The Weavers - Tzena, Tzena, Tenza (1951)

The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads. The group sold millions of records at the height of their popularity, including the first folk song to reach No. 1 on popular music charts, their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene." Despite their popularity, the Weavers were blacklisted during much of the 1950s.

During the Red Scare, members of the group were followed by the FBI and blacklisted, with Seeger and Hayes called in to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities

Seeger left the group in 1957. His tenor and banjo part was covered in succession by Erik Darling, Frank Hamilton and finally Bernie Krause until the group disbanded in 1964.

In 1940, Lee Hays and Pete Seeger co-founded the Almanac Singers, which – along with American folk songs and ballads – promoted peace and isolationism in the years preceding World War II, working with the Communist Party-backed American Peace Mobilization (APM). The Almanacs featured many songs opposing entry into the war by the U.S. In June 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the APM changed its name to the American People's Mobilization and followed the Party line by altering its focus to supporting U.S. entry into the war. The Almanacs supported the change and produced many pro-war songs urging the U.S. to fight on the side of the Allies.The Almanac Singers disbanded after the U.S. entered the war.

The Weavers were formed in November 1948 by Hays, Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. At Hellerman's suggestion, the group took its name from a play by Gerhart Hauptmann, Die Weber (The Weavers 1892), a powerful work depicting the uprising of the Silesian weavers in 1844 which contains the lines, "I'll stand it no more, come what may".

After a period of being unable to find much paid work, they landed a steady and successful engagement at the Village Vanguard jazz club. This led to their discovery by arranger-bandleader Gordon Jenkins and their signing with Decca Records. The group had a big hit in 1950 with Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", backed with the 1941 song "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena", which in turn became a best seller. The recording stayed at number one on the charts for 13 weeks, the first folk song arrangement to achieve such success. "Goodnight, Irene" sold one million copies in 1950. (Pete Seeger later wrote that total sales were about two million records. In keeping with the audience expectations of the time, these and other early Weavers' releases had violins and orchestration added behind the group's own string-band instruments. Because of the deepening Red Scare of the early 1950s, their manager Pete Cameron advised them not to sing their most explicitly political songs and to avoid performing at "progressive" venues and events. Because of this, some folk song fans criticized them for watering down their beliefs and commercializing their singing style. But the Weavers felt it was worth it to get their songs before the public, and to avoid the explicit type of commitment which had led to the demise of the Almanacs. The new approach proved a success, leading to many bookings and increased demand for the group's recordings.

During the 1950s Red Scare, Pete Seeger and Lee Hays were identified as Communist Party USA members by FBI informant Harvey Matusow (who later recanted). Both were called to testify to the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1955. Hays asserted his rights under the Fifth Amendment, which allows people not to give evidence against themselves. Seeger also refused to answer, but claimed justification under the First Amendment, the first to do so after the conviction of the Hollywood Ten in 1950. Seeger was found guilty of contempt and placed under restrictions by the court pending appeal, but in 1961 his conviction was overturned on technical grounds. Because Seeger was among those listed in the entertainment industry blacklist publication Red Channels, all of the Weavers were placed under FBI surveillance and not allowed to perform on television or radio during the McCarthy era. Despite their enormous popularity, Decca Records terminated the Weavers' recording contract and deleted their records from its catalog in 1953. Their recordings were denied airplay, which curtailed their income from royalties. Right-wing and anti-Communist groups protested at their performances and harassed promoters. As a result, the group's economic viability diminished rapidly and in 1952 it disbanded. After this, Pete Seeger continued his solo career, although as with all of them, he continued to suffer from the effects of blacklisting.

(Source Wikipedia 2022)

Видео The Weavers - Tzena, Tzena, Tenza (1951) канала Roy Gardnerra