Some More Figures From The 1950's & 60's

Leonard Cohen ~ 82 ~ Montreal singer/songwriter/poet/novelist from the 1960's onward "Hallelujah", "Suzanne", "First We Take Manhattan", "The Future", "Bird On A Wire", "Everybody Knows";

LEONARD COHEN ~ "HALLELUJAH";


LEONARD COHEN ~ "FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN";


LEONARD COHEN ~ "THE FUTURE";


Rick Parfit ~ 68 ~ British singer/guitarist w 1960's & 70's band Status Quo ("Pictures Of Matchstick Men", "Rockin' All Over The World") and Bandaid ("We Are The World");

STATUS QUO ~ "PICTURES OF MATCHSTICK MEN";


STATUS QUO ~ "THE WANDERER";


Valerie Gell ~ 72 ~ UK Singer/guitarist with 1960's all-girl Mersey Beat band the Liverbirds

THE LIVERBIRDS ~ "WHY DO YOU HANG AROUND WITH ME";


THE LIVERBIRDS ~ "PEANUTBUTTER";


Buck Ormsby ~ 75 ~ Bassist with 1960's Seattle Garage Punks The Fabulous Wailers ("Louie Louie" & "Tall Cool One", "Out Of Our Tree")

THE WAILERS ~ "TALL COOL ONE";


ROCKIN' ROBIN ROBERTS & THE WAILERS ~ "LOUIE LOUIE";


Rex DeLong ~ Guitarist w/1960's Surf Band The Rumblers ("Boss");
THE RUMBLERS ~ "BOSS";


Joe Clay ~ 78 ~ American 1950's Rockabilly singer/guitarist did "Ducktail", "Doggone It", "16 Chicks", "Get On The Right Track" (later covered by the Polecats)

JOE CLAY ~ "DUCKTAIL";


JOE CLAY ~ "16 CHICKS";


Martin Stone ~ 69 ~ British 1960's & 70's guitarist w/The Action, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Snakefinger, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, Pink Fairies, the The 101ers, Wreckless Eric, Marianne Faithful.

THE ACTION ~ "I'LL KEEP ON HOLDING ON";


THE ACTION ~ "SHADOWS & REFLECTIONS";


THE PINK FAIRIES;


Jim Lowe ~ 93 ~ American 1950's pop/country singer songwriter "The Green Door", "The Gambler's Guitar" (also covered by Rusty Draper), "Four Walls" (also covered by Jim Reeves), "Mabellene", "Blue Suede Shoes"

JIM LOWE ~ "THE GAMBLER'S GUITAR";


JIM LOWE ~ MAYBELLENE";


JIM LOWE ~ "THE GREEN DOOR";


Bobby Vee ~ 73 ~ 1950's American pop singer ("Take Good Care Of My Baby" & "The Night Has 1000 Eyes")

BOBBY VEE ~ "TAKE GOOD CARE OF MY BABY";


BOBBY VEE ~ "THE NIGHT HAS 1000 EYES";


Jean Shepard ~ 82 ~ American Country singer from the 1950's to the 70's ("A Dear John Letter", "Slippin' Away", "Second Fiddle To An Old Guitar", "Beautiful Lies")

JEAN SHEPARD ~ "SECOND FIDDLE TO AN OLD GUITAR";


JEAN SHEPARD ~ "IF YOU CAN WALK AWAY";


JEAN SHEPARD ~ "BEAUTIFUL LIES";


Fred Hellerman ~ 89 ~ American folk singer w/The Weavers "Goodnight Irene", "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", "The Wreck of the John B" (aka "Sloop John B"), "Rock Island Line", "The Midnight Special", "Pay Me My Money Down", "Darling Corey" and "Wimoweh")

THE WEAVERS;


Kay Starr ~ 94 ~ American pop and jazz singer from the 1940's & 1950's ("Rock & Roll Waltz", "It's A Good Day", "Wheel Of Fortune")

KAY STARR ~ "IT'S A GOOD DAY" & "WHEEL OF FORTUNE";


KAY STARR & BRENDA LEE ~ "AROUND THE WORLD";


Jean Jacques Perry ~ 87 ~ French 1960's Electronic Pop Moog player/composer w/Perry & Kingsley and Mr Ondioline

JEAN JACQUES PERRY;

