Songs for John Doe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Almanac Singers chronology
Songs For John Doe

Studio album by The Almanac Singers
Released	May 1941
Recorded	A Central Park West studio, New York, Late March or early April 1941
Genre	Folk music
Label	Almanac Records
Producer(s)	Erin Barnay
N/A	Songs For John Doe (1941)	Talking Union (1941)

Songs For John Doe is the 1941 debut album and first released product of influential folk musicians, The Almanac Singers.

Released in May 1941 in the midst of World War II, a notable aspect of the album was the appearance of anti-war songs. However, when Hitler's armies invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, a non-aggression pact was broken and the pacifist stance of The Almanacs soon became out of the question. The album was quickly pulled from distribution and The Almanacs changed direction in support of the US entry in the war. This changed political stance was later evident on the group's 1942 album, Dear Mr. President.

For the album, six masters were recorded in a two or three hour session. "'C' For Conscription" and "Washington Breakdown" were recorded as a single take.

One of the songs "Liza Jane" was reworked 23 years later when it became the first released product for British rock icon David Bowie. The song was a debut single for his band "The Manish Boys" and was revisited once again 40 years later during his 2004 Reality Tour.

[edit] Track listing

Track	Song Title	By
1.	Ballad of October 16	Millard Lampell
2.	Billy Boy	Millard Lampell
3.	'C' For Conscription	Millard Lampell and Pete Seeger
4.	Liza Jane	Millard Lampell and Pete Seeger
5.	Plow Under	Millard Lampell and Pete Seeger
6.	The Strange Death of John Doe	Millard Lampell
7.	Washington Breakdown	Pete Seeger and Lee Hays