Sunday, July 29, 2012

San Francisco Labor Chorus

I went with Code Pink sisters to see the Labor Chorus, directed by Labor Chorus Conductor, Pat Wynne, on 26 July 2012 at the ILWU Local 34.  Not wanting to intrude by using a flash, my photos are rough.  The singers had the Union spirit.  They should be recorded as their knowledge of old labor songs is archival.
Especially sweet and amusing was an encore number with clever lyrics sung to the tune of "YMCA."  Four singers in the front acted out the letters each time they were sung, with the double-syllable "W" replacing the "Y" and "M" of the YMCA song.  Their delightful version suggested that we "bring back... the W P A."

To quote from their description:  Come to ILWU Local 34, "next to the AT&T Park, SF.  An account in song and story of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

"The show draws musically from the Wobblies' Little Red Songbook, Woody Guthrie, Duke Ellington, Yip Harburg, and The People's Songbook.  








"The narrative highlights the contributions of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor, to the New Deal's innovations, as an inspiration to the 99th today."










Afterward, able to use flash, I got a photograph of their guitar accompanist, Bernard ("Bernie") Gilbert....
 

...and Code Pink sister Leslie Angeline (proud daughter of a Freedom Rider), Renay Davis, Nancy Keiler, and Martha Hubert:


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