John Sinclair (poet)
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John Sinclair (born October 2, 1941 in Flint, Michigan), was a Detroit poet, one-time manager of the band MC5, and leader of the White Panther Party from November 1968 to July 1969. He was jailed in 1969 after giving two joints of marijuana to an undercover narcotics officer. His case received international attention when John Lennon performed at a benefit concert on his behalf in 1971.
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[edit] 1960s activism
Sinclair was involved in the reorganization of the Detroit underground newspaper, Fifth Estate, during the paper's growth in the late 1960's. Fifth Estate continues to publish to this day, making it one of the longest continuously published alternative periodicals in the United States. Sinclair also contributed to the formation of Detroit's Artist's Workshop Press, which published five issues of Work magazine.
Sinclair managed the hard-edged proto-punk MC5 from 1966 though 1969. Under his guidance the band embraced the counter-culture revolutionary politics of the White Panther Party. During this period, Sinclair booked the "The Five" as the regular house band at Detroit's famed Grande Ballroom in what came to be known as the "Kick out the Jams" shows. He was managing the MC5 at the time of their free concert outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The band was the only group to perform before baton-wielding police broke up the massive anti-Vietnam war rally, calling it a riot. Eventually, the MC5 came to find Sinclair's politics too heavy-handed. He and the band went their separate ways in 1969.[1]
[edit] Prison sentence
In July 1969 Sinclair was sentenced to prison for 9-1/2 to 10 years for giving two joints to undercover narcotics officers. His supporters viewed his prosecution and harsh sentence as political persecution, and campaigned to free him from prison.
Sinclair was the subject of the Abbie Hoffman incident at the Woodstock music festival in August 1969, when Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman interrupted The Who's musical set to speak in protest against Sinclair's imprisonment, and Who guitarist Pete Townshend in turn interrupted Hoffman by knocking him into the audience with his electric guitar. (Townshend later said in an interview that he was a supporter of John Sinclair, but that Hoffman's choosing to voice his opinions during the Who's set was the issue.)
On December 10, 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono headlined the "Free John Now Rally" in front of 15-20,000 people at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lennon performed the song, "John Sinclair," calling on the authorities to "Let him be, set him free, Let him be like you and me." Three days after the concert, the Michigan Supreme Court released Sinclair, and later overturned his conviction. The series of events was one factor in the adoption of Ann Arbor's famously lenient "five-dollar pot law" in the early 1970s (see Marijuana laws in Ann Arbor, Michigan).
While he was in prison, Sinclair wrote the books Guitar Army and Music & Politics, the latter of which was co-written with Robert Levin. In October of 2006, Sinclair's book, Va Tutto Bene ("It's All Good"), was published in Italy by Stampa Alternativa. It contains some of Sinclair's best poetry, as well as provocative essays, in both the original English and translated into Italian (page by page) by John Giorno.
In February 2003, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, at the urging of Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, voted to honor Sinclair with a resolution congratulating him for his "multi-faceted lifetime of poetry, music, activism, and inspiration." The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor honored Sinclair by naming the smoking suite in Georgia O'Keeffe Cooperative House for him. Extensive information on Sinclair is available in the John and Leni Sinclair Papers, at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan (see External links).
[edit] The Blues Scholars
John Sinclair has released several albums as leader of the Blues Scholars (named after Professor Longhair's band). The music typically features Sinclair's poetry recited over jazz and blues accompaniment. The band first came together in Detroit in 1982.
Sinclair moved to New Orleans in 1991 and assembled a new edition of the Blues Scholars. He also joined the staff of WWOZ radio, winning Offbeat Magazine's reader's poll as the city's most popular DJ five years in a row (1999-2003).
The Blues Scholars have on occasion been joined on stage and in the recording studio by former MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer. Alive Records released the Blues Scholars recordings.
In 2004, John Sinclair moved to Amsterdam. He continues to tour and record with the Blues Scholars, and hosts a weekly radio show, The John Sinclair Show, which is streamed live and is also available as a podcast.
[edit] Other
The band Blind Melon covers the John Lennon song, "John Sinclair", and it appears on their studio album entitled "Nico"
Since 2005 John has twice opened the annual Grass-a-matazz, an event related to the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam.
In Italy, John Sinclair received the prestigious Premio Matteo Salvatore in November 2006.
He recorded an album of poetry called "0 death" with Mark Ritsema on guitar (Spasmodique, Raskolnikov, Nightporter) and is playing across Europe.
[edit] External links
- JohnSinclair.us The Official John Sinclair Website
- JohnSinclairRadio.com Current / Archived Poems & Radio Shows
- John Sinclair on Myspace
- RadioFreeAmsterdam.com Tune into John Sinclair's Radio Free Amsterdam Shows
- The John and Leni Sinclair Papers, 1957-1999
- Audio interview with John Sinclair from Dopefiend.co.uk
- Website of the Inter-Cooperative Council in Ann Arbor
