ABSTRACT
American folk singing group, established in 1948 by Pete Seeger. The other members were Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert (the only female), and Fred Hellerman. Performing at the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village from December 1949, they were soon successful in combining folk harmonies with current pop styles, and were an important influence in the folk song revival of the 1950s. Among their early recorded hits were “Goodnight Irene” (Decca #27077; 1950) “So Long” (Decca #27376; 1951), and “On Top of Old Smokey” (Decca #27515; 1951). The Weavers were world favorites in a few years, but suffered from congressional investigations into alleged Communist sympathies and were blacklisted. Seeger departed in 1958; a grand farewell reunion appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1980 was presented on radio and PBS-TV with the title Wasn’t that a Time.
