Nelson Mandela and Neil Young Will Keep On Rockin' In The Free Worlds

Nelson Mandela: 1918 - 2013
“Madiba,” by Kadir Nelson
(Click photo to enlarge)
It can be said that no one on this planet embodied the spirit of "Rockin' In The Free World" more than Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela passed on to the Great Beyond this week and in his wake has left a living legacy that will pervade the generations. Mandela, as "The Black Pimpernel", was "The World’s Last Great True Hero".

On April 16, 1990, Neil Young - among many others -- honored Nelson Mandela at Wembley Stadium in London, 4/16/90.

Young's acoustic performance of "Rockin' In The Free World" was simply electrifying. Neil Young's song "Rockin' In The Free World", from the album Freedom , is "one of his most popular, important and prophetic songs. "

One of the more remarkable aspects of the video is how Neil deliberately sets out to evade the TV cameras surrounding him. Ever wary of the "one eyes", Neil lunges and plunges about the stage, turning his back to almost every camera cut. By the end of the song, Neil is leaping stage levels in his quest to thwart the cameras and bring it all home directly to the people.



Nelson Mandela's "work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."*

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