By Dai Bando
In 1976, The Band recorded “Georgia On My Mind” to benefit Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. Mr. Carter was then governor of Georgia. “We released a single of ‘Georgia’ in Mr. Carter’s honor,” remembered Levon Helm, “Richard (Manuel) sang it with the ‘soul factor’ turned pretty high. We played ‘Georgia’ on Saturday Night Live, and a few days later Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States.”
So, there you have it: Richard Manuel turned his soul factor to ‘high’ and Georgia’s Jimmy Carter was elected President. It’s science.
I saw The Band perform (with all but Robbie) with my pal Tony in Boston in 1983. I don’t remember Richard singing “Georgia,” that night, but he did sing another Ray Charles classic “You Don’t Know Me.” I’ll never forget Richard singing that song. “Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by…” I remember thinking, “me too, Richard.” (It was 1983 and I was finally getting my shit together. You don’t know me, indeed.)
Jimmy Carter became friends with not only with The Band, but also with Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson (“he’s my buddy,” said President Carter), and the Allman Brothers Band, who were the Kings of Southern Rock at the time.
In the fall of 1975, the Allmans played a fundraiser show for Carter’s campaign right here at the Providence Civic Center. I wasn’t there (Pu Pu platters needed to be bussed at The Great House that night) but my friend MV attended the show. MV later told me he missed Jimmy Carter appearing onstage because he was busy puking in a Civic Center bathroom due to drinking too much ‘Southern Comfort’ How’s that for 100 proof irony? [listen to that complete live show here, via the Internet Archive]
Jimmy Carter was the first “rock and Roll” president. He wore blue jeans and frequently quoted Bob Dylan. Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin, performed at his inauguration. Remember when “The Piano Guys” performed at Trump’s last inauguration? Me neither.
Carter’s achievements include the historic Camp David Peace Accord between Egypt and Israel. He created the Department of Education, bolstered the Social Security system, and appointed record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to Government jobs. He was most proud of never having led his country into a war. “We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet.”
He certainly had his failures; gasoline lines, historic unemployment and generally the worst economy of my lifetime. Mainly though, Carter had the misfortune of being president when Iran took American 70 hostages on November 4, 1979.
The hostage crisis ended with the hostages being released the day Carter left office and was replaced by Ronald Reagan. Before the presidential transition, Reagan’s campaign manager and future CIA director William Casey made a secret trip to meet with Ayatollah Khomeini’s posse to delay the release of the American hostages until after the election, preventing an “October Surprise” that could have resulted in Carter’s reelection. This ‘conspiracy theory’ was later confirmed by Abolhassan Banisadr, the former President of Iran. Reagan kept the hostages in their cells for a few extra months to ensure an election victory. As President George W. Bush would declare years later, “Mission accomplished!”
Of course, most Americans were elated that Reagan won the election regardless of any dirty tricks with the hostages. Reagan ended the Soviet Union (“Mr Gorbacev, tear down this wall”) and got the U.S. economy purring once again with deregulation. Deregulation works every time, until some deregulated train derails and spews cancer-causing fumes for a hundred miles.
Reagan illegally sold weapons and trained Osama bin Laden and the Afghan Mujahideen, whom he called “freedom fighters.” So, there’s that minor mistake in judgment. I can hear a Fox News talking head right now, “Sure Reagan trained Osama bin Laden, but at least he didn’t train Dr. Anthony Fauci!”
Reagan communicated simple ideas: “Government is bad. Our enemies are evil.” Carter was far more complex and often said the things we didn’t want to hear. He was the first president to warn about the dangers of oil dependence and climate change.
I agree with the NY Times editorial that read “Jimmy Carter was probably the most intelligent, hard-working and decent man to have occupied the Oval Office in the 20th century.”
Rest In peaceful dreams, President Jimmy Carter. Hoping the road leads back to you.
