01 Oh Freedom
(Traditional)
02 The Banks are Made of Marble
(Les Rice)
03 Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
(Pete Seeger)
04 This Land Is Your Land
(Woody Guthrie)
05 We Shall Overcome
(Traditional, new words and music adaptation by Zilphia Horton, Frank Hamilton, Guy Carawan, and Pete Seeger)
The Band
Piano: Andy Shapiro
Organ: Tom Berd
Electric Guitar: Don Sidney
Electric Bass: Mark Ransom
Drums: Jeff Salisbury
Guest musicians
Howard Mitchell background vocals, chorus
Ginny Peck background vocals, chorus
Emily Wadhams background vocals, chorus
David Weaver background vocals, chorus
Steve Rainville background vocals
Chris Bailey chorus
Nancy Beaven chorus
Marcia Brewster chorus
Dexter Brown chorus
Kathy Carbone chorus
Danny Coane chorus
Joanne "Little Joyce" Cooper chorus
David Daignault chorus
Frank Egan chorus
Dana Lavigne chorus
Tom Lyon chorus
Joe Moore chorus
Rick Norcross chorus
Michael Oakland chorus
Debbie Patton chorus
Pamela Polston chorus
KK Wilder chorus
Narrative
Bernie Sanders
Arrangements
Don Sidney musical
Douglas Jaffe harmony vocals
The idea for this album came to me over a cup of coffee at a Burlington café. The morning regulars thought I was out of my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more intriguing the idea seemed. Our mayor, Bernie Sanders, had established himself as a no-nonsense problem solver and someone who didn’t mince words -- but not the sort of person you would imagine making a record. This paradox appealed to me.
When I approached Bernie with the idea, he saw it as an opportunity to tell a larger story, a story about the inequities of life in America. Suddenly, the project was more than a novelty. It had purpose. Bernie chose the music: five protest songs from the fifties and early sixties. I hired arranger Don Sidney to update the songs with contemporary rhythms.
As word of the project spread among Vermont’s music community, artists lined up to volunteer their talents. By the time we began recording in November 1987, I had assembled a who’s who of the Vermont music scene: Nancy Beaven, Jon Gailmor, Dick McCormack, and Joanne “Little Joyce” Cooper, just to name a few. Thirty artists in all.
When we recorded the title song, We Shall Overcome, the scene was reminiscent of the Michael Jackson "We Are The World" session. A 21-voice chorus stood on risers in the studio. A five-piece rhythm section included some of the finest players in the area. And Bernie stood at the ready in the vocal booth with his text in hand.
Bernie is not a particularly musical person, but he more than made up for it with his delivery and sense of purpose. His presence in the studio electrified everyone, making this into a landmark Vermont recording - Todd R. Lockwood, October 2014
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