Banned by Army: Folk Singer Joan Baez Can't Sing to Wounded Soldiers at Walter Reed

Legendary folk singer and antiwar activist Joan Baez has been denied permission to sing at a concert for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In a letter to The Washington Post published Wednesday, Baez said rocker John Mellencamp had asked her to perform with him last Friday and that she accepted his invitation. But then the Army subsequently refused to let her take part. Mellencamp told RollingStone.com that when they asked why, the reply they got was, "She can't fit here."

In an e-mailed statement published Monday on RollingStone.com, Walter Reed spokesman Steve Sanderson said the medical center received the request for participation by Baez two days before the concert. He said, "These additional requirements were not in the contract and would have required a modification."

We called Joan Baez at her home in Palo Alto. She described what happened.

* Joan Baez, folk singer and antiwar activist.

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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/04/1419207