an activist group founded in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Harvey Wasserman and John Hall. The group advocates against the use of nuclear energy, forming shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in March 1979. MUSE organized a series of five No Nukes concerts held at Madison Square Garden in New York in September 1979. On September 23, 1979, almost 200,000 people attended a large rally staged by MUSE on the then-empty north end of the Battery Park City landfill in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Payne</span> American pianist (born 1949)

William H. Payne is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano rock and blues musicians. In addition to his trademark barrelhouse blues piano, he is noted for his work on the Hammond B3 organ. Payne is an accomplished songwriter whose credits include "Oh, Atlanta". Following the death of Little Feat drummer Richie Hayward on August 12, 2010, Payne is the only member of the group from the original four-piece line-up currently playing in the band.

<i>A Black & White Night Live</i> 1989 live album by Roy Orbison

A Black & White Night Live is a Roy Orbison music album made posthumously by Virgin Records from the HBO television special, Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night, which was filmed in 1987 and broadcast in 1988. According to the authorised Roy Orbison biography, the album was released in October 1989 and included the song "Blue Bayou" which because of time constraints had been deleted from the televised broadcast. However, it did not include the songs "Claudette" and "Blue Angel", which were also cut from the original broadcast for the same reason.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hall (New York politician)</span> American politician (born 1948)

John Joseph Hall is an American musician, songwriter, politician, environmentalist, and community activist. He was elected to the legislature of Ulster County, New York, in 1989 and the Saugerties, New York Board of Education in 1991, and he was the U.S. representative for New York's 19th congressional district, serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Hall also founded the rock band Orleans in 1972 and continues to perform with them.

The Abalone Alliance (1977–1985) was a nonviolent civil disobedience group formed to shut down the Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo on the central California coast in the United States. They modeled their affinity group-based organizational structure after the Clamshell Alliance which was then protesting the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in coastal New Hampshire. The group of activists took the name "Abalone Alliance" referring to the tens of thousands of wild California Red Abalone that were killed in 1974 in Diablo Cove when the unit's plumbing had its first hot flush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Tracks</span> Radio station

Deep Tracks is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring lesser-known classic rock music selections such as album tracks, one-hit wonders, concert recordings, "forgotten 45s" and "B-side" tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Wasserman</span> American journalist and activist (1945-)

Harvey Franklin Wasserman is an American journalist, author, democracy activist, and advocate for renewable energy. He has been a strategist and organizer in the anti-nuclear movement in the United States for over 30 years. He has been a featured speaker on Today, Nightline, National Public Radio, CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight and other major media outlets. Wasserman is senior advisor to Greenpeace USA and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, an investigative reporter, and senior editor of The Columbus Free Press where his coverage, with Bob Fitrakis, has prompted Rev. Jesse Jackson to call them "the Woodward and Bernstein of the 2004 election." He lives with his family in the Columbus, Ohio, area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Butler (singer)</span> American singer

Rosemary Ann Butler is an American singer. She began her career playing bass guitar and singing in an all-female band named the Ladybirds while attending Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. The band appeared on several Los Angeles area television shows before opening for the Rolling Stones in 1964. She then joined all-female hard rock band Birtha, which released two albums for Dunhill Records. After they split in 1975, she became a popular back-up singer in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her vocals were featured on Bonnie Raitt's album Sweet Forgiveness, on songs "Gamblin' Man", "Runaway", "Sweet Forgiveness" and "Two Lives". She was also featured in Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Jackson Browne's "Stay " during Springsteen and The E Street Band's 1979 "No Nukes" shows at Madison Square Garden.

Craig Doerge is an American keyboard player, session musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his keyboard work with Crosby Stills and Nash, James Taylor, and Jackson Browne.

<i>No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future</i> 1979 live album by various artists

No Nukes: The Muse Concerts For a Non-Nuclear Future was a 1979 triple live album that contained selections from the September 1979 Madison Square Garden concerts by the Musicians United for Safe Energy collective. Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall were the key organizers of the event and guiding forces behind the album.

Richard Thomas Marotta is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy Jones, Jackson Browne, Al Kooper, Waylon Jennings, Randy Newman, Kenny G, The Jacksons, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Boz Scaggs, Warren Zevon, and Linda Ronstadt. He is also a composer who created music for the popular television shows Everybody Loves Raymond and Yes, Dear.

Bob Glaub is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists and bands as Journey, Steve Miller Band, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, Dusty Springfield, Aaron Neville, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Donna Summer, John Lennon, Rod Stewart, Crosby, Stills & Nash Bee Gees and many others.

The Bridge is on Sirius XM Radio channel 27 and Dish Network 6032. It is devoted to gold-based soft rock and adult contemporary music. The channel is programmed by Mary Sue Twohy. The channel plays mainly 1970s acts, such as Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Elton John, Jim Croce, the Eagles, America, and Billy Joel, along with some later 1980s and 1990s artists like Sting, Bonnie Raitt, and others. It was basically the 1960s and 1970s counterpart of the former StarLite channel for the Sirius service before the Sirius/XM merger replaced StarLite with The Blend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hutchinson (musician)</span> American session bassist (born 1953)

James Hutchinson (born January 24, 1953)is an American session bassist best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt.Though his work takes him nearly everywhere he primarily resides in Studio City, Los Angeles, CA and Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii.

The Montague Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed nuclear power plant to be located in Montague, Massachusetts. The plant was to consist of two 1150 MWe General Electric boiling water reactors. The project was proposed in 1973 and canceled in 1980, after $29 million was spent on the project.

<i>The Christic Shows 1990</i> 2016 live album by Bruce Springsteen

The Christic Shows 1990 is a live album by Bruce Springsteen, released in June 2016 and was the tenth official release through the Bruce Springsteen Archives. The two solo acoustic shows were recorded on November 16 and 17 1990 at The Shrine, Los Angeles, California. The two-night stand included performances of six new Springsteen songs. The album features appearances by Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt, who were the other two announced artists performing in the shows.

The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts were a two-day concert series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It took place on October 29 and 30, 2009 at Madison Square Garden and the tickets cost between US$75 and US$2,000.

<i>The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts</i> Live album by Bruce Springsteen

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts is a live album and concert film by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, released on November 19, 2021. It was recorded over two nights, September 21 and 22, 1979, at Madison Square Garden, as part of the No Nukes concerts organized by activist group Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) against the use of nuclear energy.