The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #77541 Message #1383761
Posted By: WFDU - Ron Olesko
20-Jan-05 - 07:37 PM
Thread Name: Erik Darling's history with the Weavers
Subject: RE: Folklore: Erik Darling and the Weavers
Yes, the film was about the 1980 Carnegie reunion - but the Weaver's had several "reunions" in their career. The first was at Carnegie on Dec.24 1955 It was billed as their first on-stage appearance in three years "The Weavers - Together Again". The Weavers used that concert to bring the group back together. That concert was a huge success and released on Vanguard Records in 1957 and it has become THE classic Weaver's album. The next "reunion" was in 1964, also released on Vanguard, and it featured all the members of the Weavers.
The documentary "Wasn't That A Time" really skims over much of this history, because it is incidental to the story it tells so magnificently - the "final" reunion in 1980 of the original members. (I'm not sure if it sold out in 4 hours - the story is that the ad ran on a Sunday and when Leventhal called the box office on Tuesday it was sold out.)
The relationship had it's rocky moments - Lee Hays was not the easist person to work with. The Clearwater "rehearsal" show (as it was billed) almost did not happen because Lee Hays had promised a local radio station that they could record the show and Fred Hellerman was opposed.