Paul Robeson

[Guest che]

A post on another thread prompted me to start a thread on Robeson. I have always admired his voice, but for me Paul Robeson was much more than this. Does anyone like Robeson's music, voice or have any comments on the stance he took or his politics?

Che.

[Guest che]

One of the things I admire about his muisc is the passion and diversity. He could sing in Russian, Chinese and English. He would sing spirituals and protest songs, as well at the 'showboat' songs.

His verson of 'Border To Border' from 'Quiet Flows The Don' is fantastic.

Che.

[ghost of miles]

Re-posting what I said in the "What are you listening to?" thread:

One of my favorite Robesons is the 1940 recording of the Popular Front anthem "Ballad for Americans." It's available on a Vanguard CD that primarily features his late-1950s "comeback" recordings.

There was a good full-length bio of Robeson in the late 1980s, and an author duo published V. 1 of a projected two-volume bio in 2001 that took his life up to around 1940. Hopefully V. 2 will appear in the next couple of years.

Another interesting Robeson/jazz trivia note: he sings on a Count Basie track called "King Joe," an ode to boxer Joe Louis.

[Guest che]

Re-posting what I said in the "What are you listening to?" thread:

One of my favorite Robesons is the 1940 recording of the Popular Front anthem "Ballad for Americans." It's available on a Vanguard CD that primarily features his late-1950s "comeback" recordings.

There was a good full-length bio of Robeson in the late 1980s, and an author duo published V. 1 of a projected two-volume bio in 2001 that took his life up to around 1940. Hopefully V. 2 will appear in the next couple of years.

Another interesting Robeson/jazz trivia note: he sings on a Count Basie track called "King Joe," an ode to boxer Joe Louis.

Yes I have a recording of " Ballad For Americans". you know the origional title for this song was " The Ballad For Uncle Sam". It was origionally written for a theatre project called 'Sing for you supper' in 1939.

The BBC had a programme about him two years ago, which I have a copy of and it illustrated the price he paid for his principles and ideas.

Che.

[brownie]

Paul Robeson's attempt at jazz singing was not very successful. He sang 'King Joe' - a tribute to Joe Louis with lyrics by Richard Wright - with the Count Basie Orchestra back in October 1941.

Don't think he gave jazz singing another try.

[ghost of miles]

Che,

If you haven't read it already, you might be interested in a book called THE CULTURAL FRONT, by Michael Denning. He's a leftwing historian who's written some other good things as well; this particular book focuses on the intersection of radical politics and music, theater, and literature in the 1930s and 40s. SING FOR YOUR SUPPER is mentioned in there, as is MEET THE PEOPLE and Ellington's JUMP FOR JOY.

The funny thing about "Ballad for Americans" is that it was written so inclusively that even the Republican Party embraced it, adopting it as their song for the 1940 campaign. They had a bunch of Boy Scouts sing it at the convention... different times, eh?

[ghost of miles]

Paul Robeson's attempt at jazz singing was not very successful. He sang 'King Joe' - a tribute to Joe Louis with lyrics by Richard Wright - with the Count Basie Orchestra back in October 1941.

Don't think he gave jazz singing another try.

You're right about "King Joe," Brownie. I've heard it only once, and it didn't really come off--fascinating as a historical artifact, though, with its convergence of Basie, Robeson, Wright, and Louis (as subject matter).

[Guest che]

Che,

If you haven't read it already, you might be interested in a book called THE CULTURAL FRONT, by Michael Denning. He's a leftwing historian who's written some other good things as well; this particular book focuses on the intersection of radical politics and music, theater, and literature in the 1930s and 40s. SING FOR YOUR SUPPER is mentioned in there, as is MEET THE PEOPLE and Ellington's JUMP FOR JOY.

The funny thing about "Ballad for Americans" is that it was written so inclusively that even the Republican Party embraced it, adopting it as their song for the 1940 campaign. They had a bunch of Boy Scouts sing it at the convention... different times, eh?

Thank you for the reference and I will try and look up the book, it seems very interesting to me.

One of the things about 'Ballad For Americans' was that it created a great deal of hostility. A Virginia congressman attempted to censure the song for its 'communistic' overtones. And yet as you suggest his party presented the song at their national convention the following year.

Che.

[Guest che]

The album I mentioned was;

" Songs For Free men 1940-45"

It is distributed by Pearl Records and brings together Robeson's later recordings of protest songs, many of which are in Russian and Chinese as well as his American and international brotherhood songs.

Che.

[Guest che]

In many ways Robeson managed to blend his music and popularity with a concern for social, economic and political change. Many blues singers had the same idea, but they were black and lacked the media structure that Robeson had, and their impact took a long time.

Now people like Bob Dylan had a greater impact, over a shorter period of time and I wonder why this was? How well known is Robeson in the United States?

Che.

[couw]

Don't know about the UStates, but Robeson was celebrated as a hero of the people in the former socialist states. You will run across plenty of his LPs pressend in the GDR, Poland and Russia when going through the bins here.

[Brownian Motion]

I love Robeson as a cultural icon of the first half of the 20th Century, and I recognize his importance as a link between the African-American community and white radicals who were working for social justice.

That said, the music he created is plodding and formal, though his voice is a spectacular instrument.

[Guest che]

I love Robeson as a cultural icon of the first half of the 20th Century, and I recognize his importance as a link between the African-American community and white radicals who were working for social justice.

That said, the music he created is plodding and formal, though his voice is a spectacular instrument.

It is part of the Robeson debate, in that if he had not been 'political' would he still warrent discusion on a musical thread?

I

[Guest che]

Well I posted too early B-)

Is Robeson more about music than his politics?

For me they are both the same, his songs and his voice made the politics more real and more relavant.

