Silber, Irwin, 1925-2010

Folklore Archive: Studies and Research Projects Records

drice — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:26:58 -0500

The Folklore Archive, established in 1939, contains the oldest and largest record of urban folk traditions in the United States. To document these traditions, Wayne State University students conducted field research projects covering a broad range of topics. The archive is strong in modern industrial and occupational folklore, reflecting the rich ethnic diversity and work-oriented heritage of Detroit and southeastern Michigan. The Folklore Archive: Studies and Research Projects Records contain transcripts and research studies related to Greek-American family life, Southern upland migrant folk culture, traditional medical beliefs and American folk music.

People's Song Library Records

drice — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:53:06 -0500

The People's Song Library is comprised of songs collected by the Almanac Singers (1941-43); People's Songs, Inc. (1946-49); People's Artists, Inc. (1950-57); and Sing Out, Inc. (1958-70). Scores, songbooks, and lyrics by Aaron Copland, Woody Guthrie, Joe Hill, "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, Alan Lomax, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Malvina Reynolds, Peggy and Pete Seeger, Josh White, and lesser-known and some anonymous authors dealing with civil rights, the Cuban Revolution, election songs of the 1940s, labor, pacifism, and war. Included are traditional folksongs and some of more recent vintage.

Irwin Silber Papers

drice — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:37:43 -0500

Mr. Silber was an early organizer and worker in Peoples' Songs, Inc. Mr. Silber's collection consists of a representative portion of the group's files, mostly early labor and social reform songs.

In Memoriam: Pete Seeger, 1919-2014

cwesterman — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 08:05:44 -0500

The folksinger and activist Pete Seeger died Monday, January 27, 2014 at the age of 94, bringing to an end a career that lasted from the Great Depression to the twenty-first century. His lifelong engagement with culture and politics, and his deep commitment to the labor movement, brought him into continual contact with the rank and file of unionized American workers. In 1939, when Seeger was 20 years old, he worked in the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song as an assistant to the musicologist Alan Lomax, and it seems fitting that this onetime archivist is so well represented in the archives and manuscripts of the Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs. No fewer than twelve collections in the Reuther Library collections include correspondence, recordings, or other first-hand evidence of his career. read more »