Joe Glazer
Encyclopedia
Joe Glazer closely associated with labor unions and often referred to as the "labor's troubadour," was a US-American
folk music
ian who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career.
, Glazer was a graduate of Brooklyn College
. He eventually moved to Akron, Ohio
, where he performed for the United Rubber Workers
throughout his career and also served as education director from 1950 to 1962. Glazer was also a member of the Textile Workers Union of America
as well as an adviser to the United States Information Agency
. According to his obituary in The Washington Post
in 2006: "Mr. Glazer in 1961 joined the Foreign Service staff of the U.S. Information Agency, then headed by Edward R. Murrow
, and was sent to Mexico as labor information officer. He transferred to the State Department in Washington as a labor adviser in 1965." His younger brother is sociologist Nathan Glazer
.
's Stalinist reversal following the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In 1960, in collaboration with Edith Fowke
, Glazer published Songs of Work and Freedom, which included 10 of his original compositions. In 1979, Glazer invited 14 other labor musicians to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies
in Silver Spring, Maryland
, to share musical and written compositions, and to discuss the effective use of music, song, poetry and chants in labor activism. The three-day event became an annual one, becoming known as the Great Labor Arts Exchange
(GLAE). Over the next five years, the concept of "labor culture" and how the labor movement and the arts interacted which Glazer and others held expanded. In 1984, Glazer incorporated the Labor Heritage Foundation
as a parent body for GLAE as well as to curate and promote the culture of the American labor movement.
In 2002, Glazer released an autobiography entitled Labor's Troubadour, which was published by the University of Illinois Press. On September 19, 2006, it was disclosed that Glazer had died at the age of 88, reportedly due to the progression of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ian who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career.
Early life and union career
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Glazer was a graduate of Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
. He eventually moved to Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, where he performed for the United Rubber Workers
United Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
throughout his career and also served as education director from 1950 to 1962. Glazer was also a member of the Textile Workers Union of America
Textile Workers Union of America
The Textile Workers Union of America was an industrial union of textile workers established through the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1939 and merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America to become the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union in 1976. It waged a...
as well as an adviser to the United States Information Agency
United States Information Agency
The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...
. According to his obituary in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
in 2006: "Mr. Glazer in 1961 joined the Foreign Service staff of the U.S. Information Agency, then headed by Edward R. Murrow
Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
, and was sent to Mexico as labor information officer. He transferred to the State Department in Washington as a labor adviser in 1965." His younger brother is sociologist Nathan Glazer
Nathan Glazer
Nathan Glazer is an American sociologist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley and for several decades at Harvard University...
.
Singer and songwriter
Some of his more acclaimed songs include "The Mill Was Made of Marble," "Too Old To Work" and "Automaton." He recorded "In Old Moscow" ("My Darling Party Line"), a song which ridiculed the Communist Party USACommunist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
's Stalinist reversal following the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In 1960, in collaboration with Edith Fowke
Edith Fowke
Edith Fowke, was a Canadian folklorist. Born on April 30, 1913, in Lumsden, Saskatchewan, she was educated at the University of Saskatchewan. She hosted the CBC Radio program Folk Song Time from 1950 to 1963...
, Glazer published Songs of Work and Freedom, which included 10 of his original compositions. In 1979, Glazer invited 14 other labor musicians to the George Meany Center for Labor Studies
National Labor College
The National Labor College is the only accredited higher education institution in the United States devoted exclusively to educating union members, leaders and staff. It was established as a training center by the AFL-CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizing skills...
in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, to share musical and written compositions, and to discuss the effective use of music, song, poetry and chants in labor activism. The three-day event became an annual one, becoming known as the Great Labor Arts Exchange
Great Labor Arts Exchange
The Great Labor Arts Exchange is an annual arts festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, which celebrates the labor history of the United States as well as preserves, advances and promotes the culture of the American labor movement....
(GLAE). Over the next five years, the concept of "labor culture" and how the labor movement and the arts interacted which Glazer and others held expanded. In 1984, Glazer incorporated the Labor Heritage Foundation
Labor Heritage Foundation
The Labor Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization which preserves and disseminates information and artifacts about the labor history of the United States.-History:...
as a parent body for GLAE as well as to curate and promote the culture of the American labor movement.
