EARTH Day special on WJFF Now & Then on Sat at 3pm

Music is so powerful and Marvin Gaye released “Mercy Mercy Me” in 1971 one year after the first Earth day, writing about the destruction of our environment. Joni Mitchell wrote “Big Yellow Taxi” in 1970 on the same theme. Pete Seeger was an environmental champion and we hear his song “To My Old Brown Earth”. David Crosby and Graham Nash have both written eloquently on the subject and we hear “Vagrants of Venice” from Crosby and “Beneath the Waves” from Nash, both songs dealing with rising ocean levels. Kazzrie Jaxen’s performance of Irving Berlin’s “How Deep is the Ocean” is an exquisite interpretation in a live performance with the poet Mark Weber. Yoko Ono’s “Healing” is unexpectedly beautiful. Sting’s song with The Police “Walking in Your Footsteps” about the possible extinction of mankind and his more recent “One Fine Day” put his on ironic spin on the idea of damaged ecosystems. Finally Joni Mitchell’s last recording to date is 2007’s Shine and we hear her song “This Place”.