His death in January 2014 at the age of 94 truly marked the end of an era. Seeger’s 5-string banjo, his bright clear voice and his unshakeable convictions were a ubiquitous presence in virtually every progressive movement of the past century – union rallies, the civil rights struggle, the anti-war movement, environmental activism, even the recent Occupy movement. He was a titanic figure in American folk music and political activism for seven decades, and his contributions to folk music (both original and adapted) are legendary. We will encounter him frequently during the coming months. Seeger was arguably the best-known figure in folk music, inheriting the mantle of folk-protest movement leadership from Woody Guthrie. The next actor in this drama is singer and activist Pete Seeger. The audio quality of the 30s recording is crap, but the power and beauty of the song remain. Although the tempo is much slower than The Tokens’ pop version, the overall nature of the song remained fairly constant as it transitioned from South African choral style to folk classic to pop smash. Unlike barbershop quartet where one person takes each part, the Evening Birds featured three bass singers, along with an alto, a tenor and Linda singing lead falsetto. Linda started with traditional African choral music and introduced a number of stylistic innovations. The Evening Birds arrangement incorporates the “isicathamiya” style, which should be familiar to anyone familiar with African groups like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It brings to mind Woody Guthrie’s lines “some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen”. The story of artists and songwriters being short-changed by agents, publishers and record companies is a recurring refrain throughout the early history of rock music, as it was for all forms of music in this era. In 1939, Linda and the Evening Birds recorded Mbube, Zulu for “lion.” The song was a big hit in South Africa, though the rights to the song were purchased by his record agency Gallo Record Company for slightly less than $2! Bill DeMain says that as compensation, also gave him a job sweeping floors and serving tea in their packing house. Solomon Linda (on far L) and the Evening Birds And here are the Evening Birds looking very dapper indeed (Linda is on the far left). The Wikipedia article describes them as “ a very cool urban act that wears pinstriped suits, bowler hats and dandy two-tone shoes“. They gained a regional following from their performances at the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg. Linda headed a choir group called the Evening Birds, made up of boyhood friends from his hometown of Pomeroy. Influenced by the new syncopated music that had been introduced into South Africa from the US during the 1880s, he included it in the Zulu songs he and his friends sang at weddings and feasts. He attended the Gordon Memorial mission school where he learned somewhat about Western musical culture, hymns, and choir contests in which he participated. Was familiar with the traditions of amahubo and izingoma zomtshado (wedding songs) music. Our story begins in South Africa in the 1930s, where Zulu musician Solomon Linda was trying to establish himself in the Ladysmith area of Natal. It also touches on the issue of intellectual property rights – who “owns” the rights to a song, particularly as it crosses from one country to another, or when it can be classified as a folk or traditional song? It provides insight into the way songs are transformed as they move from one culture to another. Hello there! This edition of Tim’s Cover Story tells the fascinating story of a song that originated as a popular tune in South Africa in the 1930s, then morphed into a folk classic in the 50s and finally emerged as a #1 rock song in 1963.
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