Union Boys
Musical artist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Union Boys (also "Josh White and the Union Boys"[1]) was an American folk music group, formed impromptu in 1944, to record several songs on an album called Songs for Victory: Music for Political Action. Its "all-star leftist"[2] members were Josh White, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Pete Seeger, Burl Ives, Tom Glazer (and Woody Guthrie by contributing a song).[3][4][5]
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Union Boys | |
|---|---|
Josh White (here at Café Society circa June 1946) sang lead on most Union Boys songs | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Folk |
| Years active | 11 March 1944 |
History
Background
Songs of Victory fits with the Almanac Singers' album Dear Mr. President.[7]
In 1942, Army intelligence and the FBI determined that the Almanacs and their former anti-draft message were still a seditious threat to recruitment and the morale of the war effort among blacks and youth.[8] and they were hounded by hostile reviews, exposure of their Communist ties and negative coverage in the New York press, like the headline "Commie Singers try to Infiltrate Radio."[9] They disbanded in late 1942 or early 1943.
Recording session
On March 11, 1944,[10] Alan Lomax assembled the group for an impromptu recording at the Asch Recording Studio in New York City.[1][2][5][11]
The album represents a change from the anti-war, anti-racism, and pro-union philosophies of most of its members but a continuation of their anti-Nazi, anti-Fascist philosophies in the form for support for the US and the Allies (which included the USSR).
The Union Boys turned out to be a one-time, one session "group": Moe Asch gave them the name.[5]
Afterwards
A few months later, White and Glazer recorded another album with a similar title, Songs of Citizen CIO.[3] Songs for Victory also began White's association with recording engineer Moe Asch, who released White's next two albums on his Asch Records label.[2]
Track listing
Woody Guthrie was not in New York City at the time and did not partake; the Union Boys sang one of his songs.[5]
The Recorded Sound Archives of Florida Atlantic University lists:
- "Hold the Fort / We Shall Not Be Moved"[4]
- "Hold On" (traditional, Union Boys led by Josh White)[1][10]
- "UAW-CIO" (written by Butch Haws)[12]
- "A Dollar Ain't a Dollar Any More" (written by Tom Glazer)
- "Sally Don't You Grieve" (written by Woody Guthrie)
- "Jim Crow" (written by Josh White, sung by Josh White)[1]
The book Josh White: Society Blues by Elijah Wald lists:
- "Hold On" (traditional, led by Josh White)
- "Little Man on a Fence" (written and sung by Josh White)
- "Move into Germany" (sung by Josh White and Brownie McGhee)
- "Jim Crow" (written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes, Union Boys led by Josh White)[2][10]
The album may have been reproduced at least once as Song for Political Action by the Union Boys.[4]
"Hold On (Keep Your Hand On That Gun)"
"Hold On," itself a rewrite of a Gospel song "Gospel Plow,"[2] received a pro-war rewrite for this album, including the refrain:
Hold on – Franklin D. / Hold on – Winston C. / Hold on – Chiang Kai-shek / Hold on – Joseph Stalin / Keep your hands on that gun / And hold on.[2]
The song appeared on White's posthumous album Free and Equal Blues (1998).[10][13]
A celebration of the Allies' united front, the song is an entertaining reminder of what strange bedfellows politics can make, as the singers belt out the names of their heroic leaders: Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek, and Joseph Stalin.[10]
Later, Josh White recorded the old folk tune as a new song, "Keep Your Hand on that Vote" that called "united Negroes" to voting booths.[10] The folk song saw renewed resurgence in the 1950s and 1960s as "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize."[14]
Personnel
Big Red Songbook[4] shows the following lineup:
- Alan Lomax - producer (vocals on "Hold On")[10]
- Tom Glazer - guitar
- Burl Ives - guitar
- Brownie McGhee - <->
- Pete Seeger - banjo
- Sonny Terry - harmonica
- Josh White - guitar