A revealing exploration of the origins and development of People's Songs, Inc., "My Song Is My Weapon won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. Robbie Lieberman brings to life the hootenannies, concerts, and rallies of the time, paying special attention to the politics of culture of the Old Left. Her analysis of the communist movement culture, coupled with interviews with former members of People's Songs, sheds new light on Cold War America, the American Communist movement, and the experience of left-wing cultural workers.

Robbie Lieberman is chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department and a professor of interdisciplinary studies at Kennesaw State University. She is the author of Prairie Power: Voices of 1960s Midwestern Student Protest and coeditor of Anticommunism and the African American Freedom Movement.

Preface   xiii
Introduction: Historical Background   3
1. The American Communist Movement Culture   14
2. From the "Final Cornflakes" to the "Ballad for Americans": Communist Musical Culture in the 1930s   25
3. "This Machine Kills Fascists": Communism, Antifascism, and People's Music during World War 2   50
4. "My Song Is My Weapon": People's Songs, the CPUSA, and the Cold War   67
5. "Songs of Labor and the American People"   85
6. "We Were Close to Changing the World": The People's Songs Hootenanny   115
7. "The Fight for Peace": People's Songs and the Wallace Campaign   126
8. "We Will Overcome": The Legacy of People's Songs   149
Notes   167
Index   193