Not the only dreamer? This ad, for John Lennon’s
Imagine, ran in the September 1971 issue
of Billboard.I was lucky enough to be recording in
London during the 2012 Olympics.
Athletes, dignitaries, sports fans, nut jobs,
opportunists, and tourists from nearly every
country in the world joined together for the
mostly peaceful competition. I’d worked
here several times before, but this time
London felt different. Pubs seemed happier.
Tourist and locals greeted you on the street
with a smile or “cheers,” and excitement
filled the air.
At the studio where we worked, a television
suspended over the mixing board transmitted
athletic events the entire time we
recorded. During one of the sessions, Dave
Stewart (Eurythmics, SuperHeavy) made an
interesting observation. He essentially said,
“If all of the countries of the world can put
away their petty differences every four years
in order to play games with each other, why
can’t they do it all the time?” The short
answer: a combination of greed, fear, and
ignorance prevents world peace, but Dave
posed an interesting question.
The fierce competition inherent in
athletics makes it seem unlikely to inspire
peace. Watch boxing, wrestling, judo, or a
javelin thrower and it’s not hard to see how
these sports link to ancient warfare. But the
Olympics work. Athletes from countries
that have hated each other for decades,
if not centuries, ardently compete and
then embrace with a smile once the game
finishes. It’s kind of a beautiful, cleansing
therapy to share something that intense with
another human. It helps the participants feel
connected and realize we aren’t all that different.
If this works, how about some sort of
international music armistice? I realize this
sounds like the cannabis-fueled ramblings of
a tree-hugging hippie, but honestly, world
peace through music strikes me as more
likely than peace through men’s water polo.
Which brings me to Charlie Nagatani.
When Charlie Nagatani of Kumamoto,
Japan, isn’t fronting his phenomenally
tight country band, Charlie and the
Cannon Balls, he’s organizing two fabulous
music festivals in Japan. Charlie’s
mission statement: “Global peace through
country music.”
Charlie learned this the hard way, as a
consequence of war. When Charlie was
a child, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing some
of Charlie’s family members and showering
his home with fallout. Out of fear the
Americans would attack again, Charlie carried
a knife throughout his childhood.
But that all changed when Charlie
turned 20 and a buddy took him to see
a country band. The music took hold of
Charlie. He quit college, joined a band
called Speedy Kido & Hillbilly Jamboree
and began touring U.S. military bases
throughout Asia. Charlie, now 75, claims
he’s never been sick and hasn’t skipped a
day of music since 1956. In 1967 Charlie
opened Good Time Charlie’s, an honest-to-god honky-tonk hidden on one of
the upper floors of an office building in
Kumamoto. The first time I walked in
the joint I felt like I had passed through a
wormhole that transported me straight to a
Montana saloon, circa 1978.
Charlie adorned every square inch of the
tavern with music memorabilia: new and
ancient signed photos of celebs, antique
sheriff badges, six shooters, rocket-buster
boots, 10-gallon hats, and Navajo beads—
some of it valuable, some of it kitschy, all
of it cool. Amazingly, all these keepsakes
sit out in the open where patrons can pick
them up and look them over. If this were
a bar in the States, the no-goods would fill
their pockets with Charlie’s treasures and
clean the place out in a week. Here, everybody
leaves it alone for all to enjoy.
In an interview with Estella Pan in her
Star Country webzine, Charlie says this about
his club: “I really wanted to let Japanese
people know how wonderful country music
is, with its simplicity, sincerity, and sadness. I
wanted to talk with my fans about the United
States of America, especially how I met a lot
of good-hearted servicemen. I’m very proud
of my club, where all my beautiful memories
are packed with country music.”
In 1989, with the help of the lovely
and talented Judy Seale, a top Nashville-based
manager turned international festival
coordinator, Charlie organized “Country
Gold” and later, “Country Sunshine.” These
festivals bring big country acts—including
Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, and Brad
Paisley—to Kumamoto twice a year. “I can’t
express how happy I’ve been listening to
country music,” Charlie says. “So if everyone
would listen, we’d put an end to war.”
There’s always going to be some greedy
thug attacking innocent victims. There’s
always going to be misunderstandings that
escalate to international unrest. But what a
beautiful thought to have the world join in
a big ol’ jam for peace. You might say that
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
John Bohlinger is a Nashville multi-instrumentalist best know for his work in television, having lead the band for all six season of NBC's hit program
Nashville Star, the 2011, 2010 and 2009 CMT Music Awards, as well as many specials for GAC, PBS, CMT, USA and HDTV.
John's music compositions and playing can be heard in several major label albums, motion pictures, over one hundred television spots and Muzak... (yes, Muzak does play some cool stuff.) Visit him at
youtube.com/user/johnbohlinger
or
facebook.com/johnbohlinger.