Collector Records business records, circa 1949-1997
date: label: Date
content: 1949
label: Date
content: 1949-1997
label: Date
content: circa 1949-1997
name: label: Creator
content: Collector Records
label: co-creator
content: Glazer, Joe
label: Subject
content: Glazer, Joe
label: Subject
content: Collector Records
notes: label: Notes
content: Joe Glazer (1918-2006), often called "Labor's Troubadour," has spent a lifetime as one of America's noted historians of labor song. His booming baritone and exuberant guitar have performed exuberantly for millions of workers, strikers, and students. He is the author of several significant labor songs, notably "The Mill Was Made of Marble," which is a commentary on the need for cleaner, safer mill conditions for textile workers. In addition to his performing, he was employed by the United Rubber Workers, the Textile Workers Union of America, and the United States Information Agency over the course of his career.
label: Notes
content: Glazer founded Collector Records in 1970 to distribute his own recordings of labor songs and those of younger and newer performers he had met through his work-many of them through the Labor Heritage Foundation, which he founded in 1978, and its yearly Great Labor Arts Exchange. Some artists, such as Bobbie McGee, went on to become well-known folk singers, but many Collector artists remained at their jobs. Eddie Starr (1956-2003) was a third-generation Illinois steelworker who declined a life on the road as a rock musician, and took a factory job at home to support his family. Kenny Winfree was a textile worker when Glazer heard his bluegrass-style labor songs. He continues to work, now at an aircraft plant in Texas, where he is an active member of UAW Local 848.
label: Notes
content: Collector Records paints a clear picture of workers' struggles. Songs depict everyday hazards and ailments encountered on the job, allowing workers to express their situation and make audiences aware of their plight. "Cotton Mill Colic" is a classic folk song written in 1926 by David McCarn, a textile mill worker in North Carolina that describes the harsh conditions and low pay of mill-working life. The steelworker in "Corrido Minero" sings about the ever-present danger of working in a mine with outdated equipment. Newer workplace issues are expressed in labor songs as well. The worker in John O'Connor's song suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome, one of the most frequent of modern workplace afflictions, occurring among those who perform a great deal of computer data entry and causing extreme pain in the hands and arms.
label: Notes
content: Finding aid is available.
label: Notes
content: The Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives acquired the Joe Glazer, Collector Records collection in 2006 through a donation by the Glazer family.
label: Addl. KW Subjects
content: Labor unions
label: Summary
content: This collection documents the activities of Joe Glazer's record label Collector Records. Materials include the label's master tapes and commercial recordings, paper records related to day-to-day business operations, original song and narrative recordings by Joe Glazer, and Glazer's personal music collection.
label: Cite as
content: Collector Records business records, Ralph Rinzler Folklikfe Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution
label: Repository Loc.
content: Smithsonian Institution, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, 600 Maryland Ave. SW, Suite 2001, Washington, DC 20010. Call (202) 633-7322 to arrange an appointment
topic: label: Topic
content: Labor movement--Songs and music
label: Topic
content: Political ballads and songs
label: Topic
content: Protest songs
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
objectType: label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Audio cassettes
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Compact discs
label: Type
content: Digital audio tapes
label: Type
content: Phonograph records
label: Type
content: Video recordings
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Access by appointment only. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at (202) 633-7322 for additional information
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for information
physicalDescription: label: Physical description
content: Audiotapes
label: Physical description
content: Audiocassettes
label: Physical description
content: Video recordings
label: Physical description
content: Digital audio tapes
label: Physical description
content: Compact discs
label: Physical description
content: Phonograph albums
label: Physical description
content: Paper business records
label: Physical description
content: (34.28 cubic feet)