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The Weavers were an immensely popular and influential folk music quartet from Greenwich Village in New York City in the United States.
The Weavers group was formed in 1947 by Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Pete Seeger . Eric Darling sometimes sat in with the group when Seeger was unavailable. The name came from a play of the same name by Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann. After a period of finding themselves unable to find much, if any paid work, they finally achieved a performance slot at the jazz club the Village Vanguard. This led to a signing with Decca Records. The group achieved success in 1949 with the sale of the single featuring an original song, Goodnight Irene, backed with the Jewish traditional folk song Tzena, Tzena. This single brought them all the offers they could want, of well-paying gigs.
The Weavers sang traditional folk songs from a number of traditions from around the world, as well as blues, folk, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs and ballads from the U.S. They sold millions of records. During the time of their popularity, they avoided the more controversial songs in their repetoire, as well as avoiding performing at controversial venues and events. The leftist press derided them as having sold out their beliefs in exchange for popular success.
The Weavers' popularity was derailed by being blacklisted by the U.S. government during the era of McCarthyism anti-communist backlash. After a period of F.B.I surveillance, the Weavers were targeted because of their history of singing protest songs and folk songs favoring labor unions as well as for the leftist political beliefs of the individuals in the group. Anti-communists protested any time the group performed, and harrassed promoters. The Weavers were an easy target because of their fame and popularity on the radio and with the record-buying public. This diminished rapidly, and the group's record contract was terminated.
Pete Seeger continued his pre-existing solo career after the group disbanded in 1952. In 1955, the group reunited to play a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall, a venue with management unaware of the controversy surrounding the group or anything outside the world of classical music. The concert was a huge success, and was recorded to be issued by Vanguard Records. The recording was so successful that Vanguard signed a contract with the Weavers. By the late 1950s, folk music was becoming popular, and anti-communism was fading. Seeger left the group to return to his solo career, and the Weavers continued without him. After Eric Darling left the group, he was replaced by Frank Hamilton and then Bernie Krause.
Ronnie Gilbert has had a solo career as well. Additional reunion concerts were staged in 1964 and 1980.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.
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