Various – Songs Of Civil Rights & Protest – 2CD

A significant strand of American music, especially in the folk and blues arenas, relates to what came to be known as protest songs when opinions on a number of key social and political issues during the post-war era - civil rights, nuclear disarmament, industrial justice and more – found a unified voice in the musical protest movement. However, this was nothing new, and many of the songs associated with this era came from earlier decades, as blues singers chronicled experiences of racial prejudice, poor rural folk sang about the privations of the Depression, industrial workers railed against exploitation, and gospel singers sought solace in spirituals. This 50-track 2-CD set brings together a selection of recordings which, one way or another, relate to the idea of songs as a medium of protest and social and political commentary, with the later incarnations representing the early stirrings of the classic folk protest movement which crystallised in the early ‘60s in the hands of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others – one or two of their early recordings are included here. Many of the noted voices of protest are featured here – Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, Josh White – along with folk artists who embraced the cause like Odetta, Nina Simone, Harry Belafonte and many more, plus some of the more obscure but no less important recordings that set the tone and led the way for later artists. It’s a fascinating and we hope inspiring collection, which tells many a story.

Track Listing:

CD1: Billie Holiday: 1. Strange Fruit -   Southern Sons: 2. Go Down Moses -   Leadbelly: 3. The Bourgeois Blues -   Josh White: 4. Uncle Sam Says -   Paul Robeson: 5. Song Of Freedom -   Pete Seeger & The Almanac Singers: 6. Dear Mr. President -   Woody Guthrie: 7. This Land Is Your Land -   Tom Glazer: 8. We've Got A Plan (G.I. Joe And The C.I.O.) -   Sir Lancelot: 9. Atomic Energy -   Mahalia Jackson: 10. Amazing Grace -   Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Coyal McMahan: 11. I Shall Not Be Moved -   Big Bill Broonzy: 12. When Do I Get to Be Called a Man? -   The Ramparts: 13. The Death of Emmett Till Parts 1 & 2 -   The Weavers: 14. Which Side Are You On -   Cisco Houston: 15. The Great American Bum -   Brother Will Hairston (Hurricane Of The Motor City): 16. The Alabama Bus Parts 1 & 2 -   Nat King Cole: 17. We Are Americans Too -   Odetta: 18. Spiritual Trilogy: Oh, Freedom, Come and Go With Me, I'm on My Way -   The Caravans: 19. We Are Soldiers In The Army -   Oscar Brand: 20. Fair And Free Elections -   Joan Baez: 21. All My Trials -   Harry Belafonte: 22. Oh Freedom -   Sister Rosetta Tharpe: 23. This Little Light Of Mine -   Soul Stirrers: 24. Free At Last -   Bob Dylan: 25. The Gospel Plow -

CD2: Bob Miller: 1. The Rich Man And The Poor Man -   Paul Robeson: 2. Joe Hill -   Josh White: 3. Defense Factory Blues -   Dave Mccarn: 4. Cotton Mill Colic -   Bob Hill: 5. Pity The Downtrodden Landlord -   Furry Lewis: 6. Judge Harsh Blues -   Big Bill Broonzy: 7. Black, Brown And White -   Southern Sons: 8. Lift Every Voice And Sing -   Laura Duncan: 9. I've Got A Right -   Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry: 10. We Shall Be Free -   Almanac Singers: 11. We Shall Not Be Moved -   Earl Robinson: 12. The House I Live In -   Pete Seeger: 13. Talking Atom -   Nina Simone: 14. Brown Baby -   Staple Singers: 15. I've Been Scorned -   Cisco Houston: 16. Soup Song -   Dave Van Ronk: 17. Please See That My Grave Is Kept Clean -   Mahalia Jackson: 18. Go Tell It On The Mountain -   Sam Cooke: 19. Steal Away -   Odetta: 20. If I Had A Hammer -   Judy Collins: 21. Wars of Germany -   The Weavers: 22. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream -   Kingston Trio: 23. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? -   Bob Dylan: 24. Song To Woody -   Guy Carawan: 25. We Shall Overcome -