The Sing Out! Records document folk music and its related genres throughout the decades of the 1940s to the present. The photograph and subject files in this collection were originally a part of the Sing Out! Resource Center, created in the 1980s to document the diverse nature and history of folk music in order to better serve the folk community. Because Sing Out's mission is focused not on folk music but the "people's music," the collection documents a wide range of musical genres and styles, including blues, folk, alternative, country, rock, and world music; as well as festivals and organizations related to the creation, performance, and dissemination of the music. The collection also documents music as it serves "the common cause of humanity," and therefore, contains information and imagery related to a variety of social and political issues, including the civil and women's rights movements, labor rights, economic and social justice, freedom of assembly, and the anti-nuclear and anti-war movements. The collection is particularly rich in its documentation of women and minorities in music. In addition to the archival materials in the collection, a large number of periodicals, books, and LPs were added to the library's research collections.
Biography / Administrative History
Sing Out! magazine grew out of a legacy of social commitment and a tradition of singing both to effect change and to share the pure enjoyment of songs. The original idea for the magazine was served up by the aspirations of a group of urban singers who believed in the power of song -- musicians who raised their voices in harmony and against injustice. After World War II, a number of artists and enthusiasts including Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays, Paul Robeson, Alan Lomax, Irwin Silber and Earl Robinson sought to combine political activism and music as they had before the war. They banded together as People's Songs, Inc. and began publishing a monthly bulletin to "create, promote, and distribute songs of labor and the American people." Increasingly, the publication and its participants were on the defensive against the fierce witch hunting that lumped all liberals, leftists, socialists, and communists together as the enemy. The magazine finally went bankrupt shortly after the 1948 presidential election during which People's Songs and its resources had been pressed into service for the candidacy of Henry Wallace and the Progressive Party. Although hardly a comfortable political climate for a renewed attempt at publishing a left-wing music magazine, the notion of People's Songs persisted. A few months later, following a keen reassessment of People's Songs' strengths, some of the same group who brought out People's Songs went back to the drawing board, and returned in May of 1950 with the first issue of Sing Out! Sing Out's mission is a devotion to the creation, growth, and distribution of "People's Music," which lives outside form and genre and is judged by only one thing: "How well does it serve the common cause of humanity?"
Notes
Citation: [Identification of Item], Sing Out! Records, Library and Archives, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Separated Materials: A number of periodicals, books, and LPs have been transferred to the library collection. Please search for the "Sing Out! Records" in the library catalog for a list of donated titles. If you are unable to find what you are looking for, consult the Library and Archives staff to ensure these materials are available.
Processing Information: Processed by Lisa Peters, Intern; Jennie Thomas, Head Archivist; Jolene Adkins and Elaine Minch, Volunteers. Completed February 18, 2016. Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS and local processing manual.
Acquisition Note: The Sing Out! Records were purchased by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., from the Sing Out! Corporation on July 28, 2015.
Access
Collection is open for research. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights statement on the Researcher Registration form before using this collection. Consult the Library and Archives in advance of your visit to ensure access to these materials is available.
Use
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. For more information, please consult the staff of the Library and Archives.
