The accompanying guide indicates extensive research and provides detailed background to the songs. This is an exceptional collection. . .and a wonderful resource. . . Farmers and Ranchers As California enters the twentieth century, its wine and citrus industries are flourishing. Basques from the Pyrenees raise sheep. Cattle ranchers and cowboys sing songs from Mexican California and from the southern Appalachian mountains.
Women organize against heavy drinking, sing militant songs.
Women campaign for the right to vote. The movie industry moves to California, evolving from silent movies to spectacular films. Immigrants and Dust Bowl Refugees Immigrants arrive from Italy, Portugal, Armenia and India to work on California's farms. The I.W.W. organizes farm workers. Japanese immigrants buy land and compete with established farmers.