Water contamination in Flint, MI is déjà vu all over again for Boomers: Remember 1966’s hit “Dirty Water” by the Standells? About the famously polluted Charles River in Boston?
And then, just a few years after that, in 1969, The Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio, was so polluted that it actually caught fire. That event was so notorious, the locals named a beer after it: Burning River Pale Ale.
The Standells were a Los Angeles garage rock band sometimes referred to as the “punk band of the 1960s” –they foreshadowed punk as we know it today, inspiring both the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.
“Dirty Water,” a seminal song at the time, only reached #11 on the music charts, but the song is part of the culture now, and is like an anthem of several Boston sports teams: it’s played following every Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins win.
When I did Highrise Security. San Francisco I got into an elevator with a petite, beautiful blonde. Beautiful. She was wearing a RAMONES TShirt . The last member of the RAMONES had just died. I looked at her shirt and said. “RAMONES. Not bad. When are you gonna wear a shirt for Tommy Roe?? #1 hits. What #1 did the RAMONES have?!? Tommy gets no respect.” She looked at me like I came from Mars! Never said a word, ran away!! Ha Ha I loved dealing with the public.