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The Folk Singers and the Bureau

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The Folk Singers and the Bureau: The FBI, the Folk Artists and the Suppression of the Communist Party, USA-1939-1956
AuthorAaron J. Leonard
LanguageEnglish
Subjects
GenreHistorical Nonfiction
PublishedSeptember 8, 2020
PublisherRepeater Books
Publication placeUnited States of America
Pages323
ISBN1-913-46200-5
Websiterepeaterbooks.com/product/the-folk-singers-and-the-bureau-the-fbi-the-folk-artists-and-the-suppression-of-the-communist-party-usa-1939-1956/

The Folk Singers and the Bureau: The FBI, the Folk Artists and the Suppression of the Communist Party, USA-1939-1956 is a book written by Aaron Leonard.

Background

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The book focuses on musicians such as Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Lee Hays, and Josh White who associated with the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) as well as musicians such as Burl Ives and Oscar Brand who later turned on the party and its members.[1][2] The 323 page book was written by Aaron J. Leonard and published by Repeater Books on September 8, 2020 in London, England.[2][3] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was invested in close surveillance of the CPUSA and people associated with the party, especially after the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and throughout the era of McCarthyism.[4][5] Leonard used the FBI's archives of surveillance data as source material for the book, which included a file on Pete Seeger that was more than 5,800 pages long.[6][7] Gustavus Stadler's book, Woody Guthrie: An Intimate Life, suggested that perhaps FBI surveillance of Woody Guthrie stopped when he was diagnosed with Huntington's Chorea and admitted to the Brooklyn State Hospital in 1955, but Leonard's research found that the surveillance continued.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Jacobs, Ron (October 27, 2020). "A Timely Warning From an Ominous Past: This is a Pertinent Reminder of What the Government is Capable of Doing to Those Who Popularise a Vision That Runs Counter to a Capitalist Economy, Its Wars and Its Racism, Writes Rob Jacobs". Morning Star. People's Press Printing Society. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Pecinovsky, Tony (September 18, 2020). "Book review: Folk singers, the Communist Party, and the FBI, 1939-1956". People's World. Longview Publishing. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Callahan, Mat (April 1, 2021). "Was Folk Music a Commie Plot?". Monthly Review. Monthly Review Foundation. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  4. ^ Billet, Alexander (November 22, 2020). "The FBI's War on Folk Music". Jacobin. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Pagetta, Joe (January 21, 2021). "Review: In the Crosshairs of the F.B.I." America Magazine. America Media. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Costen, Scott (October 24, 2020). "Red Scare in the Music Scene – 'The Folk Singers and the Bureau' by Aaron J. Leonard". Redaction Report. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. ^ Buhle, Paul (December 20, 2020). "New Book Digs Into Government Files to Keep Alive Memory of Radical Folk Artists". Truthout. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Robles, Francisco E. (September 1, 2021). "Review: The Folk Singers and the Bureau: The FBI, the Folk Artists and the Suppression of the Communist Party, USA-1939-1956, by Aaron J. Leonard, and Woody Guthrie: An Intimate Life, by Gustavus Stadler". Journal of Popular Music Studies. 33 (3): 194–198. doi:10.1525/jpms.2021.33.3.194. ISSN 1533-1598.
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Official website

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