More Details

Summary:

In 1934, the Great Depression had destroyed the US economy, leaving residents poverty-stricken. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt urged President Roosevelt to take radical action to help those hit hardest--Appalachian miners and mill workers stranded after factories closed, city dwellers with no hope of getting work, farmers whose land had failed. They set up government homesteads in rural areas across the country, an experiment in cooperative living where people could start over. To boost morale and encourage the homesteaders to find community in their own traditions, the administration brought in artists to lead group activities--including folk music. As part of a music unit led by Charles Seeger (father of Pete), staffer Sidney Robertson traveled the country to record hundreds of folk songs. Music leaders, most notably Margaret Valiant, were sent to homesteads to use the collected songs to foster community and cooperation. Working almost entirely (and purposely) under the radar, the music unit would collect more than 800 songs and operate for nearly two years, until they were shut down under fire from a conservative coalition in Congress that deemed the entire homestead enterprise dangerously "socialistic." Despite its early demise, the music unit proved that music can provide hope and a sense of belonging even in the darkest times. It also laid the groundwork for the folk revival that followed, seeing the rise of artists like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Odetta, and Bob Dylan. Award-winning author and Harvard-trained American music scholar Sheryl Kaskowitz has had the unique opportunity to listen to the music unit's entire collection of recordings and examine a trove of archival materials, some of which have never been made available to the public.

Author/Creator:

Kaskowitz, Sheryl , author

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

A chance to harmonize: how FDR's hidden music unit sought to save America from the great depression--one song at a time [by Kaskowitz, S.]

Other Related Resources:

Print version: Chance to harmonize [by Kaskowitz, S.] (First Pegasus Books cloth edition; New York : Pegasus Books, 2024 — ISBN 9781639365715)

Subjects:

New Deal, 1933-1939

Music and state — United States — History — 20th century

Folk music — Social aspects — United States

Folk music — Political aspects — United States

Folk music — United States — History and criticism

United States — Social conditions — 1933-1945

United States — Economic conditions — 1918-1945

Depressions — 1929 — Social aspects

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on: Print version record.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Physical Characteristics:

monochrome

Call Numbers:

E806 .K347 2024

ISBNs:

9781639365722
1639365729
9781639365715 [Invalid]

OCLC Numbers:

1427667340

Other Control Numbers:

EBC31010600 (source: MiAaPQ)
[Unknown Type]: ybp306293792