Starting recording in the late 50s long-time singer-songwriter and activist Barbara Dane died on October 20, 2024, at 97. She had earned praise from Louis Armstong who described her as “a gasser!” and Bob Dylan who wrote an open letter to Broadside magazine in 1964 saying of Dane “we need more kind a people like that people that can’t go against their conscience no matter what they might gain and I’ve come to think that that might be the most important thing in the whole wide world.”
Her music was an extension of her activism, and she shied away from fame to pursue political activism and raise a family. An important part of her contribution to protest music was Paredon, a record label focusing on political music that she started with her husband Irwin Silber.
Here is a small sampling of ten of her recordings of protest songs, presented chronologically.
Working People’s Blues (1964)
This bluesy tune is from her album Barbara Dane Sings the Blues. She would become even more explicitly political a couple of years later, but this poignant tune well articulates the economic plight of the working people.
Mother Earth – Lighting Hopkins with Barbara Dane (1966)
This track is from the album Lightning Hopkins with His Brothers Joel and John Henry / with Barbara Dane. The 2nd side of the album features Dane performing with the influential blues musician. The lyrics focus on ecological themes that are even more relevant now.
It Isn’t Nice – Barbara Dane and the Chamber Brothers (1966)
This tune is from the album Barbara Dane and the Chamber Brothers, a powerful collection of politically charged gospel tunes released in the thick of the civil rights movement. The album was also significant for giving a platform to the Chamber Brothers, who would become an influential psychedelic soul band best known for the 1967 hit “Time Has Come Today”. This song was composed by Malvina Reynolds, and it discusses how acts of defiance are necessary to bring about change.
“It isn’t nice to block the doorway,
It isn’t nice to go to jail,
There are nicer ways to do it
But the nice ways always fail.
It isn’t nice, it isn’t nice,
But thanks for your advice,
Cause if that is Freedom’s price,
We don’t mind.”
Join the GI Movement (1970)
From the album FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance, the album featured performances recorded at GI coffee houses near Army bases in Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. Dane lends her voice to support resisting soldiers in opposition to the Vietnam War. Musically it has similarities with the protest standard “Which Side Are You On.”
Resistance Hymn (1970)
Another hard-hitting tune from FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance. The music incorporates the melody from the traditional tune “One Morning In May.” Bob Dylan used the same melody for his 1964 protest classic “With God On Our Side.”
I Hate the Capitalist System (1973)
The title track from Dane’s hard-hitting album exposes the systemic exploitation of the working class at the hands of capitalism.
Deportees (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) (1973)
This is another song from I Hate the Capitalist System. Woody Guthrie originally penned “Deportee” as a poem in response to the tragic plane crash on January 28, 1948, near Los Gatos Canyon. This accident claimed the lives of 32 individuals, 28 of whom were migrant farm workers being deported back to Mexico. Guthrie was deeply affected by how news reports referred to the victims merely as deportees, neglecting to acknowledge them by name. In 1958, school teacher Martin Hoffman composed music to accompany Guthrie’s words. Dane effectively conveys the song’s powerful message that regrettably resonates more powerfully than ever.
Working Class Woman (1982)
This version is from When We Make it Through (a different version appears on I Hate the Capitalist System), an album dedicated to the struggle of the working class. This particular tune focuses on a working-class woman, who has to navigate through a capitalistic and patriarchal society.
Millworker (1982)
Also from When We Make it Through, this is a poignant cover of a James Taylor tune, which Taylor wrote for the 1977 musical Working (his version appears on his 1979 album Flag). The musical is based on the 1974 Studs Terkel book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, which features interviews with workers from various regions and occupations.
Only a Pawn In Their Game (2018)
This powerful version of the Bob Dylan protest classic, was originally recorded in 1964 but remained unreleased until several years later when it was included on the definitive compilation Hot Jazz, Cool Blues & Hard-Hitting Songs. Dylan wrote the tune in response to the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, and he first performed it at the March on Washington in 1963, where MLK gave his landmark “I Had a Dream” speech.
As previously mentioned, Dylan had a deep respect for Dane, and they have shared the stage on different occasions. Also, in the upcoming Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Dane is portrayed by Sarah King.