Spoken word and rap pioneer Gil Scott-Heron has a song entitled “We Almost Lost Detroit” on his 1977 album, Bridges. The song is based on a 1975 Reader’s Digest book by John G. Fuller of the same name We Almost Lost Detroit. The book presents a history of Fermi 1, America’s first commercial breeder reactor, at the Enrico Fermi nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie outside of Detroit. The book has a special emphasis on the 1966 partial nuclear meltdown.
Enjoy Gil Scott – Heron performing ” We Almost Lost Detroit ” at the 1979 No Nukes Concert in Madison Square Garden. Listen as he explains why he wrote the song at the beginning of the video.
Note: Eco-Music Monday is a space for sharing where music and the environment converge.
Dr. Tony G. Reames 