"My Song Is My Weapon"
People's Songs, American Communism, and the Politics of Culture, 1930-50

ROBBIE LIEBERMAN (Author)

9780252065255

Paperback / softback, published 1 August 1995

232 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.367 kg

"A spirited and scholarly account of the relationship between the US Communist movement and the folk music revival of the 1940s and 1950s."--Paul C. Mishler, Nature, Society, and Thought "Shows the ways in which the folk music revival of the 1960s and the participatory cultures of the civil rights movement and the New Left drew on the general example and the specific creations of the all-but-forgotten People's Songsters."--George Lipsitz, American Historical Review "Lieberman's vision of a people's music in American culture is arresting, challenging, and refreshing, and it deserves our attention." -- Phillip V. Bohlman, Sonneck Society Bulletin

A revealing exploration of the origins and development of People's Songs, Inc., "My Song Is My Weapon won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. Robbie Lieberman brings to life the hootenannies, concerts, and rallies of the time, paying special attention to the politics of culture of the Old Left. Her analysis of the communist movement culture, coupled with interviews with former members of People's Songs, sheds new light on Cold War America, the American Communist movement, and the experience of left-wing cultural workers.

Preface   xiii
Introduction: Historical Background   3
1. The American Communist Movement Culture   14
2. From the "
Final Cornflakes"
to the "
Ballad for Americans"
: Communist Musical Culture in the 1930s   25
3. "
This Machine Kills Fascists"
: Communism, Antifascism, and People's Music during World War 2   50
4. "
My Song Is My Weapon"
: People's Songs, the CPUSA, and the Cold War   67
5. "
Songs of Labor and the American People"
   85
6. "
We Were Close to Changing the World"
: The People's Songs Hootenanny   115
7. "
The Fight for Peace"
: People's Songs and the Wallace Campaign   126
8. "
We Will Overcome"
: The Legacy of People's Songs   149
Notes   167
Index   193