Now that the saturnine Dixie Chicks have been given their rightful due I think we should pause to remember that 40 years ago a single singer could do the job of three. I am talking about the infinitely more talented Joan Baez.
Joan Baez remains more talented as an artist and perhaps more confused as a rabble rouser. While this post will not have much to do with cars (I could be losing it, yes) it is my attempt at setting the facts straight about the cars Joan Baez drove and a few more stubborn truths about her life.
For example, in a recent re-release of her original Folkways recording (great CD) the reviewer on CD/NOW bemoans how Ms. Baez was “cruely parodied” in a comic strip during the height of her fame.
Parodied she was, but it wasn’t that cruel considering the real life Joan Baez was leading. The cartoon character, called “Joanie Phoanie” was a folk singer ostensibly committed to causes of the poor while driving around in a Rolls Royce. This reviewer then claimed that “nothing could be further from the truth.”
Unfortunately, the reviewer is right here on only one count: Joan Baez drove a Jaguar not a Rolls. And if you care (which you probably don’t) here are few more facts about the real Joan Baez.
a) Joan Baez did a great deal of singing and protesting during the 60s while comfortably ensonced in beautiful Carmel Highlands pad.
b) She ran an Institute for the Study of Non-Violence that is frequently used to prop up her modern day Victor Hugo like halo. However, this “Institue” was actually a series of “classes” taught by a bookstore clerk who dropped out of Stanford (no harm there–its kinda cool) that she ran from her luxurious pad (yep her house) for which she charged a cool $120.00 a class.
d) Lasty…Phoanie? Unfair?…well in 1964 it is recorded that Joan Baez refused to pay 60% of her income taxes claiming that the Government would use it to buy weapons.
I wonder about that last bit. I mean, have you ever owned a Jaguar XKE? Evading 60% of one’s taxes is just about enough to run it.
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