By Taylor Henry

Music has been written about preservation as long as people have been fighting for places that matter to them. Pop artists like Carole King, Neil Young, and Don Henley have sung about the upsetting results of what happens when redevelopment goes unchecked and cherished places are lost.

Now there’s a new preservationist song from a supergroup of musicians that performed with those and more artists. This group, “The Immediate Family,” just dropped a new song called “Can’t Stop Progress,” and legendary Rock DJ Jim Ladd was the first to air it on SiriusXM’s Deep Tracks channel. 

After debuting the track on his March 25 show, Ladd said a lack of effort to preserve small businesses and historic buildings has bothered him “for a long, long time.”

“I mean certain things sure, saving national parks if you’re lucky, certain national landmarks,” said Ladd, who broadcasts from Southern California. “But things like the restaurant that you ate in as a kid. The little bit of home that you carry with you, and if you turn your back it’s gone.”

A week prior, on March 18, Ladd played a set of anti-demolition songs from artists such as the Pretenders, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, after which he made another pro-preservation statement.

“Progress is always on the move to tear it down and build something new,” he said. “Perhaps we need more preservation and a little less progress. I don’t know, that’s my view. We’ve got to preserve some of these places that are special to us.”

Inspired by the music on Ladd’s shows – as well as 2018 place-based playlists by the National Trust for Historic Preservation – our organization has put together its own playlist of songs about preservation. Listen on Spotify here, and click the heart to save it to your favorites. 

We would love to hear your suggestions for songs to add to the playlist, so please comment below or email us at preservingthewildwoods@gmail.com with song recommendations.

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