Topical and Protest singers/songwriters

Subject: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Stringsinger
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 03:41 PM

I am looking for singer/songwriters or folksingers in general who are writing and
singing topical, protest or song on contemporary social issues for an upcoming
radio program.

I would be grateful for your imput.

Thanks,

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Peace
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 03:50 PM

I'm working on one now that has the refrain

"I swear upon my brother's grave
That I will talk no more
With corporate sons of bitches
Who send children off to war."

But I ain't what ya'd call a topicl song writer. Best wishes to you, Frank.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Peace
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 03:51 PM

PS The refrain is for the audience to sing.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Francy
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 03:56 PM

Frank.............Contact Jim Page in Seattle.....very topical....very honest...and very "direct"...His email is [e-mail].......Hope this will help   Frank of Toledo

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bobad
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 06:17 PM

Give Ron Bankley's album "Insurgent Sun" a listen - some cuts can be heard here.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bankley
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 06:17 PM

...and he can be funny too...like his "Gays in the Military"..

a good man

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bankley
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 06:18 PM

was referring to Jim... a buddy...

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 08:41 PM

Alistair Hulett in Scotland. Peter Hicks, Miguel Heatwole, Pat Drummond, Eric Bogle in Australia.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: olddude
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 08:46 PM

Bruce Murdoch and Ron Bankley are the best there is

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: quokka
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 08:51 PM

Speaking of Eric Bogle, he has written one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. The chorus goes

Chains...chains...chains
How many souls have died in freedom's name
To some it is a way of life
To others just a word
To some, it is a snow-white dove,
To some, a bloody sword
But until the last chains fall
Freedom will make slaves of us all

It's called 'Singing His Spirit Home'.
There's a bit at the end where a choir sing:

'Courage, brother, you do not walk alone
We shall walk with you, and sing your spirit home'

It's about a man being led to his execution in South Africa.

Cheers,
Quokka

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Ebbie
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 09:23 PM

Pat Henry, bluesman in Juneau, Alaska. Songs such as 'Leave it to Our Children'

We're biting off more than we can chew
We're biting off more than we can chew
We're biting off more than we can chew,
Me and you. So what're we gonna do?
We'll just leave it to our children
We'll just leave it to our children
We'll just leave it to our children

Buddy Tabor, also in Juneau.
Songs like 'Mr. Basketball Shoes', 'Methamphetamines' (Willie has a body shop in this Oregon town'), 'Jesus Loves Me (More than He Loves You)', 'Isaiah's Dream'(All I know's that spark of hope still burns within'), 'One Divided Nation', (A house divided cannot stand...),lots more.

(He has 9 CDs out. I'd be happy to send you one.)

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bankley
Date: 16 Aug 08 - 09:34 PM

"Blackfire"   aka the Jones Bennaly family... Deni' Nation (Navajo)

world class.... they lay it down... and play all over the planet

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Stewie
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 02:20 AM

Richard Shindell, Pete Morton, John Prine, John Tams, David Francy, Coopes, Boyes and Simpson, David Olney, James McMurtry, John Gorka, James Talley, Leon Rosselson, Steve Earle, Mark Germino, James Keelaghan, John Schumann, Dave Mallett, Terry Allen, Loudon Wainwright, McGarrigles - these spring to mind as still active singer/songwriters responsible for some fine topical/protest songs.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: mark gregory
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 04:41 AM

and over 200 of them are represented in the Union Songs collection at
http://unionsong.com/ !

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: john f weldon
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 08:09 AM

Frank...
My somewhat meager attempts. The first is a North Canuckistani view of the US.   The second has a little protesty verse at the end, but is really a wholesome song about keeping your balance.

Land of the Free

Taking the Plunge

cheers & good luck in the quest.
John FW

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Bobert
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 08:28 AM

Jim Page, Jim Page, Jim Page...

Mark Germino, as someone allready mentioned, is purdy good, too and, of course, Steve Earle is he da' man...

B~

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bankley
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 09:06 AM

Gil Scott-Heron
Bruce Cockburn,
Buffy Ste-Marie
Willie Dunn
Floyd Westerman
Dar Williams
Michelle Shocked
Tupac

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: john f weldon
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 09:21 AM

One doesn't normally associate Mike Seeger with protest, but I recently heard him sing a Very old protest song, which had been updated for several different wars over the years, it was naturally quite long, but also quite funny. I believe the song was Battleship of Maine, from the Spanish-American war. But it also got used in WWI & II, Korea, Viet Nam, and now Iraq.

I don't think it's on a CD anywhere.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: oldhippie
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 09:23 AM

George Mann, David Rovics, Jefferson Pepper, Roy Zimmerman, Bruce Lesnick, Chuck Brodsky, Janet Bates, Iris deMent.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bankley
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 09:56 AM

once you start diggin' around it's encouraging to see what comes up, and of course there's the Irish contingent and Scots like Dick Gaughan.. Wee Eddie Reid had at least 2 attempts on his life by hard drug dealers for writing and singing about the rampant rise of heroin use in Glasgow a few years ago....after Thatcher closed the shipyards..

and we're still pretty much in the English tongue....

each culture and language has it's voices of dissent... a good friend of mine, Lolo (aka Mario-Innes Torres) is Calo-Roma..(Spanish Gypsy)..was locked up and tortured by the Franco regime.. he's a great Flamenco singer and poet... I might not understand the words but I sure get the meaning... he's somewhere in Mexico now, last I heard...      a beautiful soul...

