![]() ![]() The quartet went from being embraced by the public, and selling four million records, to being reviled and rejected over the political backgrounds of its members, and disbanding after only four years together. How could a song as pleasant and tuneful as "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" be subversive? However, their origins, the level of their success, the forces that cut the group's future off in its prime, and the allure that keeps their music selling are all difficult to explain - as, indeed, none of this was all that easy to explain at the time. Membership:originally, Pete Seeger, ten., bjo., gtr.The Weavers had the most extraordinary musical pedigree and prehistory of any performing group in the history of folk or popular music. The Weavers were the first broadly popular group of contemporary urban folk musicians and singers. Thus, they are a direct influence on such subsequent groups as The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, as well as on the overall folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most successful recordings were the singles “Goodnight Irene” /“Tzena Tzena Tzena,” “On Top of Old Smoky,” and “So Long (It’s Been Good to Know Yuh)” and their album The Weavers at Carnegie Hall They adapted folk songs from many different countries into their own vibrant style, popularizing a wide range of music, as well as performed the songs of such American folk predecessors as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie they also wrote their own material. Seeger and Hays were former members of The Almanac Singers they became involved with Gilbert and Hellerman through their work with People’s Songs, an organization that promoted the performance of topical folk music in support of left-wing causes. They first performed together at a benefit for People’s Songs in November 1948. ![]() They played at benefits and on local radio during 1949, initially as the No-Name Quartet, then took their name from the 1892 German play The Weavers by Gerhart Hauptmann. In September 1949 they made their first recordings for the independent Charter Records label, which released the single “Wasn’t That a Time” (music and lyrics by Lee Hays)/“Dig My Grave” (traditional Bahamian folk hymn). In December they recorded a second single, “The Hammer Song” (later known as “If I Had a Hammer” music by Pete Seeger, lyrics by Lee Hays)/“Banks of Marble” (music and lyrics by Les Rice) for Hootenanny Records. The Weavers were on the verge of disbanding in December 1949 when they auditioned at the Village Vanguard in N.Y Booked into the club for two weeks at the end of the year, they were extended for six months. They signed to Decca Records and their single “Tzena Tzena Tzena” (music by Issachor Miron, revised by Julius Grossman, English lyrics by Mitchell Parish)/“Goodnight Irene” (music and lyrics by Lead Belly), credited to Gordon Jenkins and His Orch. “Tzena Tzena Tzena” hit the Top Ten in July, while “Goodnight Irene” topped the charts for months, starting in August the disc reportedly sold about two million copies. The Weavers were set to become regulars on a summer replacement television program when Seeger was cited in the publication Red Channels: Communist Influence on Radio and Television in June and the contract was canceled. This marked the beginning of the blacklisting of the group for its political views. Nevertheless, they resumed performing and recording following a summer layoff. ![]() They enjoyed their second chart single in December with “The Roving Kind” (music and lyrics by Jessie Cavanaugh and Arnold Stanton, adapted from a traditional English folk song), the B-side of which was “(The Wreck of the) John B” (music and lyrics by Lee Hays, adapted from a Bahamian folk song collected by Carl Sandburg).Īt the start of 1951 The Weavers undertook a six-month tour of the major nightclubs in the U.S. ![]()
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