Pierre’s Vinyl Cut: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Ohio”

For Pierre's Vinyl Cut on today, May 4th, we played "Ohio" by CSNY on this, the 53rd anniversary of the Kent State Massacre.

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students.

News of a US military incursion into Cambodia had spread. Protests began across the country in reaction to the idea of an increased military presence outside of Vietnam. College campuses, especially, became embroiled in demonstrations.

Violent protests began to take place near Kent State University in Ohio. So, the mayor of Kent declared a state of emergency and called in the Ohio National Guard to monitor any further protests.

Another protest took place on May 4th, after the state of emergency was called. Members of the Ohio National Guard, reacting in fear of their own safety, opened fire on the crowd. Conflicting stories exist about the blame for the massacre. But the damage was done.

Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder had died. Additional students were wounded.

The late David Crosby handed Neil Young a copy of Life Magazine just a few weeks after the tragedy. And the rest was history. The well known chorus "four dead in Ohio," refers to the four students that tragically lost their lives that day.