Category: News

…But the Labor Chorus is going strong!

Contact Pat Wynne directly for info on how to join.

Pat Wynne’s book, “Singing Out and Fighting Back,” is now in the American Folk Life Archive at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

This book contain 12 performance pieces Pat wrote for the San Francisco Labor Heritage Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus.

The book was designed and assembled over 3 semesters by students in the Computer Design Department at City College of San Francisco. The book contains approximately 80 songs, many arranged for 4 part harmony.

Also in the Archive is Pat’s CD, “Singing is Believing,” and a DVD of “The Great Migration,” Pat’s performance piece, as performed by the Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus.

Above: Pat at the Library of Congress

The Joe Hill Award was awarded to Pat Wynne, director of the San Francisco Labor Chorus, on June 21, 2014 by the Labor Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.

The Joe Hill Award honors artists who have contributed to the successful integration of arts and culture in the labor movement. It is given every year at the Great Labor Arts Exchange to persons based on their dedication, participation and promotion of labor, labor arts, culture, organizing and/or history.

Other to have received this award are Pete Seeger, Cesar Chavez, Utah Phillips, Jon Fromer, etc.

The San Francisco Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus will be singing a short set at the Berkeley Senior Center on Wednesday, May 28, at 1:00 p.m. Come on down, and join in the fun!

Don’t miss your chance to see The Great Migration and Motown — a show by the San Francisco Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Heritage Chorus that tells the story of mid-twentieth century African American workers.

The Great Migration was the biggest under-reported story of the twentieth century. Over the span of six decades, around six million African Americans left Jim Crow behind and started over in northern cities. In the process, they transformed this country.

The multiracial Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus tells that story in words and song. Chorus members recount their own migration narratives, and the text also draws on Isobel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns and some incisive analysis by Michael Moore. Musically, the repertoire includes (among much else) Civil Rights anthems, a Memphis Minnie blues, songs by the Bay Area’s own Jon Fromer, and some reworkings of classics from Motown, a record label built by children of the migration.

Don’t miss it!

Date: Friday, May 23
Time: 7:00 PM
Place: First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway (at 27th St), Oakland

For further information: (415) 648-3457, wynnegilbert@igc.org

The San Francisco Rockin Solidarity Labor Heritage Chorus has a new show — Movement Energy: History of May Day and the Eight Hour Day!

The original Labor Day was May 1, not the first Monday in September, in commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886. Through spirited songs and the words of the participants, we tell the story of the movement for the eight hour work day which led to this massacre but did not stop there.

Come see the premiere of this new show!

Date: Thursday, May 15
Time: 7:30 PM
Place: CCSF Mission Campus, 1125 Valencia Street, between 22nd & 23rd streets, Room 109

The Labor Heritage Foundation will present this year’s Joe Hill Award to Pat Wynne, director of the San Francisco Labor Heritage Chorus. The most prestigious award in the field of labor culture, the Joe Hill Award is given in honor of lifetime achievement. Previous recipients include Cesar Chavez in 1993, and Pete Seeger in 1995.

Pat will receive the award at the Great Labor Arts Exchange in Washington, D.C., June 20-22, 2014. We just received permission from the Labor Heritage Foundation to release this exciting news!

Join the Labor Chorus and others for a Pete Seeger Commemorative Sing-along and Jam Session on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

6:00 — Commemorating Pete Seeger

6:15 — The San Francisco Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus leads a Pete Seeger singalong, including the following songs:
— 66 Highway Blues
— The Ballad of Harry Bridges
— If I Had a Hammer
— Abiyoyo
— The Foolish Frog
— The Bells of Rhymney
— Wimoweh
— Guatanamera
— Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
— Turn, Turn, Turn
Song sheets for the above songs will be provided!

7:00 — Jam session and singalong in the spirit of Pete Seeger

Come ready to sing or to listen. If you’ve got one, bring your banjo, guitar, autoharp, ukulele, what have-you. Bring your copy of “Rise Up Singing” (we’ll have extra copies, too). If you have a song you want to share, bring 20-25 song sheets with lyrics and chords.

We’ll order out for pizza, for those who are hungry!

On Thursday, December 19, 2013, The Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus will present The Great Migration and Motown at the Diego Rivera Theater, San Francisco City College, Ocean Campus (Phelan & Ocean), San Francisco. 7:00 p.m., free.

The Great Migration was the biggest under-reported story of the twentieth century. Over the span of six decades, around six million African Americans left Jim Crow behind and started over in northern cities. In the process, they transformed this country.

The Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus tells that story in words and song. Chorus members tell their own migration narratives, and the text also draws on Isobel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Songs and some incisive analysis by Michael Moore. Musically, the repertoire includes (among much else) Civil Rights anthems, a Memphis Minnie blues, songs by the Bay Area’s own Jon Fromer, and some reworkings of classics from Motown, a record label built by children of the migration.

Under the direction of Pat Wynne, the Rockin’ Solidarity Chorus has been presenting aspects of working people’s history and culture since 1999. The Chorus has performed at rallies, picket lines, and concerts throughout the Bay Area and beyond. We were invited to the 75th anniversary celebrations of the legendary Highlander Center in Knoxville, Tennessee (2007) and to celebrate May Day in Boulder, California as guests of the Rocky Mountain Peace & Justice Center (2009). Previous Chorus programs have addressed topics such as the Depression and the New Deal, the music of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, outsourcing, and the history of immigration. Chorus members are a mix of unionists, Wobblies, unaffiliated folks, academics, activists, anarchists, and archivists.

For more information call director Pat Wynne at (415) 648-3457, or send email to wynnegilbert AT gc DOT org

Wednesday, December 18, at 1:00 p.m., the Labor Chorus will be singing at the Berkeley Senior Center. Come join us!