This post was partly inspired by Paul Krugman’s use of a youtube video of Al Jolson singing Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime, to which I made reference in a previous post. I decided to put together some labor themed songs.
I find that I must break a number of my self imposed rules. I try not to repeat artists and I’ve never posted videos with just still pictures as accompaniment, but those rules go out the window today. I knew some of the titles I wanted, and went searching for the best versions I could find, within the limits of the time I had to look. For some, there were no good video versions.
First up, the aforementioned Buddy, this time growled by Tom Waits. He had stiff competition, in the form of the aforementioned Jolson, and a host of others. There were two versions of this performance on youtube, both accompanied by still picture slide shows. Neither was completely satisfying to my taste. One featured modern pictures, the other, period pictures. I decided to play it safe and go with the old stuff.
And now for something completely different. What Waits does qualifies as singing, but only barely. Paul Robeson, on the other hand… I must confess that I’ve never really listened to him sing before. He’s been sort of half erased from American memory. When I heard this version of Joe Hill, it blew me away. What a voice the guy had.
Finally, something a bit more upbeat from Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie: Woody Guthrie’s Union Maid.
By they way, I reserve the right to bring Robeson and Waits back for video encores.
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