In 2002, Glazer released an autobiography entitled Labor's Troubadour, which was published by the University of Illinois Press. On September 19, 2006, it was disclosed that Glazer had died at the age of 88, reportedly due to the progression of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
.
Discography
- Eight New Songs for Labor. CIO Department of Education and Research, 1950.
- Ballads for Sectarians. Labor Arts, 1952. Reissued 1953. Also included in Songs for Political Action, Bear Family BCD 15720 JL, 10 CDs, 1996.
- The Songs of Joe Hill. Folkways RecordsFolkways RecordsFolkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
FA 2039, 1954. - Songs of the Wobblies. Labor Arts, 1954.
- Joe Glazer and the PAC Bucks. CIO Education and Research Department, 1955.
- Image of History: Twenty Years of the CIO. UAW Education Department, 1956.
- A Douglas for Me and Other Songs of the New Democratic Party of Canada. Woodworth Book Club of Canada, 1956.
- Ballads for Ballots. Sound Studios, 1956.
- Union Songs. UAW Education Department, 1958.
- Songs of Work and Freedom. Washington Records WR-4601, 1960.
- Ballads for Ballots. Labor's Committee for Kennedy and Johnson, 1960.
- Democratic Music. Democratic Committee for John F. Kennedy for President, 1960.
- Songs of Coal. Sound Studios, 1964.
- The Golden Presses -- That Heavenly Newspaper Plant. The American Newspaper Guild, 1966.
- My Darling Party Line. Sound Studios, 1968. Reissued as cassette, 1988.
- AFSCME Sings with Joe Glazer, 1968. Reissued in 1971 as Joe Glazer Sings Labor Songs, Collector Records #1918.
- Singing about Our Union. AFSCME, 1969.
- Joe Glazer Sings Garbage -- and Other Songs of Our Times. Collector Records #1919, 1971. Reissued in 1980, and in 1993 as a cassette.
- Joe Glazer Live at Vail. Central Pension Fund of the OEIU, 1973.
- Songs of Steel and Struggle -- the Story of the Steelworkers of America. Collector Records, 1975.
- Down in a Coal Mine. Collector Records #1923, 1974. Reissued in 1997 as a cassette.
- Textile Voices -- Songs and Stories of the Mills. Collector Records #1922, 1975. Reissued 1985 as a cassette.
- Singing BRAC with Joe Glazer. Collector Records #1924, 1975.
- Union Train. Collector Records #1925, 1975.
- Songs for Woodworkers. Collector Records #1929, 1997.
- Songs of the Wobblies. Collector Records #1927, 1977. Reissued 1988 as a cassette.
- Service Employees International Sings with Joe Glazer. SEIU, 1980.
- Joe Glazer Sings Labor Songs. Collector Records, 1980. Reissued 1988 as a cassette; reissued 1994 as a CD.
- Garbage and Other Songs of Our Time. Collctor Records,1980.
- A Century of Labor Songs. Collector Records #1934, 1981.
- Jellybean Blues. Collector Records #1935, 1982. Also issued 1982 as a cassette.
- Jellybean Blues, Vol. II. Collector Records #1935, 1984. Also issued 1984 as a cassette.
- Songs for USIA. Collector Records, 1985, cassette.
- Fifty Years of the UAW. Collector Records #1934. 1985, cassette.
- Bricklayin' Union Man. Collector Records #1991, 1987, cassette.
- Old Folks Ain't All the Same. Collector Records # 1942, 1987. Also issued 1987 as a cassette.
- Joe Glazer Sings Labor Songs, II. Collector Records #1944, 1989, cassette.
- The Jewish Immigrant Experience in America. Collector Records #1945, 1989, cassette.
- Sing and Build -- Songs for Architects, Builders and Planners. Collector Records #1950, 1991, cassette.
- Welcome to America -- Songs of the American Immigrants. Collector Records #1952, 1990, cassette.
- Folk Songs of the American Dream. Collector Records #1954, 1995, cassette and CD.
- The Music of American Politics. Collector Records #1955, 1996, cassette and CD.
- Joe Glazer Sings Labor Songs II. Collctor Records, 2001.
External links
- "Singer-Songwriter Joe Glazer, Class of '38, Dies at Age 88." Brooklyn College. No date. Accessed May 3, 2007.
- Glazer Discography on Smithsonian Folkways