Folk Scene
May 1979
"I'd Sing Out Love. . .The Story of Sing Out!" by Jim Capaldi
Twenty-nine years ago this month, a new musical publication was begun in New York City. Unlike the popular music collections available monthly under such titles as Hit Parader and Song Hits, which mainly featured the lyrics from the latest hits of Tin Pan Alley, this new music magazine was devoted to homemade folk music. It was to contain articles on all aspects of folk music, reviews and commentary and, above all else, a large selection of both old and new songs of the people. This monthly journal was to be used as a tool in spreading the ideals of its publishers, who somehow had acquired the idea that perhaps music could change the world. Their magazine was issued to help people fight and sing out against injustice, hence the name, Sing Out!
The roots of Sing Out! go back at least four years before its actual inception. In 1946 an organization called People’s Songs was formed, with Pete Seeger as Executive Secretary and such luminaries as Oscar Brand, John Hammond, Sis Cunningham, Rockwell Kent, Woody Guthrie, Paul Robeson, Lee Hays and Burl Ives on the board of directors. The group issued a monthly Bulletin to its members throughout the country, but ultimately failed to attract the needed support and membership needed. People’s Songs’ finest hour came when they were asked to lend their musical talent to the presidential campaign of Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace in l948; their efforts were unsuccessful as the American electorate chose Harry Truman and the Cold War over Wallace. After publishing a total of 319 songs, many of which were to become famous during the folk ‘boom’ of the 1960’s, the magazine folded with the March 1949 issue. People’s Songs Bulletin pledged to continue the fight for "peace, democracy, and security," despite the ominous clouds hovering over the country due to a committee of the House of Representatives and the soon-to-come ranting of a madman from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy.
Instrumental to the founding of Sing Out! were the same group involved in People’s Songs. There was an array of talent present at the magazine’s birth that even money couldn’t buy. There were people like Howard Fast, Paul Robeson, Lorraine Hansberry, Alan Lomax, Betty Sanders, Walter Lowenfels, Aaron Kramer and Arthur Kevess who worked for the magazine during its formative years. Among the earliest and most prolific songwriters were Malvina Reynolds and Woody Guthrie. While a great deal of the articles and songs concerned topical issues of the day, such as pieces about the Rosenbergs and their murder by the United States government, there were many old timey folk songs which were soon to become known throughout the world.
Judging by its initial appearance, Sing Out! was small but tough. Found in the 16 pages of the premier issue were seven songs, record reviews, and articles on Puerto Rican music, a Civil Rights Congress, and "Benjamin Franklin: Advocate of People’s Music." The first song was displayed on the cover; it was the legendary "Hammer Song," from which the magazine received its name. Lee Hays and Pete Seeger were responsible for the creation of that classic song which has now gone around the world, achieving a popularity far beyond the hopes of its composers. Some of the other songs were equally memorable. "Hold the Line" told the shameful tale of the manner in which a concert being given by Paul Robeson at Peekskill, New York was attacked by a band of right-wing fanatics; police stood idly by and watched while hoodlums threw rocks at cars leaving the concert grounds, all the while jeering, "Communists, niggers, go back to Russia." The song vows to "hold the line forever till there’s freedom everywhere." Two of the other songs included the still-potent "Banks of Marble" by Les Rice and Lead Belly’s "It’s Almost Done." (For Lead Belly it already was done; he had died a pauper at Bellevue Hospital on December 6, 1949, only six months before his favorite "Irene" leaped to the top of the Hit Parade.)
The year that Sing Out! started was certainly a lean year for folk music. Though the Weavers managed to get the previously mentioned "Irene" and an Israeli dance called "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" in the Top Ten for many weeks, the audience for the type of music featured in the magazine was small indeed. But most of the subscribers were folksingers, community chorus leaders and camp counselors, and they learned the songs and spread them to many others. The influence of the magazine then, as it remains today, lies not so much in the sheer number of subscribers at any given moment, but in the dedication and support of its always loyal readership.
