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Every historical reference in Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’

Sat 1 April 2023 7:30, UK

It was the first rap song, and I’ll be damned if it still isn’t the very best. In 1971, Gil Scott-Heron made it HD clear that ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’. The prescient anthem was a pointed stab that paired poetry with a new pronounced new genre to level a decree to the despairing masses, as Parliament would also soon proclaim in their own quirky way:

“Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time
For y’all have knocked her up.
I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe
I was not offended
For I knew I had to rise above it all
Or drown in my own shit.”

“What that was all about,” Scott-Heron mused in the ‘90s, “that was about the fact that the first place that change takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you’re living and the way you move. So, when we said ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, we were saying that the thing that was going to change people would be something that no one would ever be able to capture on film.”

He added: “It will just be something that you see and all of a sudden you realise I’m on the wrong page – or I’m on the right page but I’m on the wrong note, and I’ve got to get in sync with everyone else to understand what is happening in this country.”

In order to prove that point, he displayed exactly what was happening in America in bullet-point form, building a wave of subtext beneath it all that you were either attuned to see or still dazzled by the televised surface and missed his poetic undercurrent. Flowing along on a beat produced by the legendary classic Jazz and blues presence Bob Thiele, the music itself not only happened to imbue a forward-thinking edge by adding a new beat-driven punchiness to the rhythm, but also by choosing jazz – a genre that came directly from the hardships of the plantations – to add a timelessness to the march of the music. In 1971, the song said to the masses who would listen: this is where we are.

Every historical reference in Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’:

First Verse:

“You will not be able to stay home brother” – In 1971, Joan Baez wore a ‘Stay Home For Peace’ shirt urging sailors on warships returning from Vietnam to stay home rather than deploy once again on the returning Constellation ship.
“You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out” – A technological age revamp of American psychologist and author, Timothy Leary’s pro-LSD mantra: “Turn on, tune in, drop out”. In Scott-Heron’s version, he infers that TV is the new sedating drug of the masses.
“You will not be able to lose yourself on Skag” – Following the psychedelic 1960s, the ‘70s brought about the opioid crisis as heroin (skag) became the new rampant drug craze. This was, in part, a confluence of the impact of Big Pharma and ‘The French Connection’, a collaboration between gangsters from the small island of Corsica and the Sicilian Mafia in New York.
“And skip out for beer during commercials” – As a result of the economic impact of the Vietnam War, Governmental instability and the subsequent recession, smaller breweries folded, and beer became monopolised in the US. American breweries hit a post-prohibition low of 89 controlled by 42 companies. This led to a more commercialised market with more TV ads encouraging people to nip out for a beer at half-time.

Second verse:

“…will not be brought to you by Xerox in four parts without commercial interruption” – Photocopying machine manufacturer, Xerox, began sponsoring commercial free TV broadcasts.
“…will not show you pictures of Nixon blowing a bugle” – From Lord Tennyson to the Jingling Geordie’s Hole, blowing a bugle in poetry history means to sound an announcement or open up a new opportunity, essentially, good tiding to come—which is why the army uses them to signal dinner is served. With Richard Nixon’s popularity waning as president, this did not look likely.
“…and leading a charge by John Mitchell, General Abrams, and Spiro Agnew” – Mitchell was Attorney General under Nixon, Abrams was the media figurehead of the Vietnam War, and Spiro Agnew was vice president.
“To eat hog maws confiscated from a Harlem sanctuary” – Refers to the cheap “soul food” cuts of a pig that were often served up in Harlem soup kitchens. The implication in relation to the bugle-blowing is that Nixon and his men were unlikely to be joining the masses on the breadline any time soon.

Third verse:

“…will not be brought to you by the Schaefer Award Theatre” – This was an archival anthology of movies that aired on several US TV stations between 1959-70. These movies were sponsored by Schaefer Beer and brought to the public in four parts without commercials.
“And will not star Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen or Bullwinkle and Julia” – Natalie Woods and Steve McQueen starred together in the 1963 film Love with the Proper Stranger. The film controversially tackled themes of abortion and conventional marriage norms, drawing criticism from conservative audiences. Likewise, the cartoon The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle was often cited as ‘too satirical for kids’, and the TV show Julia caused anger owing to its depiction of bi-racial relationships.
“…will not give your mouth sex appeal” – This was the advertising slogan of Ultra Brite – the product that sexualised dental hygiene. While it whitened teeth, it was not as effective at keeping them healthy.
“…will not get rid of the nubs” – An advert for the new Gillette Techmatic Razor referred to stubble as the nuds. A symbol of corporations trying to tap their brand into society at large by altering the lexicon.
“…will not make you look five pounds thinner” – In the 1960s, the Playtex Girdle was advertised with the slogan: “You’ll look five pounds thinner in a Playtex Girdle.”

