The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising,[1] took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots were motivated by anger at the racist and abusive practices of the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as grievances over employment discrimination, residential segregation, and poverty in L.A.
I had always associated '68 with Watts. Riots then, too, no?
Great share, very salient, thanks!
*Frank Zappa wrote a lyrical commentary inspired by the Watts riots, entitled “Trouble Every Day”. It contains such lines as “Wednesday I watched the riot / Seen the cops out on the street / Watched ‘em throwin’ rocks and stuff /And chokin’ in the heat”. The song was released on his debut album Freak Out! (with the original Mothers of Invention), and later slightly rewritten as “More Trouble Every Day”, available on Roxy and Elsewhere and The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life.
*Phil Ochs’ 1965 song “In the Heat of the Summer”, most famously recorded by Judy Collins, was a chronicle of the Watts Riots.
*Sanford and Son: The Watts Riots are mentioned in several episodes.
*Gil Scott-Heron’s song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” directly references the Watts riots.