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Vicar
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 05:08 PM

Pete Seeger not a protest singer?!! And - incidentally, what are we - chopped liver?

                                                                                                         Joe Frazier
                                                                                                         Chad Mitchell Trio

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Peace
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 05:28 PM

THERE you are. It's great to 'see' you, Joe. IMO, the CMT brought protest to an audience that never woulda considered the things the songs addressed. Do I have that wrong? What's your take on it, Joe?

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: GUEST,Lucky7s
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 06:30 PM

Floyd Westerman died last December. Don't know if the request is for the living or not, but the rest of the suggestions here seem to suggest that.

I suggest Ani de Franco, and while it might sound a bit odd, the Dixie Chicks. One, because of the way they were blackballed after the anti-Bush comment in London, and two, they do a bit of topical/protest music still.

Haven't seen anyone mention Holly Near or The Decemberists, a folk rock sorta band from Portland.

Sort of avant garde-ish, but I suggested Patti Smith in the fave singer-songwriter threads, and I'd add her here too. She does a ton of social commentary songwriting. As does Bobby Conn.

Have Dave Rovics, Larry Long and Dave Lippman been mentioned? Lucy Kaplansky?

Another singer/songwriter I mentioned in the other thread: Arlo Guthrie. He recently endorsed none other than Ron Paul! Certainly worth a conversation, eh?

He is also one of the few "protest singers" to have appeared on The Muppet Show.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Michael S
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 07:00 PM

David Ferrard from Scotland ... with a beautiful voice to boot.

--Michael Scully
--Austin, TX

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: GUEST,Lucky7s
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 07:36 PM

And I shoulda thunka--

Suzanne Vega
Tracy Chapman
Keb' Mo
Richie Havens
Indigo Girls
Stephan Smith
Tish Hinojosa
John Trudell
will.i.am

There are thousands of people singing topical and protest songs from across the political spectrum, though. Attend the RNC or DNC, and you will hear quite a few more never discussed here, who now make up the bulk of political/topical singer-songwriters in the US.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: olddude
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 08:57 PM

don't forget Joan Baez also
did some great songs

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 10:35 PM

Hazel Dickens

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Rabbi-Sol
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 10:49 PM

Don't forget MAGPIE (Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino) and their famous song about Bush & Cheney "Haul Them All Off To Jail".

I will be hosting them for a house concert on Sunday, September 14th in Rockland County, NY

                                                    SOL

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: GUEST,Lucky7s
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 02:33 AM

Anne Feeney
Charlie King
Si Kahn
Anti Flag
Barbara Dane
Bev Grant
Judy Gorman
Carol Denney
Sarah Jones

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Cats
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 04:57 AM

Jon Heslop. Definitley. He writes on the things that are pertinent to the life of the communities he lives in. At thre moment his songs are about the end of the fishing, tin mining, cut backs in farming etc. Worth a listen.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: john f weldon
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 06:13 AM

Is Vicar commenting on my post? I said Mike, not Pete.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: quokka
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 06:28 AM

Don't know if Billy Bragg has been mentioned yet? Also there is an Irish band called Interference who have a powerful protest song called 'American Townland', written by their singer, Fergus O'Farrell from Cork. It's about the 'war on terror'. I only heard it once and have searched for the lyrics high and low, maybe I should start a new thread...

Cheers
Quokka

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: bankley
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 09:21 AM

Jim Page will be in Denver / DNC   Aug. 24th to 28th    go get 'em JP

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: topical tom
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 10:11 AM

Tom Paxton wrote some good ones.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: Bobert
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 10:14 AM

Thankee, bankley...

Jim Page is the modern day Pete Seeger!!!

B~

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: maire-aine
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 10:21 AM

The first 2 I thought of (Si Kahn & Billy Bragg) have already been mentioned, but also add Damien Rice. And while you're at it, check out Jackson Browne-- esp. "Blood on the Wire". And Neil Young.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: john f weldon
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 11:26 AM

One of our Montreal locals, Zander Ary. His songs are mostly parodies, but often with topical content. He gave a fun show at the Fringe a cupla yrs ago. Also might be a good choice for Apple Hollow, for a change of pace? Beer?

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: C. Ham
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 01:42 PM

Jim Page is the modern day Pete Seeger!!!

With all due respect to Jim Page, the modern day Pete Seeger is Pete Seeger.

Pete performed wonderfully at Hugh's Room in Toronto last month during a Canadian tour and has a new album coming out next month called "At 89."

Enoch Kent should be on the list and so should Dan Frechette, a fine songwriter out of Winnipeg, has some excellent topical and protest songs.

Subject: RE: Topical and Protest singers/songwriters
From: john f weldon
Date: 18 Aug 08 - 02:43 PM

How about Jim Page the modern day Phil Ochs? Hope he holds onto the reins more tightly, tho. I've been listening to Ochs'   earliest stuff; a lot of it still holds up, and it doesn't seem all that radical now. Mainly cuz he turned out to be right most of the time.
oops, slipping off topic...