Some Figures From The 1950's & 60's Folk Revival

Ronnie Gilbert ~ 88 ~ Singer with The Weavers (along with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Fred Hellerman), the group who kicked off the 1950's Folk Revival with hits like "Goodnight Irene", "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", "The Wreck of the John B" (aka "Sloop John B"), "Rock Island Line", "If I Had A Hammer", "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and "The Midnight Special". The Weavers popularized the work of Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Solomon Linda and John Jacob Niles and influenced later figures like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Rooftop Singers, Kingston Trio and The Tokens. The Weavers were also heavily involved in left wing politics especially civil rights and anti-war and as such they were widely blacklisted from radio and television after Seeger and Hays refused to testify in front of the House Un-American Committee, and even though they scored a number of pop hits. The broke up and reformed several times throughout the mid-fifties and sixties until they finally disbanded in 1964. They reformed for a reunion in 1980 which was filmed for a hit movie "Wasn't That A Party". Ronnie Gilbert went on to sing with the group HARP with Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie as well as Holly Near. She later wrote and appeared in a one-woman show about early twentieth century leftist leader Mother Jones.

THE WEAVERS ~ "GOODNIGHT IRENE";


THE WEAVERS ~ "TZENA TZENA TZENA";


THE WEAVERS ~ "WIMOWEH";


Jean Richie ~ 92 ~ American folk singer and mountain dulcimer player of the early 1960's Folk Revival, known as Queen Of The Dulcimer, she singlehandedly popularized the insturment.

JEAN RICHIE ~ "SHADY GROVE";


JEAN RICHIE ~ "MY DEAR COMPANION";


Leon Bibb ~ 93 ~ American Folk and Spiritual singer and actor from the 1950's on, civil rights leader with Paul Robeson and Dick Gregory for which he was blacklisted.

LEON BIBB ~ "ROCKS & GRAVEL"


LEON BIBB ~ "WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN";


Bruce Rowland ~ 74 ~ Drummer for 1960's British Folk-Rock band Fairport Convention, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Shawn Phillips, Andy Mackay, Jackie Lomax, also played on "Jesus Christ Superstore".

FAIRPORT CONVENTION ~ "TIME THE WISER";


FAIRPORT CONVENTION;


Tut Taylor ~ 91 ~ American Bluegrass dobro player from the 1960's on with The Folk Swingers, The Dixie Gentlemen, John Hartford's Aero-Plane, and Jerry Douglas

JOHN HARTFORD ~ "TURN YOUR RADIO ON";


JOHN HARDFORD'S AERO-PLANE ~ "STEAM POWERED AEROPLANE";


Bill Keith ~ 75 ~ Bluegrass banjo player from the 1960's on with the Bluegrass Boys, Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Ian & Sylvia Tyson, Ritchie Havens, David Grisman, Geoff and Maria Muldaur, Judy Collins, Jonathan Edwards, Loudon Wainwright III, The Bee Gees

BILL MONROE ~ "UNCLE PEN";


GREAT SPECKLED BIRD ~ "CRAZY ARMS";


Bobby Hill ~ 83 ~ Montreal Bluegrass and Old Tyme Country singer/guitarist ("The Ballad Of Rocket Richard"

BOBBY HILL ~ "THE BALLAD OF ROCKET RICHARD";


Ron Hynes ~ 64 ~ Newfoundland folk singer from the 1970's on w/The Wonderful Grand Band and solo;
RON HYNES ~ "SONNY'S DREAM";

Pete Seeger ~ RIP

When Pete Seeger died recently at age 94 it obviously came as no surprise, he was 94 after all. The tributes were lengthy and well deserved, Pete Seeger was one of the truly towering figures of 20th century music.

On purely musical terms he was not especially note-worthy. His rather weedy voice and rudimentary guitar and banjo playing were not what made him important, it was his tireless work as a folklorist, civil rights leader and activist.

Born in Manhattan in 1919 of a middle-class family, his parents Charles and Constance were respected composers, musicologists and educators. Charles was also a pacifist who lost his job at University of California Berkley for his opposition to World War One, Pete's uncle Alan Seeger, a noted poet, died in that war. During the Roosevelt administration Charles got a job as an ethno-musicologist (a new discipline he helped pioneer) with the WPA as would John and Alan Lomax. Charles and Constance would divorce in 1932 and Charles would marry Ruth Crawford, a respected composer, and they would have four children, all of whom would become folk singers in their own lights.