Not all of ’Sing Out!s readers agreed with its usage of political message songs mixed with traditional American folk songs. In the seventh issue there appears a letter from Arthur B. Silverstein of Brooklyn, who objects to the magazine’s radical viewpoint and particularly to the "Hammer Song." He complains, "All that song needs is a sickle —cancel my subscription!"
Unfortunately, Silverstein’s opinions reflected the hysteria of the country as a whole against the left-wing. One of Woody Guthrie’s friends, not having seen a Guthrie song in Sing Out! for awhile, congratulated him for deserting that "subversive Sing Out! crowd." Woody replied: "One little issue of Sing Out! is worth more to this humanly race than any thousand tons of other dreamy, dopey junk dished out from the trees of our forests along every Broadway in this world. I don’t know a magazine big or little that comes within a thousand million miles of Sing Out! when it comes to doing good in this world. Let this be the end of those remarks that I will forget all of the Peekskills that I’ve been through with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays and Earl Robinson and lots of others."
Irwin Silber, who became editor in 1951 after Robert Wolfe, Waldemar Hille and Ernie Lieberman had held the position for brief periods, was subpoenaed by the House UnAmerican Committee on three separate occasions; twice the subpoenas were withdrawn. But the third time, in 1956, Silber was forced to appear before the committee. He declined to answer any questions about his private beliefs or associations.
The year before, Pete Seeger was also summoned before HUAC, which was investigating alleged communist influence in the entertainment industry. In reply to the Committee’s interrogation, Seeger stated, "I am not going to answer any questions as to my associations, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this." By relying on the first amendment, guaranteeing freedom of speech, and not the fifth amendment in replying to his inquisitors, Pete Seeger was charged with contempt of Congress. He was convicted at a trial in 1961 and sentenced to a year in prison; the U.S. Court of Appeals in April, 1962 overruled the lower court and reversed the conviction. Pete Seeger had won his fight to remain a free man after seven years of litigation.
Because of all of this controversy, Pete Seeger and most of the other People’s Songsters were effectively blacklisted from the mass media of radio and television. The great liberal newspaper The New York Times, refused to run an advertisement for a hootenanny in its pages for many years. So they spread their songs and message by way of concert tours, recordings on Folkways Records and, of course, the pages of Sing Out! magazine. Pete Seeger’s column of opinion and advice, aptly titled "Johnny Appleseed Jr.", began in 1954 and has remained a regular and important feature ever since then.
Sing Out! started out as a monthly magazine; in 1954 it switched to quarterly publication with larger issues. In 1958 a musical revolution was in the making — folk music became popular music. The Kingston Trio had a hit record with their version of Frank Profitt’s "Tom Dooley" and countless imitation groups followed, all performing pseudo-folk material. It was a unique period in American music, for during their time, folk music, although watered down considerably, was presented to a mass audience. The long-time dream of the old People’s Songs organization was finally coming true, but not in the way that they had hoped.
While folk was having its big impact on popular music, it was also big on college campuses. Jazz, long the mainstream music on many college campuses, was replaced by folk. Folk music clubs sprang up all over the country and invited old tine musicians like Mississippi John Hurt, Dock Boggs, and many others to perform again after many years of being forgotten. The commercial market for folk music expanded greatly.
These changes can be seen in looking through Sing Out!s
of this period. Each issue seemed to increase in the number of
pages and advertisements for new records and musical instruments.
Frequency of publication was increased to five, and then six,
times a year. Most impressive was the growth in readers. From a
beginning 500 subscribers in 1950, the magazine had grown to a
circulation of more than 25,000 in 1964.
A typical issue of that period had more than 120 pages, with a
dozen songs, several lengthy articles, international folk news,
regular columns and lots of book and record reviews. Featured
were many of the newest singers of the day, like Joan Baez,
Peter, Paul and Mary and Bob Dylan, as well as stories about the
newly rediscovered folk musicians of the past, such as John Hurt,
Horton Barker, Elizabeth Cotten, Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley.
Most of these old-timey performers came to prominence mainly
through the efforts of the New Lost City Ramblers, the first, and
the best, of the urban old time music string bands.
