Paul Robeson, Sings 20 Favourite Songs, Sain SCD2574

Paul Robeson, Sings 20 Favourite Songs

The story of how the tapes of the 20 songs recorded in March of 1954 came to be “re-discovered” is interesting. They were originally given by Paul Robeson to the late Peter Blackman, a man of Barbadian descent who was an active trade unionist and socialist poet in England. He is best remembered for his pamphlet of poems “My song is for all men”, and it is obvious that there was a close affinity between him and Paul Robeson on many counts. On his passing, his son, also named Peter Blackman, found the tapes among his belongings, and loaned them to Mike Lewis a retired BBC engineer who is the brother of Roger Lewis, Secretary of the South Wales Miners’ Eisteddfod. Mike’s connection with the tapes go further, as he was a member of the Treorchy Male Voice Choir which sang at Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion on October 5th, 1957, when Paul Robeson made his historic and defiant “Transatlantic Exchange” broadcast.

This CD contains the 20 tracks included on those tapes given by Paul Robeson to Peter Blackman, and also a new version of the actual Transatlantic Exchange concert itself. The songs sung by Paul Robeson during that historic event are taken from the tapes recorded during the broadcast in the studio in New York, rather than the version heard over the telephone in the Grand Pavilion, which explains why they are “cleaner” than any version issued before now. We are extremely grateful to Mike Price for the professional work he made on all these tracks, to ensure they can now be enjoyed in optimum conditions.

Tracks -

01 - Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel

02 - Kevin Barry

03 - Ode to joy

04 - There's a man going round takin' names

05 - Song of the Warsaw ghetto

06 - The Volga boat song

07 - John Brown's body

08 - Madrid

09 - The ballad of Joe Hill

10 - Ol' man river

11 - Crimson petal

12 - Spanish lullaby

13 - Night

14 - All through the night

15 - Oh mistress mine

16 - Turn ye to me

17 - The minstrel boy

18 - Riddle song

19 - What is America to me?

20 - Danny boy

21 - John Humphrys (introduction)

22 - Wil Paynter (introduction)

23 - Paul Robeson (greetings from New York)

24 - Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel

25 - All through the night

26 - This little light of mine

27 - Ode to joy

28 - Lullaby

29 - Will Paynter (comments)

30 - Y delyn aur (Treorchi Male Choir)

31 - Paul Robeson (thanks)

32 - Land of my fathers (Paul Robeson/Will Paynter)

33 - We'll keep a welcome

34 - John Humphrys (end piece).

Ysbrydolwyd y prosiect gan Roger Price, Ysgrifennydd Eisteddfod Glowyr De Cymru, a chynhyrchwyd gan Dafydd Iwan.

Diolchir i Paul Robeson Jr. ac Undeb Cenedlaethol y Glowyr, Rhanbarth De Cymru, am bob cydweithrediad.

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