Wasn’t That a Time: The Weavers, the Blacklist, and the Battle for the Soul of America

The Weavers, the chart-topping American folk music quartet whose populist politics made them a target for jingoist McCarthyites, are recast as a crucial fulcrum in America’s postwar culture battles in this dramatic, raucous account from Jarnow (Big Day Coming). In 1940, Arkansas songwriter and bass singer Lee Hays teamed up with folk scholar and banjo picker Pete Seeger to perform rediscovered folk ditties and protest songs, which they amassed as the Almanac Singers during WWII. Later, the duo added the rich voice of utopian socialist Ronnie Gilbert and the pop-attuned sensibilities of guitarist Fred Hellerman to form the Weavers in 1948. The group built a deep repertoire in New York City’s bubbling folk scene, jamming at impromptu “hootenannies” and various political fund-raisers. Jarnow tracks their ascent on the charts with hits such as “Goodnight, Irene” and “Wimoweh” that “would continue to float through the American folk ether” and inspire groups as different as the Kingston Trio and the Grateful Dead. Despite’s Seeger forceful stand against HUAC questioning, political harassment forced the members to disband in 1961. Detailed and smartly reported, this work marvelously captures the four voices in a complex era that influenced pop-folk bands that followed. (Nov.)