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Arlo Guthrie Celebrates 50 Years Of 'Alice's Restaurant'

NPR
Published November 26, 2015 at 12:20 PM EST
Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree,” now in its fifth decade, is being commemorated in a nationwide concert tour and Thanksgiving Day PBS television special. (Rainey Hall)
Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree,” now in its fifth decade, is being commemorated in a nationwide concert tour and Thanksgiving Day PBS television special. (Rainey Hall)

For decades, folk music fans have tuned in to their radios for an annual Thanksgiving ritual: listening to Arlo Guthrie‘s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.” The 18-minute song is an epic piece of storytelling and now, 50 years on, it’s being commemorated in a nationwide concert tour and Thanksgiving PBS television special.

Arlo Guthrie joins Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti to explain why “Alice’s Restaurant” remains so popular among its fans, and why so many people regard it as an anti-Vietnam War song when he sees it primarily as a song against stupidity.

[Youtube]

Guest

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