Barbara Dane, born in 1927, is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer-songwriter. She was prominent in the movements for peace and justice as the struggle for civil rights spread and opposition to the Vietnam War mounted, singing at demonstrations throughout the United States and all over the world. In 1966 she became the first US musician to tour post-revolutionary Cuba. By the early 1970s Dane had started Paredon Records with her husband, the late Irwin Silber, in their adopted hometown of Oakland, California. Specializing in international protest music, she produced fifty albums, including three of her own. The label is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. Dane is the recipient of numerous honors, and the New York Times featured a full-page profile of her in 2021. Bob Dylan said of her: “The world needs more people like Barbara, someone who is willing to follow her conscience. She is, if the term must be used, a hero.”

Contents

Part One: Let My Little Light Shine

1. Memories Don’t Fade

2. A Chronic Truant Sings

3. The Atomic Age Begins

4. Everything Changes

5. Postwar Dreams

6. From People’s Songs to the Home Front

7. California, Here It Comes!

8. The Party’s Over

9. Digging Underground

10. Byron Dances In

11. Gateway Swings to Berkeley

12. Yonder Come the Blues

13. San Francisco Bay Blues

14. Trouble in Mind

Part Two: On My Way

15. From the Alley to the Grove

16. From Breakout to Blacklist

17. Livin’ with the Blues

18. Priorities

19. Strange Bedfellows

20. Riding High on Sugar Hill

21. Buzz, Biz, Boom, Blam!

22. On the Emes, This Is True

23. Wake Up and Sing!

24. Do You, Mister Jones?

25. Which Side Are You On?

26. The Times, They Are a-Changin’

Part Three: My American Dream

27. Irwin Calls, Lightnin’ Strikes, Mississippi Beckons

28. Go Tell It on the Mountain

29. Navigating Obstacles Blanketed in Bliss

30. You Don’t Know Me

31. Hard Rains Are a-Fallin’

32. Three-Mile Walk of Hope

33. Good Morning Blues

34. Cuba Sí, Yanqui No!

35. Paul Becomes Pablo

36. He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

37. Singers of the World, Unite!

38. Levitate the Pentagon!

39. United We Are Strong

40. Unidentified Flying Object

41. Play Your Guitars, American Friends

42. La Voce dell’altra America

43. Building a Big Wall of Music

44. Free the Army!

45. Solidarity Forever Crossing Borders

46. Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues

47. Give Peace a Chance

Part Four: Nobody Gonna Turn Me ’Round

48. Pack Up Your Sorrows

49. A Musical Road Trip to Nowhere

50. You Just Can’t Make It by Yourself

51. Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

52. Take It Slow and Easy

53. Throw It Away

Some Rules for the Road Ahead

Gratitude

Barbara Dane Discography, Key Links, and More

Index