MUSI 1530 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie
Document Summary
Showed up on the pop charts in the early 1950s. Combined a number of seemingly contradictory tendencies. Inspired by rural folk music yet performed by urban intellectuals. Drew inspiration from the populist protest songs of woody guthrie yet was used by the record industry to generate millions of dollars in profits. The first urban folk group to achieve commercial success. A quartet led by the singer, banjo player, and political activist pete seeger (1919) Formed in 1948, they grew out of an earlier group called the almanac singers, which had included seeger and guthrie. With a repertoire based on american and international folk songs, the weavers performed at union rallies, college concerts and urban coffeehouses. The group was discovered at a new york city nightclub by gordon jenkins, managing director of decca records. Between 1950 and 1954, they placed eleven records in the top 40.
