Michelle Shocked

Michelle Shocked is a singer-songwriter who embodies many of the characteristics of the traveling, progressive, civil-rights-fighting performers of the 1960s.

Born Karen Michelle Johnston in 1962, she adopted the moniker “Michelle Shocked” in 1984 after being arrested for protesting at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. Surprisingly, Shocked received her first major exposure in Europe in 1988 with the release of her first album, Short Sharp Shocked.

That same album received acclaim from college campuses around the United States, at which point Shocked began traveling the country and performing progressive, feminist, and anti-political tunes wherever she could. Michelle Shocked’s performances are very Kerouac-esque, with influences from famous 60s ballad singers like Pete Seeger and Joan Baez.

In 2011, Shocked performed several times as part of the Occupy Los Angeles movement. She was arrested during the event and continues to speak out against income inequality, both in speeches and in her music.