Alice’s Restaurant Massacree

Zoo Freaks, get ready for some far-out vibes as we spin Alice’s Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie from his 1967 debut album Alice’s Restaurant. This 18-minute talking blues masterpiece is a satirical gem, born from a real Thanksgiving Day misadventure in 1965. Arlo, then just 18, and his friend Rick Robbins were helping friends Alice and Ray Brock clear out trash from their Stockbridge, Massachusetts home—a deconsecrated church. Finding the dump closed, they tossed the garbage over a cliff, only to be arrested for illegal dumping by local police chief William “Officer Obie” Obanhein. This minor crime led to a $25 fine each and a comical courtroom scene, later immortalized in the song. The incident, reported by The Berkshire Eagle on November 29, 1965, became the spark for Arlo’s deadpan protest against the Vietnam War draft, as the littering conviction hilariously deemed him unfit for military service.

The song’s charm lies in its shaggy-dog storytelling, with Arlo’s rambling monologue weaving absurd details—like “twenty-seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows” used as evidence—into a critique of bureaucracy and war. In a 1972 Playboy interview, Officer Obie clarified he didn’t handcuff Arlo or Robbins, and the missing toilet seat in the jail cell was to prevent theft, not suicide, as Arlo jokingly claimed. Arlo himself reflected in a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, saying, “To have what happened to me actually happen and not be a work of fiction still remains amazing. It’s like an old Charlie Chaplin movie. It’s slapstick.” The song’s underground popularity surged after its February 1967 debut on New York’s WBAI-FM, becoming a Thanksgiving radio tradition and inspiring a 1969 film where Officer Obie played himself.

Arlo’s wit shines in the song’s call to action, urging listeners to sing the chorus—“You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant”—to dodge the draft. He humorously predicted that one person singing it would be deemed “sick,” two would be labeled with a slur, but 50 would signal a movement: the “Alice’s Restaurant Anti-Massacree Movement.” In a 1987 interview shared on X, Arlo noted, “I thought it was cool to be part of a movement that didn’t need a leader,” capturing the song’s anti-authority spirit. Fans on Songfacts share personal stories, like one dedicating the song to a friend who loved it alongside Bob Dylan’s work, highlighting its enduring cultural impact. The real Alice Brock, who passed away in 2024 at 83, ran The Back Room restaurant, not actually named Alice’s, but forever tied to the song’s legacy.

Arlo Guthrie, born July 10, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, is the son of folk legend Woody Guthrie and Marjorie Mazia Guthrie, a former Martha Graham dancer. Growing up in Coney Island, Arlo was steeped in music and storytelling, inheriting his father’s knack for social commentary. He attended Stockbridge School in Massachusetts, where he met Alice Brock, a librarian, and her husband Ray, a carpentry teacher. Their laid-back lifestyle drew Arlo and other students to their church-home, setting the stage for the Alice’s Restaurant saga. After graduating in 1965, Arlo briefly attended Rocky Mountain College before diving into music, performing in coffeehouses and folk venues. His debut at the 1967 Newport Folk Festival, where Alice’s Restaurant Massacree captivated audiences, launched his career, cementing his status as a counterculture icon.

Arlo’s music blends humor, folk, and protest, influenced by his father’s talking blues style, which Woody adapted from 1920s musician Chris Bouchillon. Beyond Alice’s Restaurant, Arlo scored hits with “Coming into Los Angeles” at Woodstock in 1969 and a 1971 cover of “The City of New Orleans.” Despite his fame, Arlo has remained grounded, performing selectively and limiting Alice’s Restaurant to decade-anniversary shows, as he told Smithsonian Magazine in 2017: “I’m getting to the age when I can go by my instincts… Rules are meant to be broken.” Connect with Arlo on his official website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Fans can join the Arlo Guthrie Fans Facebook group or visit Rising Son Records for merch and updates on his legacy.