Work and Sing: A History of Occupational and Labor Union Songs in the United States

by Ronald D. Cohen

In this wide-ranging and accessible survey of American labor songs, Ronald D. Cohen chronicles the history behind the work songs of cowboys, sailors, hoboes, and others, as well as the singing culture of groups ranging from the Industrial Workers of the World to Pete Seeger's "People's Songs." He discusses protest songs, the links between labor songs and the Left, the importance of labor song leaders such as Joe Glazer, labor musicals and songsters, and the folk music movement from Lead Belly and the Almanac Singers through Woody Guthrie.

Genres: History, Labor, Music

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2010

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

A definitive summary of the history of American work songs, but short on analysis. This book could serve as the basis for other, more in-depth studies in the future, but its presentation of dense detail with no real unpacking of implications or contextualization of the various movements involved makes it a slog to get through. It's probably most valuable for its huge bibliography of sources, especially the big list of historical songbooks.