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Sing Out! magazine the original folk social network
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All Photos are from Sing Out!'s website
“Sing Out!” magazine has been securing and preserving folk music in our lives since 1950. The magazine has gone through it’s ups and downs through the years, but has persevered through it all. Reading and understanding the rich history of the publication brings tears of inspiration to folk lovers today. The magazine is a grassroots style publication that brought (and continues to bring) meaningful songs and their lyrics to the public. Back when it all started a group of musicians you may have heard of (like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Earl Robinson and Lee Hays to name a few) started a bulletin called ‘People’s Songs.’ The newsletter was created to share the songs of the world at quite a trying time in American History. These songs that were in the bulletin were not available through the mainstream music outlets, and were a way to reach the public. According to the website, Pete Seeger shares in his own words what it meant to him when he started it from his Greenwich Village apartment in NYC:
“A number of us who loved to sing folk songs and union songs thought it the most natural thing in the world to start an organization which could keep us in touch with one another, which could promote new and old songs and singers. We called our organization People’s Songs to distinguish it from the scholarly folklore societies, and started a bulletin.”
This whole concept sounds a little familiar even in our technology driven days, where accessing music and ideals is simply just a mouse click away. What “Sing Out!” magazine did then is, in it’s own right, a folk ‘social network’ with much more leg work. There have been new grassroots groups that have popped up over the internet like ‘The Land of Dreamers’ that have a similar concept. Both aim to connect people all over through a common theme: music. Not just any music either, but folk music in the traditional sense as well as music that tells stories of love and sadness, hurt and joy. Songs that have meanings that are universal truths, both timeless and concrete. The genres that usually encompass these are folk, blues, bluegrass, and country, but the human element is the common denominator. As a society we need to take a look at our past to appreciate our future and everyone that has helped to lay the ground work for us today. Pete Seeger never gave up in his quest to share music with the world, even when the magazine appeared to be doomed. He rallied friends to play concerts and raise funds to keep the music alive and available to the people, and to support both new and famous artists alike.
The Land of Dreamers holds this same dream, this same ambition and goal, and that’s to aid young musicians in their careers and help to spread and share their music with the world. ‘Street Teams’ are popping up all over the world to help guide the light of the music to people who may otherwise have not heard it. Take some time out of our stress filled world to donate to “Sing Out!” magazine by clicking on the link here. For over 50 years people have been fighting for it, and now thanks to technology and social networking we can help maintain this amazing magazine by simply clicking on a link. Be sure to check out ‘One Dreamer at a Time’ as well, and feel the magic of what aiding another is like. Thank you to Pete Seeger and the entire staff of “Sing Out!” magazine as well as The Land of Dreamers for providing us with a wonderful grassroots project we can all be involved in. It really can take just “One Dreamer at a Time” to keep the tides turning in the right direction, and no one knows this better than the incredible Pete Seeger.
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Have an event or topic that relates to folk? Send an email with details to kmaniscalco@hotmail.com for submission requests.
Video credit to Scout4me1's youtube page
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