Fourth verse:

“There will be no pictures of you and Willie Mays” – A black baseball player referred to as the first ‘five-tool-player’ in the game’s history. He was also a trailblazer for racial equality in the sport. As his godson, Barry Bonds explained: “Black people have imposed upon them the dual responsibility to not only represent all Black people but to make it comfortable for even some racists to interact without ever accepting the racist response: ‘You’re OK, but the rest of you are not.’ That’s kind of the way Willie Mays was treated.”
“Pushing that shopping cart down the block on the dead run or trying to slide that colour TV into a stolen ambulance” – A reference to the looting that had begun to beset political protests that ended up becoming riots after police interference.
“NBC will not be able to predict the winner at 8:32” – A reference to the fact that NBC predicted the winner of the previous presidential election only 32 minutes after the polls closed based on preliminary reports from the “29 districts” which are key swing areas.

Fifth verse:

“There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay” – In other words, ‘there will be no pictures of the cops shooting black men’. In 1970 alone, eight unarmed black men were shot dead by the police. Scott-Heron repeats the line for both effect and as a reference to the new instant replay feature introduced in sports broadcasts.
“There will be no pictures of Whitney Young being run out of Harlem on a rail with a brand new process” – Whitney Young was a Civil Rights activist who proved pivotal in changing employment discrimination and the War on Poverty. He wanted to address racial inequality in housing in cities and improve rail in predominantly minority areas by incorporating locals in the design process.
“There will be no slow-motion or still lifes of Ray Wilkins strolling through Watts in a red, black and green liberation jumpsuit, that he was saving for just the proper occasion” – Ray Wilkins was the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Scott-Heron cites a dream of him wearing the Pan-African colours as he strolls through the site of the Watts Riots.

Sixth verse:

“Green Acres, Beverley Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction will no longer be so damn relevant” – Green Acres and Beverley Hillbillies were sitcoms that poked fun at the development disparities between rural American and the ‘bumpkins’ in the country. Hooterville Junction was the fictional redneck town where the city folks in Green Acres were forced to relocate.
“And women will not care if Dick finally got down with Jane on Search for Tomorrow” – Dick and Jane are the two main characters in a series of children’s books designed to help American kindergarten attendees learn to read. They have since been heavily criticised for presenting a sanitised middle-class white America—and Dick and Jane became a phrase used to describe generic whiteness. Search for Tomorrow was the long-running show produced by the household products corporation Procter & Gamble—in essence, the show was a covert marketing scheme.
“Because black people will all be in the street looking for a brighter day” – The Brighter Day was a radio show with an explicitly religious theme. The show ended with the final farewell: “The microphone can’t pick up their voices and soon the picture will fade. If on occasion you think of us, we hope your memory will be a pleasant one.”

Seventh verse:

“There will be no pictures on the 11 O’clock News, and no pictures of hairy armed women liberationists” – A common media talking point regarding the second-wave feminist movement was to focus on the refusal to obey manufactured beauty norms and the growth of body hair. The focus here is on the attention that the term was given within the news rather than the content of their movement.
“And Jackie Onassis blowing her nose” – Jackie Onassis was John F. Kennedy’s widow, and Scott-Heron is referring to the raw televised images of her mourning her late husband during the Kennedy memorials. She was an advocate of the Civil Rights movement. Her grief was often given more consideration by the media than her husband’s pro-equality stance as president.
“The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb or Francis Scott Keys. Nor song by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdinck, or The Rare Earth” – Of these songwriters and musicians, perhaps The Rare Earth are the most indicative of Scott-Heron’s point—the Detroit-based band were the first all-white act signed to Motown Records.

Eighth verse:

“…will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning or white people” – White tornado refers to the advertising slogan of the household cleaning product, Ajax. White Lightning could be a reference to either (or all) the nickname given to strong moonshine, the George Jones country song or the psychedelic rock band active from 1968-71.
“You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom” – An advertising slogan deployed by Dove deodorant.
“The tiger in your tank” – An advertising slogan for Esso’s new formula of fuel: “Put a tiger in your tank.”
“Or the Giant in your toilet bowl” – An advertising slogan used by Liquid-Plumr who likened their product to the unblocking impact that a giant might achieve with a plunger. Surely if you’re in need of such a product then you have to question why you’re capable of such Elvis-killer todds rather than strolling to the store for some Liquid-Plumr.
“…will not go better with coke” – An advertising slogan rolled out at the time by Coca Cola: “Things go better with Coke.”
“…will not fight germs that may cause bad breath” – An advertising slogan rolled out by Listerine: “Fights germs that may cause bad breath.”
“…will put you in the driver’s seat” – An advertising slogan rolled out by Hertz car rental: “Let Hertz put you in the driver’s seat.” Ending on will, this is the one phrase the song commandeers as its own, and it’s about finding autonomy as an individual in order to drive the movement of the progressive collective.

Gil Scott-Heron