I love the Smothers Brothers (http://www.smothersbrothers.com) – folks noting my upcoming birthday may also take note that there are DVDs of the Smothers Brothers that I would indeed consider rather nifty presents – that and the complete Monkees, that is.  While the Smothers Brothers were a bit before my time, when I was young I loved watching old re-runs of their comedy hour and still sing some of their songs to the great annoyance of my family on long car trips.  It is very likely that when I teach the unit on social movements and music, I will at least include them in the syllabus next year within the course I will be teaching on music and culture at the university.

Today, some folks look at their short hair and suits and misread who they were and miss some really important points on just how far they went to get their social message heard.  There are some points in regard to their take on freedom of expression and the use of entertainment as a platform for political dissent that are very very telling and of very high interest and worthy of note today.  Mother Smothers' favorite son and the other one were really very cutting edge and they did make anti-war statements on air during their variety show.  They spoke out on subjects that were important to them and definitely non-establishment in their take.  Many folks assume that today there's even more freedom of expression in part because of the things that Tommy and Dickie and others of their generation did, but . . .

Well, here's an excerpt from an interview they did in 2002 which sheds some light on some very fair points.  The interviewer asks the brothers, "Are you surprised what TV shows get away with these days in terms of political humor? It makes what you did on The Smothers Brothers Show tame in comparison." Tommy's response is very revealing in just how squarely he hits it right on the head:

Yep.  Read the complete interview at http://www.storyofthestars.com/smothers_brothers.htm.

Within the last decade of American entertainment, shows that stepped over the line we pushed back and then they had a tendency to cave – either to political pressure of pressure from advertisers, studios, or producers who towed the line.  Folks like the Smothers Brothers took the advice of their friends who said, push back and if you're stopped from getting your message out then keep talking until you are heard.  George Harrison summed up that message in his own solo special guest appearance on the show on 17 November 1968, in regard to controls on presentation in American television: "Well, whether you can say it or not, keep trying to say it":

Folks reading the stream need to go to https://briandavidphillips.net/ to see the video embed.

Of course, George was a bit of a pirate anyway: