John Sinclair Freedom Rally

John Sinclair was a writer and activist arrested for possession of two joints in July of 1969. He was given a rather harsh prison sentence of 10 years for the charge. His story inspired a poem titled 'The Entrapment of John Sinclair' (by Ed Sanders), which later inspired Lennon's song 'John Sinclair', and a benefit concert campaigning for his release.

The John Sinclair Freedom Rally started on the 10th and continued throughout the night (John and Yoko played around 3am!) The set consisted of recently written protest songs, all of which had yet to be recorded live or in studio (however the demo for 'Attica State' and 'The Luck of the Irish' were already recorded, and planned for release). The concert was also the first time David Peel and The Lower East Side played backing for John. Other notable performers included Jefferson Airplane, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, Allen Ginsberg, Ed Sanders, Jerry Rubin, David Peel & The Lower East Side, and Phil Ochs (who Lennon rehearsed with prior to the performance.) John Sinclair was released from prison 3 days after the rally. He and his wife Leni Sinclair called John and Yoko to personally thank them.

The concert has had a messy release history. Attica State was only released on the 2006 CD for The U.S. vs John Lennon. The Luck Of The Irish appeared on the John Lennon Anthology. Despite being the first known recording of the song, Sisters, O Sisters has not been released on CD. John Sinclair appears on both John Lennon Anthology and The U.S. vs John Lennon. The film made of the show, 'Ten For Two' was completed but never officially released. The concert did air on the Detriot PBS TV station in 1971, and small snippets have been seen in 'The U.S. Vs John Lennon' and '20 to Life'.