Don Palabraz

It has taken me far too long to discover the treasure trove of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s music. The first nations indigenous woman from Canada has recorded some of the best ballads and protest songs I’ve ever heard. Whether it’s “Cod’ine” “Unknown Soldier,” or “Until it’s Time for You to Go,” Sainte-Marie potent lyricism and her sweet tremulous vibrato make their presence known to the listener in a powerful way. She continues with her career to this very day touring with a new cd/dvd, but such as task has been formidable. As mentioned in an interview ten years ago, the powerful, right up to the office of the presidency itself, considered her music too dangerous. As Sainte-Marie recalls:

“I found out 10 years later, in the 1980s, that President Lyndon B. Johnson had been writing letters on White House stationery praising radio stations for suppressing my music”