By Martin H. Rots

There are two prominent Thanksgiving celebrations that have connections to the Classic rock era.  The first, Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie, has become a Thanksgiving music tradition.  The second isn't as well-known, but is as well documented in the concert  film, The Last Waltz.

A film was also made using the long ballad as the basis of the story.  Today, even though the story is a little dated, Alice's Restaurant does give us a peek at what life in the sixties was like for many people.  Communal living, harassment from the establishment and long haired, dope smoking hippies take center stage in a production as rooted in the sixties counter-culture as the Broadway production of Hair.  The story tells us of a group of friends gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving in an old church that has been dubbed, Alice's Restaurant.  The group of friends celebrating Thanksgiving together is a priceless insight into the era.  Their arrival at Alice's country church/restaurant is an event unto itself.  Guthrie pulls up in the customary VW Microbus (had one myself back in the day) amid much hugging and kissing.  The actual dinner is a raucous, joyous event that leaves the participants happy and spent.

They gather the debris that has been generated from the feast along with other accumulated trash and take it to the dump only to discover it's closed.  Not wanting to return with the garbage, they find a way to dump the load anyway.  When the garbage is discovered by the local lawman, Officer Obie, a letter at the bottom of the pile addressed to Arlo gives him away as the perpetrator of the heinous crime.  Guthrie is duly arrested and convicted of littering.  Ironically, in the end, Guthrie's conviction prevents him from being drafted.

Over the years, the song has become a Thanksgiving tradition.  Classic rock stations in particular can be counted on playing it at least once on Thanksgiving Day.  At almost nineteen minutes, it's usually promoted as a holiday event. 

On November 25, 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, 5,000 people gathered to eat Thanksgiving dinner together and witness one of the most remarkable concerts of the era.  The event, dubbed The Last Waltz by The Band, was to celebrate their decision to cease touring after almost two decades on the road.  They invited their friends to join them at Winterland in an extravaganza organized and orchestrated by their longtime friend, Bill Graham. Dinner was served cafeteria style to the assembled masses and the clean-up was a happy, noisy communal effort.  At 9:00, the music began and the audience settled in for a long, special night.    

Among the friends that joined the Band on stage were Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell.  Each artist performed as a solo act in addition to the jam session that ended the concert.  A film made of the event by Martin Scorsese was enigmatically entitled, The Last Waltz.  It was released in  April 1978 to much critical acclaim.

There was something unique about both of these events that exemplified the period.  The people that ate together at the relatively modest gathering at Alice's place and the crowd who attended The Last Waltz celebrated Thanksgiving with their extended family of humanity.  This is not to say that they had discarded their genetic families, only that they had expanded the definition of family to include most of humanity.  It was a time when the notion of treating each other as brothers and sisters was beginning to be taken seriously.

It was a time that came and went all too quickly.

I, myself, am thankful for many things. 

I am thankful for the love of a good woman.  I am so fortunate to have her love and support in these trying times.

I am thankful for good friends. 

I am thankful for good health.

I am thankful to be living in the greatest country in the world.

What are you thankful for?