Subject: RE: Lee Hays/Robert Koppelman
From:
WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 05 May 04 - 10:45 PM
Doris Willens books is a must read. Robert Koppelman did a superb job collecting Hays writing, but it is not a biography. Doris Willens was a member of the Babysitters with Hays and she had access to his files and friends when she wrote her biography of him. The two books really will give you a great insight into Lee Hays.
I really can't comment on the first question Martin, but as for the second part, I don't think the age and/or look of Lee Hays had anything to do with the Weavers not winning folk fans during the late 50's and early 60's. If anything, Hays was very welcoming to young fans and his home in Croton became something of a mecca for many during the latter decades of his life. In fact, the movie, Wasn't That A Time, was created by a young fan. The Weavers did not win many new fans during that period because their time had passed, unfortunately.
Hays was by many reports difficult to work with. The Weavers during the "folk scare" of the late 50's and 60's were rather passe by that time, in my opinion. Seeger had left the group and while I think the recordings that came after he left are every bit as good as when he was a member, the Weavers were faced with an uphill battle. The effects of the blacklist was still strong, and they could not get gigs on TV and very little radio airplay. The traditionalists who were taking hold of the folk scene also downplayed the Weavers for many of the same reasons that the Kingston Trio were looked down upon. The Weavers commercialized the sound of folk music, they copyrighted traditional songs, and they were not singing in "authentic" styles. Tastes had changed. However, many of the musicians who came of age during that period often point to the Carnegie Hall comeback album of '55 as an inspiration.
While the Weavers at Carnegie Hall albums were seminal recordings, I contend that it was really the 1980 "comeback" that solidified the Weaver's stature in the folk world. That brilliant documentary and album reminded everyone of what they accomplished, plus it glossed over the "orchestra" sound of their early 50's "hits" and I don't remember there being a single mention of Seeger's replacements in the group. It captured the original four Weavers, told their story, and showed how their music was still vibrant and important in the 1980's.
I was at the Clearwater festival for their final appearance, a few months before Lee Hays passed away. They billed it as a "rehearsal", and it truly had that feel. However, I do remember a huge crowed had gathered that year to witness the event, young and old. It was a way of saying "good-bye" and "thank you".
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