Folk music became so popular that an attempt to increase the circulation of the magazine by having it sold on newsstands was made. The old TV Guide-like size was replaced with an issue about the same dimensions as Time. Thousands of extra copies were printed to meet the anticipated demand; but it was a case of doing too much too late. The Beatles, and with them rock music, were becoming the newest musical fads; folk music was pushed aside as all fads usually are. Many of the new format issues of Sing Out! remained unsold and were returned at a great financial loss to the magazine. The abortive venture into the commercial marketplace caused some bitter feelings within the staff. In a poignant message carried in the January 1968 issue, Irwin Silber, the man who had led Sing Out! through both hard times and good times, announced that he would no longer be the sole editor. A new executive editorial committee would henceforth be responsible for the direction of the magazine.
Shortly thereafter, the issues shrunk back almost to their old size and a few new features were incorporated. Interviews with prominent musicians, including one with Bob Dylan, were often included. Following the many songs calling for equality for black people during the Civil Rights Movement days, there were songs urging an end to American aggression in Southeast Asia. The latest songs to appear in the magazine are those opposed to dangerous nuclear power plants. Whenever there is a cause worth singing about, it is almost certain that there will be a song about it to be found within Sing Out!’s pages.
Editors have come and gone with regular frequency. Happy Traum took over shortly after Silber stepped down. Later in 1970, Bob Norman, together with Alan Senauke and Estelle Schneider, ran the magazine until recently. It was during their tenure that Sing Out! added its most valuable feature — a flexible soundsheet in every other issue containing the first verses to all of the songs in that particular issue. It was a boon to the many subscribers who could not read music. And a teach-in issue was published annually, giving instructions on playing various folk instruments.
Presently, Rhonda Mattern and Peter Wortsman are the editors but this is soon to change. They are resigning this month to be replaced by new editors who will continue to lead the magazine in new directions — and there are many new directions in which they can travel. We are in the midst of a new folk revival in America, not based on monetary gain as in the Kingston Trio days, but on much deeper roots. More and more Americans and their fellow citizens of the world have discovered that some things are better done by oneself. This simple, homemade music is more enriching than anything that a machine could turn out. This has been Sing Out!’s message for nearly 30 years; it has played a vital role in making folks aware that the simple things are the best, in music as well as in life.
The man who has done the most in bringing this concept of homemade music to more people than anyone else, and who was instrumental in founding and supporting Sing Out! since its beginning is, of course, Pete Seeger. Michael Cooney, writing in the 25th Anniversary issue of the magazine a few years ago, put it best: "There isn’t enough space in this whole issue to list all the wonderful things Pete Seeger has done for individuals, groups and for us in the whole world. Even the fish in the sea and the birds in the air would thank him if they knew.. .I think he is very probably the main reason for the folk revival in this country. He is our music teacher. All of us who were so carefully taught to hate music in school, then learned to appreciate and understand it and what it’s for with Pete Seeger.
"Pete is one of the greatest of American patriots. I think he’s one of the main reasons the Civil Rights and peace movements attained the heights they did. He inspired us, or inspired the people who inspired us. He was America s conscience in an unhopeful time.
"There is no way to thank him enough."
While it’s true that there is no way that we can thank Pete Seeger for all that he has done and for being the courageous person that he is, there is one way that we can show our appreciation — and that’s by subscribing to Sing Out! magazine. The address can be found in the ad in the pages of this magazine (it is a brand new address). If you already are a subscriber, then you can give a subscription as a gift to a friend; or you could send a contribution to help Sing Out! grow. May there always be Sing Out!
(ED. NOTE: Before we went to press, we called Sing Out! to check on the current status of the magazine. Because of a recent move and the usual financial problems, the next issue will be late coming out, but it is at the printer’s and it will be published — good news for all of us. And in case you are a bit puzzled about Folkscene featuring another magazine in its pages. . .well, we feel like Sing Out! is responsible for inspiring small publications like ours to continue, against the odds and against all logic. —mn [Marsha Necheles])