ALMANAC SINGERS "Talking Union" Keynote Album 106 EE+1941 Raw Social Activism
$
160
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Description
HERE'S ONE OF THE FIRST up-front, in-your-face, social-activist recording projects ever, the original 1941 Keynote "TALKING UNION" album by the ALMANAC SINGERS.
Organized by PETE SEEGER, LEE HAYS and MILLARD LAMPELL, this group combined old-time American folk music, left-wing politics and anti-fascist social activism in a powerful mixture. The songs in this album are as potent today as they were in 1941, if not more so! In fact, they were SO effective that by the end of '42, the Almanacs were being investigated and called "seditious" by the FBI, who effectively shut them down! But this album lives on!
KEYNOTE 301 "Talking Union" / "Union Train"
KEYNOTE 302 "Which Side (Are You On)?" / "Get Thee Behind Me"
KEYNOTE 303 "Union Maid" / "All I Want"
The Almanac Singers are: PETE SEEGER (banjo), MILLARD LAMPELL (guitar), JOSH WHITE (guitar),, LEE HAYES, SAM GARY, CAROL WHITE, and BESS LOMAX HAWES. Of course, they all sing!
The first number, "Talking Union," though labeled as by the group, is a hard-hitting solo by Pete Seeger, a la "Talking Blues" by Chris Bouchillon. "Which Side," a chilling indictment of Capitalist injustice, still circulates in Union circles. (We were singing it at the Unurban Café in Venice as recently as last February!). "Union Maid" is a message to the ladies, to be good obedient wives to their hard-workin' Union husbands; which proves that even the most progressive people in 1941 still weren't "woke" enough to embrace Women's Lib! "Get Thee Behind Me" showcases Josh White's stunning blues guitar playing. All in all, a great album to play for your hidebound conservative relatives at the next big family gathering!
This lot, alas, does NOT include the original album cover. The records were kept in individual stock sleeves by HOWARD FELDMAN, my Old Leftie friend and 78 collector, who went to his grave extolling the virtues of "People's Music," liberal causes, Paul Robeson and Henry Wallace's 1948 Progressive Party. You'll get those sleeves, with Howard's writing in the upper right-hand corners, and a color reproduction of both the original Album cover and the inner cover with notes.
These three original 1941 Keynote records all are in beautiful EE+ condition.
PHOTO: The Almanac Singers, 1941. Pete Seeger is the tall guy with the banjo.
*****
These records come from my private collection, which I have been accumulating since 1967, and now am downsizing! My highest priority in these eBay auctions is to give you the best possible idea of a record’s true condition and aesthetic value. I always post at least four clear images, showing the record fore and aft, a close-up of the label, and the whole disc, warts and all. If my purple prose won’t cut it, the pictures will! Shipping is done with expert care. Your record will brave Media Mail in a stout corregated box, between four sheets of cardboard and a couple of “packers.” I hope you are amused by these descriptions, and by the quality of service being offered.
On Jul-13-20 at 16:42:41 PDT, seller added the following information:I've added high-quality pictures of the original album cover and the album notes. So you can print these yourself!
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