Washington State working music

Subject: Washington State working music
From:
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 01:37 PM

CAN anyone help me find info. on Washington workers and their music. aNYTIME PERIOD IS FINE..tHANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Deckman
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 01:40 PM

Can you explain a little more detail what you want. CHEERS, Bob, in Washington State.

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Deckman
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 01:41 PM

By the way, I may have just set a new speed record for answering ... two and a half minutes, I think. Bob

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: JenEllen
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 02:14 PM

What are you looking for? Haying songs? Ranching songs? Native American songs? River songs? It would really help narrow the search.
Us east-siders aren't as fast as Bob! *bg*
~J

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: GUEST,Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 02:21 PM

Or labor songs? Guthrie songs? Wobbly songs?

SRS

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: MMario
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 02:28 PM

lumberjack songs?

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Steve in Idaho
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 02:38 PM

Here is a good site to start from - Clik. Lots of links also -

Steve

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Bennet Zurofsky
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 03:02 PM

There is a great deal of "working music" associated with the State of Washington due to the creativity of the Wobblies and of Woody Guthrie.

The Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), often known as the Wobblies, were very active in Washington in the early twentieth century. Mostly they were involved in trying to organize the lumber camps, but there were several major gun-battles fought between Wobblies and the vigilantes/policemen of the day. All of this was memorialized in song and verse. Any edition of the "Little Red Songbook" will include several examples. Rebel Voices, an anthology by, I believe, Jane Kornbluth, also has a great deal of material and is in print.

There was also a general strike in Seattle in about 1916(?). I haven't seen much contemporaneous material from that strike but a Rock Opera was recorded on the subject in the 1970's and has some pretty good material in it.

Woody was commissioned to write songs about the Columbia River by the Federal Government as part of public relations effort for the hydroelectric projects of the time. His recordings of the Columbia River Songs, "Roll On Columbia" being the best known, are still in print, either on Rounder or Folkways, as is a book devoted to them published by Sing Out. (singout.org). One of these, "The Great Grand Coulee Dam," was recorded live by Bob Dylan and the Band at a tribute concert after Woody's death, which I think is also in print on (what else) Columbia Records.

Much of this material can be purchased through the Labor Heritage Foundation (laborheritabe.org) and they may also have other suggestions. While there, you may wish to purchase some of the CDs by a group called "Rebel Voices." Thet are two fine women singers and they are based in the Puget Sound area.

-Bennet Zurofsky

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 06:04 PM

Or perhaps Washington, District of Columbia?

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 06:28 PM

Oh. Duh.

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From:
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 09:56 PM

Linda Allen has a great C.D. of Washington songs she wrote, many of which are from a labor perspective. Maybe most. Maybe all except one for sure was romantic. She also has 2 song books out on Washington I think. Jon Pfaff of Seattle has done some great workshops on Northwest music...generally including Oregon and B.C. Oregon songs, Jinx Davis is wonderful. I know you said Washington but I still can't really tell Oregon and Washington apart.

mg

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From:
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 09:59 PM

I wouldn't link Woody Guthrie too closely with Washington. He was not born here, as far as I know he came here for the purpose of writing songs as a job for Bonneville Dam...he is from Oklahoma isn't he...and wrote some great dust bowl songs. Granted, Eastern Washington has very dry land...there really are 2 Washingtons, Eastern and Western...great differences between them. But I don't think of Woody Guthrie as having much to do with Washington really.

mg

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 05 Feb 02 - 10:19 PM

One thing you can do is get in touch with Janet Stecher or Susan Lewis of Rebel Voices. They're Seattle-based singers who specialize in labor songs, and they would be a good resource.

Another good bet is Washington Songs and Lore, edited by Linda Allen. The link to Amazon will get you a used copy; I think it's out of print.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Deckman
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 12:31 AM

Actually, Woody Guthrie was pretty well connected with Seattle. He did come here often. I just missed him at a hoot in the ealry fifties by four hours. Also, there is a rather populiar photograph of Woody, Burl Ives, and Ivar Haugland taken down on the waterfront in the fourties. CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: MAG
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 10:04 AM

Whoa, Norton! How did you come across the website for my Society? (If you looked under band info., you saw my name ...)

Second all the suggestions above; righteous Mothers are also a hoot (but wouldn't fit on a guy's voice ...)

Humphreys and hartman do original stuff -- follow the link from WWFAM to Three Rivers. (Mary Hartman's song about the ice machine got played on ... Prairie Home Companion.)Three Rivers Tumble weeds Festival over Labor Day has a song contest. they also just had Roberts and Barrand in, and I was just sick I couldn't make it over. Haven't heard them live since I left Chicago 15 years ago.

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 12:00 PM

When I moved to the Bremerton area in 1943 two of the 'local' songs connected with labor were "Acres of Clams" and "The Black-Ball Line".

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Gypsy
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 10:50 PM

Check out Victory Music, as well. Their CD, Victory sings at Sea, is wonderful, and they are quite a good institution. We subscribed to the cause for quite some time, until got too bummed that they were WAY UP THERE, and we were WAY DOWN HERE, and couldn't attend any of the events.

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 12:05 AM

"lewl88"...wouldn't be any connection to Lew London, would it? Just wondering.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Deckman
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 06:42 PM

At the risk of offending, I'll tell a story my Father told me regarding the Wobblies. He grew up in the apple country of Eastern Washington. When he was a kritter, the I.W.W. (Wobblies) came through the region, trying to organize the apple pickers and lead them out on strike. The local joke of the time, and it persists today, is that the I.W.W. really means .... I Won't Work. (true story) CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: Steve in Idaho
Date: 08 Feb 02 - 09:48 AM

mag' - I'm more of a Bluegrass musician than a "True Folk" musician. Always looking around for that type of stuff - Cool site also!!

Steve

Subject: RE: Washington State working music
From: GUEST,Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Feb 02 - 03:29 PM

lew188--can you tell us if any of these responses answered your question? I'm curious what aspect of Washington songs you're looking for.

SRS