What songs of his era were not 'plodding' or 'formal'?

Che.

[Guest che]

I love Robeson as a cultural icon of the first half of the 20th Century, and I recognize his importance as a link between the African-American community and white radicals who were working for social justice.

That said, the music he created is plodding and formal, though his voice is a spectacular instrument.

Check out the ideas of people like John Reed and Noam Chomsky, the kink between Robeson's ideas is clear to me.

Che.

[Christiern]

In 1928, Alberta Hunter starred with Robeson in the London production of "Showboat." That Christmas, the Robesons sent Alberta a home-made card. Actually a little home-made book containing several photos of Robeson and his family. Alberta gave this to me in a box of photographs and I will eventually get it into the hands of the Robeson family (or museum).

Here is the envelope (front and back):

[Christiern]

And here is the little booklet. That's a 1929 calendar that contains a page for each month. You also see the back photo, which is of Robeson, Jr.

If anyone is interested, I will gladly post the rest of the pictures.

[Jazzmoose]

If anyone is interested, I will gladly post the rest of the pictures.

Hell yeah!!!

[Christiern]

Ok, here are two more. These pages show father and son.

[Christiern]

... and talk about cute baby pictures, here are two of Robeson, Jr. Alberta told me that they (American blacks in London) used to get a big kick out of seeing a white nanny push Robeson's pram in Hyde Park...

[Christiern]

...and here are the last two photos. That's Robeson, Jr. with his grandma and mom, respectively.

[Jazzmoose]

Thanks, Chris!

[Larry Kart]

Don't mean to rain on the parade, but without denying the grave injustices that led him to that position and place, shouldn't we at least mention Robeson's longtime role as a key-in-the-back Soviet spokesman? For example:

"....So here one witnesses in the field of the arts -- a culture national in form, socialist in content. Here was a people quite comparable to some of the tribal folk in Asia -- quite comparable to the proud Yoruba or Basut of East and West Africa, but now their lives flowering anew within the socialist way of life twenty years matured under the guidance of Lenin and Stalin. And in this whole area of the development of national minorities -- of their elation to the Great Russians -- Stalin had played and was playing a most decisive role... But in the Soviet Union, Yakuts, Nenetses, Kirgiz, Tadzhiks -- had respect and were helped to advance with unbelievable rapidity in this socialist land. No empty promises, such as colored folk continuously hear in these United States, but deeds. For example, the transforming of the desert in Uzbekistan into blooming acres of cotton. And an old friend of mine, Mr. Golden, trained under Carver at Tuskegee, played a prominent role in cotton production. In 1949, I saw his daughter, not grown and in the university - a proud Soviet citizen.... They have sung -- sing now and will sing his praise -- in song and story. Slava -- slava -- Stalin, Glory to Stalin. Forever will his name be honored and beloved in all lands. In all spheres of modern life the influence of Stalin reaches wide and deep. From his last simply written but vastly discerning and comprehensive document, lack through the years, his contributions to the science of our world society remains invaluable. One reverently speaks of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin -- the shapers of humanity’s richest present and future...."

-"To You Beloved Comrade," New World Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, April, 1953, pp. 11-13.

[Guest che]

Don't mean to rain on the parade, but without denying the grave injustices that led him to that position and place, shouldn't we at least mention Robeson's longtime role as a key-in-the-back Soviet spokesman? For example:

"....So here one witnesses in the field of the arts -- a culture national in form, socialist in content. Here was a people quite comparable to some of the tribal folk in Asia -- quite comparable to the proud Yoruba or Basut of East and West Africa, but now their lives flowering anew within the socialist way of life twenty years matured under the guidance of Lenin and Stalin. And in this whole area of the development of national minorities -- of their elation to the Great Russians -- Stalin had played and was playing a most decisive role... But in the Soviet Union, Yakuts, Nenetses, Kirgiz, Tadzhiks -- had respect and were helped to advance with unbelievable rapidity in this socialist land. No empty promises, such as colored folk continuously hear in these United States, but deeds. For example, the transforming of the desert in Uzbekistan into blooming acres of cotton. And an old friend of mine, Mr. Golden, trained under Carver at Tuskegee, played a prominent role in cotton production. In 1949, I saw his daughter, not grown and in the university - a proud Soviet citizen.... They have sung -- sing now and will sing his praise -- in song and story. Slava -- slava -- Stalin, Glory to Stalin. Forever will his name be honored and beloved in all lands. In all spheres of modern life the influence of Stalin reaches wide and deep. From his last simply written but vastly discerning and comprehensive document, lack through the years, his contributions to the science of our world society remains invaluable. One reverently speaks of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin -- the shapers of humanity’s richest present and future...."

-"To You Beloved Comrade," New World Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, April, 1953, pp. 11-13.

Robeson had a love affair with Soviet Russia, and as it turned out a somewhat misguided one. He was not alone in his support of Stalin, before it became clear what Stalin was actually doing. Many people supported the Revolution in Russian at the time, and it is easy to see why someone like Robeson would be so attracted to the principles of socialism and communism.

He paid a heavy price for his support, his passport was taken away, as was his right to make a living, and in later years he bacame depressed and did not have the recognition he deserved.

History is a funny thing, in that now we can see the terror that was Stalin, at the time it was different and Robeson like so many intelligent and concerned people, saw Soviet Russia as a possible way forward to a promised land.

Che.

[Guest che]

In 1928, Alberta Hunter starred with Robeson in the London production of "Showboat." That Christmas, the Robesons sent Alberta a home-made card. Actually a little home-made book containing several photos of Robeson and his family. Alberta gave this to me in a box of photographs and I will eventually get it into the hands of the Robeson family (or museum).

Here is the envelope (front and back):

Wow!

Che.