The Almanac Singers were a group of folk musicians who achieved popularity in the radical left/anti-fascist circles of early 1940s America, using the music of the people and the soil in a classic leftist way to promote their intellectual concerns. Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Americana Godfather Woody Guthrie began playing together informally at the communal Almanac House after Seeger and Hays had been playing left-wing political functions for a time. Mainstream national success began after the American Youth Congress meeting in Washington D.C. in February of 1941. Others who sang with the group at various times included folk/leftist legends like Sis Cunningham, Peter Hawes, Butch Hawes, Bess Lomax, Cisco Houston, and Arthur Stern. Politics and music remained closely intertwined with the members' political beliefs, which were far-left and led to controversial associations with the US Communist Party. Their first release was the album Songs For John Doe on their own indie label, which urged non-intervention in World War II, and was made with the help of Eric Bernay (of Keynote), Joe Thompson (of NBC), Nicholas Ray (future film director) and Alan Lomax (musicologist). The second album was Talking Union, a collection of Trade Union-themed songs, many of which were intensely anti-Roosevelt. More recordings followed, but blacklisting and internal friction drove the group apart soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Key members Hayes and Seeger went on to enjoy chart success with The Weavers, but the radical politics which informed their early work returned to haunt them as they became victims of the sinister early 1950s anti-Communist witch-hunt which divided America. The Almanac Singers are at the very root of the politicised modern American folk music which rose from the ashes in the early 1960s to take over the world. Here are their most vital recordings in a first-time European CD collection. The latest installment of our acclaimed series "Americana/Unamerican?" spotlighting the radical elements in the Americana genre. Wonderfully remastered in scintillating Rev-Ola style. Beautiful artwork as usual...with an informative essay on the very roots of the 'folk boom' many rare radio session tracks not heard since originally broadcast. The Almanac Singers original releases are almost impossible to find - but we found 'em!
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