Hundreds gathered on Main Street in Tarkio Saturday to celebrate the anniversary of:
a) the release of “Tarkio” by Brewer and Shipley
b) the founding of Tarkio College
c) the Battle of Little Big Horn.
How about “d) all of the above?”
The “Tarkio” album surfaced during a turbulent time in the history of American music, radio, and censorship. It included the song “One Toke Over The Line,” which Michael Brewer describes as a last-minute addition to the record, and an in-joke between himself and songwriting partner Tom Shipley.
“One Toke” was singled out and lambasted by then Vice President Spiro Agnew, who labeled the songwriters by name as “subversive to American youth.” The songwriters were added to the Nixon Administration’s “enemies list.” Brewer says they wear that as a “badge of honor” to this day, and offered thanks for the publicity.
Brewer says after recording the song and offering the album to their record company they went to Florida to do some fishing, and didn’t listen to the radio much. “When we got back we found out, not only did they release the song as a single, but it was racing up the charts.”
“…And we were in big trouble.”
The song was also featured on “The Lawrence Welk Show” as “one of the newer songs.” Welk called it a “modern spiritual.” Shipley says that since the Grateful Dead also covered it, the song has a special place in music history.
“Not only did Spiro Agnew single it out as subversive,” Shipley told the gathering, “but it’s one of the few songs ever covered by both Lawrence Welk and Jerry Garcia.”
Tarkio also features the song “Tarkio Road,” which they say was inspired as they drove through Tarkio during their musical travels throughout the region in the 1960s
“…Tarkio Road is a mother
It’s just like, oh, so many others
Well, the children reject you
And the police inspect you
Looking inside the trunk
Under the hood, hoping to find
The secret places where you
Always keep your mind
Whoa, whoa, no, Tarkio Road.”
What’s the difference between “Tarkio Road” today and the road that inspired a song forty years ago?
“It’s still a mother, and it’s underwater,” says Brewer. “And it’s Interstate 29 now instead of just a little state highway.”
Brewer says he saw some of the flooding, from a distance, on his way to Tarkio for the celebration Saturday.
“It looks very wet. It looks like a lot of people are in a lot of trouble.”
The year the album came out, 1971, was also the year the Federal Communications Commission gave notice to radio stations across the country that lyrics celebrating drug abuse would not be tolerated. What followed was a self-censorship frenzy by radio stations, who cut from their playlists a lot of songs with dubious drug-celebrating credentials, including “Yellow Submarine,” “Puff the Magic Dragon,” and of course, “One Toke Over The Line.”
To honor the 40th anniversary of the album Tarkio, members of the Tarkio College Alumni Association and the Tarkio Chamber of Commerce held a street fair Saturday. Brewer and Shipley performed for fans from all over, including Congressman Sam Graves, who calls Tarkio home. Tarkio Mayor Rosalie Woodring presented the two folk singers with keys to the city.
Forty white balloons were released into the sky to mark the occasion.