started, as a lot of cool things seem to do, as both an idea and a feeling. It was an idea that originated in the collective imagination of five creative, committed people in Hollywood in 1968. They were concerned about the sharp rise in the use of amphetamines -- speed -- that was bubbling up out of the alternative youth-culture cauldron of the time. They knew too well the disastrous risks of speed -- in some cases, from firsthand personal experience. But they'd also felt its seductive allure and knew the risks it presented were compounded by the ignorance that flowed inside the cultural chasm that separated the counterculture and mainstream, "straight" society.
.................		Major problem? Sure, if you look at things that way -- and stop. Fortunately, they didn't. Instead, they let their imagainations flow and ideas congeal. They checked out their own commitment and connections, and decided to pursue a creative solution inside the youth culture itself. They'd build on the energies and talents of as many others as they could enroll in their vision -- artists, writers, rock musicians, whoever, whatever--and create a communications base within the alternative culture that would get the word out about speed.	Original Do It Now logo, circa 1968.
		But they'd do it with a difference, not repeating the same old tired message and the drugs-are-bad mantra of the "establishment." They'd make it hip to be straight -- or, if not altogether straight in all ways, at least clear about speed and how it affects the mind and body. ................................................ ........ An early project involved public service announcements (PSA's) targeted to rock music listeners.
Some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll -- Grace Slick, Steve Stills, Frank Zappa, Eric Burdon, John Sebastian, Bob ("The Bear") Hite, Roger McGuinn, John Mayall, and Peter Tork -- quickly signed on, recording informal announcements in their own words about speed and its dangers. Nothing heavy--or, at least, nothing heavy in a traditional sense. Just the unrehearsed observations of people who cared and who knew they were lucky enough to be cared about -- and have credibility with -- millions of fans around the world. The PSA's were quickly recorded, rushed into production, and shipped around the world. Rock music stations ate them up, because they were different -- and they made a difference. Listeners who had become experts at tuning out establishment anti-drug pitches paid a special kind of attention to the Do It Now PSA's, which typically featured a single tag line:

As the PSA's circulated, media attention grew. Album-rock radio pioneer Tom Donahue endorsed the campaign in a Cashbox magazine column, touting the "tremendous importance" of the PSA's, and calling on stations to "join with the top rock artists in a campaign of true public service."					Wanna check 'em out? Just click "Go There."
It worked. At the campaign's height, the PSA's were broadcast by some 1,500 stations worldwide.

Tied to the PSA campaign was another project that served as a rock-music industry first: production and distribution of a compilation album, focused around the theme that speed can wreck your life. Featuring many of the same artists who participated in the PSA project, and variety of interested other megastars, from The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix to Jefferson Airplane and Genesis, the record was intended to highlight speed's risks and serve as a means of funding Do It Now's expanding roster of services. The album, released in 1970, was titled "First Vibration." The record established its general theme and overall vibe in such tracks as The Beatle's "Nowhere Man" and Donovan's "Sunshine Superman," then zeroed down to specific points in The Byrd's "Artificial Energy," Buffalo Springfield's "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong," and Canned Heat's "Amphetamine Annie." ........................................................................................................................................................ It worked. Public awareness multiplied as such national periodicals as Psychology Today picked up both on it and the Foundation's unique, innovative approach to drug-abuse prevention.

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Want to know more about First Vibration? Or hear "Red House" -- the track Jimi Hendrix donated to the album? How about the Beatles' "Nowhere Man"? Then move over, Rover, and let Jimi (and John, Paul, George & Ringo) take over... (Clicking the titles above will get you samples or a tap on the icon at left will take you there.)

And while the rest may not be history, it's a part of history and certainly worth the telling, if you're still willing to do the listening. Check back sometime for another installment.

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