THE WEAVERS


In spite of this background young Pete did not immediately take to music as a career, although he did learn how to play guitar, banjo, ukulele, and harmonica, he instead trained as a journalist and painter. By 1938 however he had dropped out of college as he was spending too much time on political activities. He had become a supporter of left-wing causes; civil-rights, anti-war, pro-union, anti-facist, anti-racist and a supporter of the loyalists in the Spanish Civil War. He had also become a friend to left-wing folk singers like Woody Guthrie, Cisco Huston, Josh White, Harry McClintock and Leadbelly. Throughout the 1930's and 40's Seeger would play many rallies and benefits for various causes and in 1936 he joined the Communist Party. He would leave the party in the aftermath of World War Two (during which he enlisted in the Navy and spent the war entertaining the troops) differing over the party's slavish devotion to Stalin. In spite of this falling out, during the 1950's McCarthy Red Scare Seeger would steadfastly refuse to denounce his old comrades when called up to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1955. His refusal to answer HUAC's questions earned him ten one year jail sentences for contempt of congress. After a long court battle this sentence was overturned on appeal in 1962, during this time his movements were greatly restricted and his passport was revoked. Worse he found himself largely banned from the radio and TV and had many shows cancelled.

PETE SEEGER W/ SONNY TERRY & BROWNIE McGEE ~ "ROCK ISLAND LINE";


By this time he had become a well known musical figure. He formed the Almanac Singers in 1941 with Lee Hays and Millard Lampell and a revolving cast that would include the likes of Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston and Josh White. By 1950 the Almanacs had evolved into The Weavers including Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman. The Weavers would become the first successful folk group scoring several major hits with songs like "Goodnight Irene" (a cover of a Leadbelly song), "So Long It's Been Good To Know You" (by Guthrie), "Sixteen Tons" (by Merle Travis), "On Top Of Old Smokey", "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine", "Turn, Turn, Turn" (later covered by The Byrds), "Kumbaya" and "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", a cover of a South African song by Solomon Linda later redone as a doo-wop song by The Tokens. Their "Live At Carnegie Hall" album was one of the biggest sellers of the 1950's. However the bans and blacklists as a result of HUAC effectively made it impossible to continue and Seeger left the group. The Weavers would struggle on for some time with various replacements but their place on the charts would be taken by the non-controversial Kingston Trio.

PETE SEEGER'S "RAINBOW QUEST" TV SHOW ~ GUESTS ROSCOE HOLCOMB & JEAN RICHIE:


In the late 1950's and early sixties the blacklisted Seeger made ends meet as a music teacher and writing a column for for "Sing Out!" magazine. But his lifeline came when Folkways Records signed him to a contract by which would record as many as five albums a year. Even with no radio airplay he would play the college and coffee house circuit as the early 60's folk revival led to a revival. Seeger would play a prominent role in the 60's folk scene and would champion such younger singers as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Peter, Paul & Mary and Ramblin Jack Elliot as well as lesser known figures like The Hillmen (featuring future Byrd Chris Hillmen) and The Town Criers with future Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin. Equally important were older singers now being rediscovered such as Mississippi John Hurt, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Skip James, Merle Travis, Roscoe Holcombe, Reverend Gary Davis, Cousin Emmy, Doc Watson and The Stanley Brothers.

PETE SEEGER'S "RAINBOW QUEST" TV SHOW WITH JOHNNY & JUNE CARTER CASH:


To promote folk music he started a new magazine, "Broadside" and hosted a syndicated TV show called "Rainbow Quest" which had most of the above singers as guests as well as younger singers like Johnny and June Cash, Donovan, Buffy St Marie, Tom Paxton and Judy Collins. Many of these shows are now available on DVD. He had earlier made a short documentary with Alan Lomax in 1947 which included Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee and Texas Gladden.

HEAR YOUR BANJO PLAY ~ 1947;


Pete Seeger never gave up his commitment to civil rights and the anti-war movement. He would continue to play rallies and protest marches, sometimes getting arrested well into his 80's. He would popularize the old black hymn "We Shall Overcome" as a civil rights anthem. In 1967 he was famously banned from TV for playing the anti-war song "Waist Deep In Big Muddy" on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Comedy Hour". After wide protest the network allowed him back on the show a year later. By the 1980's he would add the environment, anti-apartheid and farm-relief to his causes and he in fact played a Farm Aid benefit just a few months before his death joined onstage by Neil Young and Willie Nelson. Earlier in the year he had played at Occupy Wall street rallies. By that time he had recorded at least fifty albums both solo and with The Weavers.

PETE SEEGER'S "RAINBOW" QUEST TV SHOW WITH DONOVON AND RAVI SHANKAR: