ronnie gilbert

ALBANY TIMES UNION
Saturday, May 7, 2005

RONNIE GILBERT'S "A Radical Life with Song"
Old folkie's 'Life' takes no right turns
By GREG HAYMES , Staff writer

ALBANY -- It wasn't quite a concert, a lecture or a theater piece, either. Instead, it was an offbeat, thoroughly engaging evening of autobiography by veteran folksinger-activist Ronnie Gilbert, who came to the WAMC Performing Arts Studio on Friday to perform "A Radical Life With Songs."

Standing alone onstage in front of a makeshift lecturn, the white-haired, bespectacled Gilbert wove her way not only through her thoroughly lived life, but also a slice of American history, at least as seen through the eyes of the left wing. Let's just say that there probably wasn't a Republican anywhere within the sound of her voice.

Gilbert, of course, is best known as one of the founding members of the pioneering folk quartet, the Weavers, which she helped form more than a half-century ago with Pete Seeger, Fred Hellerman and Lee Hayes.

But Gilbert didn't even mention the singing group until midway through her 75-minute performance. First, she regaled the sold-out crowd with tales of her initiation into the radical life when her Polish-Jewish garment-worker mother dragged her to a union rally in New York City, where she heard Paul Robeson sing. Gilbert was 10 years old, and she seems to have taken the left fork in the road ever since.

She spoke about World War II, the anti-fascist fervor, the anti-war movement, the struggle against segregation and the valiant but futile presidential campaign of the Progressive Party in 1948.

Every couple of minutes, she would stop talking for a moment and burst into song -- a cappella -- allowing the music to illustrate or illuminate the tale she was telling. "Songs are dangerous," she declared. "Songs are subversive. Songs can get right in there and change your life."

Naturally, many of the song snippets came from the vast Weavers songbook -- and the crowd joined right in -- but she also offered bits of tunes by Jeannette MacDonald, Holly Near, Deanna Durbin and the Sons of the Pioneers. Her Kate Smith impersonation was dead-on, too.

She told of the Weavers rise to fame, recording smash hit songs, hosting their own television show and playing in the fanciest nightspots. But she didn't give the downside short shrift, either, as she recounted the group's blacklisting by the House on Unamerican Activities Committee. She described the McCarthy era as "the terror of the times."

But Gilbert has carried on with her life, not only surviving, but thriving in her later years. "Here I am still plugging on," she declared, "never quite sure what's coming next."

And as she waved goodbye to the cheering crowd and walked off the stage toward her dressing room, the audience spontaneously broke out into song, serenading her with one of the Weavers' most beloved hits, "Goodnight, Irene." Wasn't that a night?

. . .The hour that she spoke felt like a few minutes, and we would have been perfectly happy if she had done the whole presentation over again. . . .
. .. . . .Vancouver International Storytelling Festival

. . . she kept a crowd of approximately 200 enthralled while she shared the highlights of her exciting life.... The Rock River Times

. . . we are still talking about your visit here . . . What a joyous time! And we even made some money.... Rockford Peace & Justice Action Committee

. . . I can’t recall any other speaker getting a standing ovation! I’m still getting calls from retirees raving about the program. . . . University of California Berkeley Retirees Association

. . . As a historian I loved the way she situated herself in history . . . even in that huge room, she seemed so available and accessible - and the comments and questions the young people asked, even the exchange about voting at the end, were so heartening and hopeful. . .
. . . . . . Virginia Reinburg, Boston College