Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The Musicians of the Mine Wars

The Musicians of the Mine Wars EXCERPT FROM THE RABLEROUSERS OF BLOODY HARLAN The Musicians of the Mine Wars_ Dexter Collett Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from a manuscript being preparedfor publication as a book. Music and social movements are now inextricably linked in the public mind: The Civil Rights Movement, for example, immediately conjures up images of people singing "We Shall Overcome." Early in blies," fused music with working class protest quite successfully, but in the 1930s, nowhere was music a more integral part of workers' struggles than among coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. The trend continues through the present in large part because of the efforts of those who preceded today's activists. One family, the Garlands, produced three outstanding Eastern Kentucky folk singers with roots in the efforts to unionize the mines in Harlan and surrounding counties, particularly Bell and Knox Counties. But it was Florence Reece (1900-1986) who composed the most memorable of all the decade's labor songs, "Which Side Are You On?" All four of these singers grew up near Harlan County, but none were born or raised there. Instead they all were drawn to Harlan County in search of work in the coal mines by the 1920s http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Appalachian Review University of North Carolina Press

The Musicians of the Mine Wars

Appalachian Review , Volume 34 (2) – Jan 8, 2006

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-north-carolina-press/the-musicians-of-the-mine-wars-QdYKdRMapS

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © Berea College
ISSN
1940-5081
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

EXCERPT FROM THE RABLEROUSERS OF BLOODY HARLAN The Musicians of the Mine Wars_ Dexter Collett Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from a manuscript being preparedfor publication as a book. Music and social movements are now inextricably linked in the public mind: The Civil Rights Movement, for example, immediately conjures up images of people singing "We Shall Overcome." Early in blies," fused music with working class protest quite successfully, but in the 1930s, nowhere was music a more integral part of workers' struggles than among coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. The trend continues through the present in large part because of the efforts of those who preceded today's activists. One family, the Garlands, produced three outstanding Eastern Kentucky folk singers with roots in the efforts to unionize the mines in Harlan and surrounding counties, particularly Bell and Knox Counties. But it was Florence Reece (1900-1986) who composed the most memorable of all the decade's labor songs, "Which Side Are You On?" All four of these singers grew up near Harlan County, but none were born or raised there. Instead they all were drawn to Harlan County in search of work in the coal mines by the 1920s

Journal

Appalachian ReviewUniversity of North Carolina Press

Published: Jan 8, 2006

There are no references for this article.