The Weavers At Carnegie Hall
Peter, Paul & Mary,Bob Dylan, and theKingston Triowere youngsters next to the Weavers, but without these acoustic elders, the aforementioned artists may have never found their folk voices. The Weavers were the main catalyst behind the folk explosion of the '50s and early '60s. This album captures the spark that led to that detonation. Certainly the foursome was responsible for the leftist political bent associated with folk music to this day. The Weavers were one of the few musical entities blacklisted during the McCarthy hearings in 1952 after a witness named them as Communists, probably a result of members Lee Hays andPete Seeger's labor-union activities. In 1955 the quartet reunited for this historic show--and you can still hear the triumphant spirit in the air that night as the group (and audience) delight in the Weavers' brand of eclecticism, moving fromLeadbellyandWoody Guthriecovers to old English ballads, African music, New Orleans spirituals, and songs that would soon influence rock & roll.--Bill Holdship