Roots of the Revival: American and British Folk Music in the 1950s
2016; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2056-6166
Autores Tópico(s)Musicology and Musical Analysis
ResumoRoots of Revival: American and British Folk Music in 1950s Ronald D. Cohen and Rachel Clare Donaldson. Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield: University of Illinois Press, 2014. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 182 pp. ISBN 978-0-252-03851-8 (hbk) 978-0-252-08012-8 (pbk). US$85.00 (hbk) US$25.00 (pbk). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While there are several excellent accounts of folk music revivals, Cohen and Donaldson spotted a gap in coverage of 1950s --a period they claim as 'wrongly characterized as the bland leading bland' (p. 1). Taking opportunity to document this period, they present an account of key players such as Alan Lomax, Pete Seeger, Ewan McColl, Peggy Seeger, Woody Guthrie, A. L. Lloyd, Kingston Trio, New Lost City Ramblers, and a multitude of others, drawing information from record catalogues, magazine articles, correspondence, and published memoirs. They break new ground in their attempt to highlight associations between distinct but related revivals that took place in American and British contexts. To set scene, we are brought up to date on collecting movement prior to 1950, detailing paper-based and recorded publications. The chapters then take us chronologically through 1950s, each covering two years and highlighting themes dominating period. How Weavers' music sparked progressive hopes for peace and social equality begins a thread on civil rights which, unsurprisingly, permeates book. The impact of blacklisting in US on both key performers and media infrastructure underlying their activities is described. Sympathetic associations in Britain are charted, including Lloyd's focus on workers' songs and Topic's left-wing heritage though, as government pressure was less pervasive, Britain is here presented as a sanctuary for Americans unable to work at home. The mingling of different cultural traditions is raised at several points, including eclectic festival line-ups of early 1950s. This spread beyond diverse collections or programming and multiculturalism was apparent even within individuals. In particular, Harry Belafonte is highlighted as wanting not to be associated with one place but to be seen as a performer of all world's music. Similarly Clancy Brothers' Songs of Israel is mentioned (pp. 89-90). The short-lived skiffle craze in Britain is celebrated as central to mobilizing British folk revival and book notes how British musicians developed first a love of Black American heritage but then stepped sideways into materials of UK (p. 97). Reference to grass-roots musical practice is scarce and is mostly confined to political rallies and events of large enough scale to be documented in press. Links are drawn throughout with mainstream music industry, with significant attention given to Belafonte and Kingston Trio, and an acknowledgement that commercial folk music was quashed early in decade due to government fears around delinquency and counter-culture. …
Referência(s)