On this day in Labor History the year was 1985.
That was the year that the first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign, Illinois.
A retrospective article in Time magazine reported, “In the 1980s, American farmers were hit hard by what were, at the time, the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Droughts ravaged the fields, property values plunged, loan interest rates soared, thousands were forced off their land and faced foreclosure and bankruptcy.”
Farmer suicides rose at alarming rates.
The idea to use music to aid the farmers began with Bob Dylan at an event to help African famine victims.
Then, musicians Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young took up his idea and ran with it.
Fifty musicians took the stage at the University of Illinois football stadium.
The organizers were joined by such headliners as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rogers, Joni Mitchel, the Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet, Bon Jovi, Foreigner, and more.
The musicians played for fourteen hours to a rain-soaked crowd of nearly 80,000.
A telethon also helped to bring in donations.
It raised $9 million for farm relief.
More importantly it helped raise national awareness of the dire economic conditions faced by many small farmers.
Farm Aid has continued to hold concerts for small farmers.
In 2015 the thirtieth anniversary concert was held in Chicago.
As an organization Farm Aid has raised more than $50 million for small farmers.
September 15 - The Invergordon Mutiny
September 14 - The Murder of Ella Mae Wiggins
September 13 - Attica!
September 12 - The Making of a National Treasure
September 11 - The Christiana Riot
September 10 - Minneapolis Printers Organize
September 9 - The Hanapepe Massacre
September 8 - Defying Nazi Occupation
September 7 - The Federal Employees Compensation Act
September 6 - Jane Addams is Born
September 5 - The First Labor Day Parade
September 4 - The Peekskill Riots
September 3 - Locked in to Die
September 2 - Protecting Pensions
September 1 - The Boilermakers
August 31 - The Battle of Blair Mountain
August 30 - Taxing the Rich
August 29 - Flawed Designs Kill
August 28 - Remembering Bayard Rustin
August 27 - The Packers
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