Was Folk Music a Commie Plot?

Mat Callahan Monthly Review
U.S. music was shaped to a considerable extent by people the government sought to destroy. Even as it mounted an effective attack on the Communist Party, the government was unable to erase the influence of musicians with which it was associated.

music

Barbara Dane’s Life of Defiance and Song

Jenn Pelly New York Times
The 93-year-old musician, co-founder of the political label Paredon Records, looks back on a history of resistance. If you see your country “making horrible mistakes, you have to speak up,” she said. “You’re colluding with it if you don’t speak up.”

Folk Singer Arlo Guthrie Reflects On A Life Spent Making Music

Lauren Daley WBUR
Born in Brooklyn in 1947, the oldest son of folk icon Woody Guthrie and professional dancer Marjorie Mazia Guthrie, Arlo grew up surrounded by folk legends — Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, to name a few.

Odetta, the Shy Folk Singer Who Defied McCarthyism's Fear Tactics

Ian Zack Literary Hub
It wasn't only Odetta's selection of material that set her apart from many other white folk singers in the early 1950s. It was also her extraordinary interpretive ability. Among Her Fans Were Rosa Parks, Bob Dylan, and Martin Luther King.

The Misguided Attacks on 'This Land Is Your Land'

Will Kaufman The Conversation
As the author of three books on Guthrie, I wonder how the folksinger would respond to recent criticism of “This Land Is Your Land.” We can’t know for sure, but some of his unpublished writings and recently discovered recordings offer some clues

Friday Nite Videos | May 3, 2019

Portside
William Barr's Master Class on Hair Splitting. For Pete at 100 | This Land Is Your Land. Elizabeth Warren: Time to Open Impeachment Proceedings. How Quantum Computers Break Encryption. Ady Barkan Testifies on Medicare for All.
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