Here’s the fantastic cover of the “Rebel Song Book,” compiled by Samuel H. Friedman, Socialist Party Vice Presidential Candidate, 1952 and 1956.   This book contains 87 labor and socialist songs for voice and piano.  You can download free MP3s of three tracks in the songbook at: http://media.lib.ecu.edu/spclcoll/staffpick.cfm?id=16.  According to musician and cultural activist John Pietaro, ” The Rebel Song Book remains an important historic document and stands as a powerful reminder of the breadth of the Socialist Party during its own second stage. It bears a closer examination.” Pietaro has written an in-depth analysis of the collection and it can be read on his website “The Cultural Worker” (http://theculturalworker.blogspot.com/2010/12/brief-study-of-art-and-culture-of.html).

If there’s anyone out there who can tell me who created the cover art, I would appreciate it.  I’ve searched around and haven’t been able to pinpoint the artist.  The “Rebel Song Book,” however, is part of the Tim Davenport Collection (http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6t1nf0hb/).  Perhaps there is a sleuth out there who will solve the mystery for us?  To be continued…

Mini-Review: Steve Towson’s “The Beginning, The Struggle, and The Reward”

If you’re looking for a blend of contemporary and traditional labor music, then check out folk-punker Steve Towson’s newest release “The Beginning, The Struggle, and The Reward.”  It is a 5 song E.P. that includes such classics as Joe Hill’s “Preacher and the Slave” and Florence Reece’s “Which Side Are You On?” Hailing from Australia, Towson also presents the “Ballad of 1891” by Helen Palmer and Doreen Jacobs (a song about the first great Australian shearer’s strike) and his own composition about labor martyr Tom Edwards.  The E.P. may be short, but it’s powerful.  Highly recommended.  Great guitar playing, too!

To check learn more about Steve Towson and his music, visit:http://www.stevetowson.com/

Welcome!

Welcome to “Don’t Mourn, Harmonize,” a blog dedicated to examining and promoting the music of the labor movement. For hundreds of years, workers have written songs about their working conditions, struggles for justice, and union victories and losses. Many of these songs have become famous, while others have faded into obscurity. One thing is certain, though: as long as workers struggle for their rights, they will create songs–on the picket lines, in the office, and in the fields. With this site, I hope to examine a powerful tradition that continues to this day.

Hello world!