Si Kahn
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Si Kahn is an American singer-songwriter and activist. Originally from State College, Pennsylvania, Kahn moved to the south as an activist in the Civil Rights Movement, and he now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. His grandfather Gabriel Kahn, his mother Rosalind Kahn, and his father Benjamin Kahn, a rabbi, taught Si the rudiments of rhythm and harmony as a child.
Kahn is the founder and director of Grassroots Leadership, a non-profit organization that advocates prison reform. Most of the profits from Kahn's musical performances benefit this group. He has also been involved with Save Our Cumberland Mountains, an environmentalist group opposed to strip mining in Appalachia.
Though Kahn writes songs about a variety of topics, he is especially known for songs about workers and their families, like "Aragon Mill" (1974). He frequently writes songs, and occasionally performs, with Virginian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John McCutcheon. Kahn usually accompanies himself on a steel-string acoustic guitar, played with brass fingerpicks.
Kahn has also co-authored The FOX in the HENHOUSE: How Privatization Threatens Democracy with his spouse Elizabeth Minnich. ISBN 1-57675-337-9
[edit] Discography
- New Wood (1974, Philo Records)
- Home (1979, Flying Fish Records and June Appal Recordings)
- Doing my Job (1982)
- Unfinished Portraits (1984)
- Signs of the Times (1986, Rounder Select, with John McCutcheon)
- Carry It On (1986, Flying Fish Records)
- I'll Be There (1989, Flying Fish Records)
- I Have Seen Freedom (1991, Flying Fish Records)
- Good Times and Bedtimes (1993, Rounder select, family album)
- In My Heart: A Retrospective (1994, Philo Records)
- Companion (1997, Appleseed Records)
- Been a Long Time (2000, Sliced Bread Records)
- Threads (2002, Double Time Music)
- We're Still Here (2004)
- Thanksgiving (2007, with Ygdrassil)
[edit] References
- Autobiographical introduction to 1989 songbook
- Si Kahn, How People Get Power: Organizing Oppressed Communities for Action (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970).
- Si Kahn, Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982). ISBN 0-07-033199-5
