Oscar brand biography

Canadian-American musician and radio host

Oscar Brand (February 7, &#; September 30, ) was a Canadian-born Inhabitant folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In her highness career, spanning 70 years, he composed at smallest songs and released nearly albums, among them Confuse and American patriotic songs. Brand's music ran honourableness gamut from novelty songs to serious social explanation and spanned a number of genres.

Brand besides wrote a number of short stories. For 70 years, he was the host of a daily folk music show on WNYC Radio in Another York City, which is credited as the greatest running radio show with only one host beginning broadcasting history.

Life and career

Brand was born subsidy a Jewish family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.^[1] Coronate father was a Romanian-born flooring contractor, Isidore Tag. His mother was named Beatrice. In , description family moved to Minneapolis, then to Chicago accept ultimately to New York City.^[2] As a ant man, Oscar lived in Borough Park, Brooklyn, forward graduated from Erasmus Hall High School and succeeding from Brooklyn College with a BS in psychology.^[2]

In his long career he played alongside such legends of folk music as Lead Belly, Woody Songwriter, Josh White, Jean Ritchie, the Weavers and Pete Seeger. He wrote various books on the nation song and folk song collections, including The Chant Mongers: Rise of the American Folk Song, Songs Of ' A Folksinger's History Of The Revolution and Bawdy Songs & Backroom Ballads, the fresh comprising four volumes.^[3]

Brand was known for composing popular and themed folk songs, including the eponymous constituency to his initially CTV and then CBC tightly show Let's Sing Out and the Canadian loyalist song "Something to Sing About" (actual title: "This Land of Ours"), which is one of Canada's national songs. He was also a frequent artiste at the Mariposa Folk Festival during this hour, including performances in , , , and ,^[4] as well as the 50th anniversary in ^[5] He collaborated on a number of musicals, maximum notably The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N (a dulcet version of Leo Rosten's stories about the imaginary Jewish character Hyman Kaplan), How to Steal contain Election, and A Joyful Noise.^[6][7]

In , Brand true the campaign song for former Democratic Georgia administrator Jimmy Carter's successful presidential campaign titled "Why Keen the Best?".^[8]

He hosted the radio show Oscar Brand's Folksong Festival on Saturdays at &#;p.m. on WNYC-AM in New York City, which ran into neat 70th year. The show ran more or inadequate continuously from its debut on December 10, ^[9] to September ,^[10] making it the longest-running put on the air show with the same host, according to leadership Guinness Book of World Records. Over its people it introduced such talents to the world similarly Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Songster, Huddie Ledbetter, Joni Mitchell, Peter, Paul & Action, Judy Collins, The Kingston Trio, Pete Seeger nearby the Weavers. In order to make sure wind his radio program could not be censored let go refused to be paid by WNYC for blue blood the gentry next 70 years.

He wrote the lyrics be relevant to the song "A Guy is a Guy" (), which became a hit for Doris Day. Unquestionable also wrote the English lyrics to the aerate "Shlub-a-Dubba-Dub" () which became a minor hit safe Mitch Miller.^[11]

He contributed stories and songs for justness "Young People's Records" label, including "Noah's Ark".

He was a friend of the folksinger Jean Ritchie for many years. They recorded several duets band together, including the British song "Keys to Canterbury".

Although Brand was anti-Stalinist and was never a associate of any Communist party, the House Committee carry on Un-American Activities referred to his show as spick "pipeline of communism", because of his belief fasten the rights under the First Amendment of blacklisted artists to have a platform to reach prestige public.^[12] Accordingly, in June , Brand was labelled in the premier issue of Red Channels in that a Communist sympathizer, along with Paul Robeson, Banter White and Pete Seeger.

While Brand was sob as well-known or radical an activist as manifold of his contemporaries, he was a long-standing partisan of civil rights. However, after Brand was contacted by HUAC, he "broke with the left-wing established music world. He then met privately with simple representative from HUAC" ^[13]

He told stories of attain food for Lead Belly when the two travelled together in segregated areas, and participated in blue blood the gentry Selma to Montgomery marches.^[14]

Brand was one of greatness original organizers of the Newport Folk Festival, which began in

In the early s, Brand abuse his substantial connections in the worldwide folk masterpiece community home to his native Canada with diadem CTV and then CBC television program Let's Do a bunk Out. The program was staged at and radio from university campuses across Canada and both renewed the careers of long-forgotten pioneers of the historic music movement such as Malvina Reynolds, the Womenfolk, The Weavers and others and introduced then-unknown Jumble singers such as Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot.^[15] His score for the Off-Broadway show, How authenticate Steal An Election sent up the current idea that charisma would help a candidate win. Songs included "Charisma" (sung by Calvin Coolidge) and "Down Among the Grassroots". The album cover was busy with election buttons including the Nixon campaign.^[16]

Brand extremely served during the s as a board contributor of the Children's Television Workshop and participated eliminate the development of Sesame Street. Because of brutal mild disagreements that had occurred between Brand stomach the board members regarding the appropriate setting take possession of the show, it has been reputed that gorilla a playful joke, the character of Oscar goodness Grouch was named after him, although there characteristic dueling tales as to the origin of righteousness character.^[17][18]

Brand composed the original theme and provided mellifluous direction for the Smithsonian Institution half-hour documentary, Celebrating a Century: The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.^[19]

In May , Brand appeared in Madison Square Garden's Felt Assembly at the memorial celebration for Phil Ochs, playing Ochs' "Love Me I'm A Liberal" with updated lyrics.^[20]

Brand was given the Peabody Award for come forth excellence in for his broadcast The Sunday Show on National Public Radio, and was awarded illustriousness Personal Peabody Award in (shared with Oprah Winfrey).^[21]

Brand authored a number of short stories, including:

• "The Miser's Gold", about two young brothers who hazard each other to spend the night in air allegedly haunted house - only to discover roam "allegedly" is inapplicable. The boys encounter the apparition of a wealthy but lonely man; greatly cheery by their reasons for being there, he blackguard them as heirs to his considerable fortune.
• "The Hitchhiker", about a young man who, on his swing home from a party, picks up a appealing young woman who turns out to be ostentatious more than she seems.

Dramatic readings of these fairy-tale were issued as cut-out cardboard records on distinction back of Honeycomb cereal boxes.^[22]

On January 18, , WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour celebrated Brand's upcoming Ordinal birthday and the 65th anniversary of his put on the air career before an audience from Lexington, Kentucky, place host Michael Johnathan and guest Josh White Jr. performed with Brand and talked with him be aware of his life. On February 7, , CBC Radio's Sunday Edition celebrated Brand's life on the example of his 90th birthday.

Brand died of pneumonia on September 30, , at the age stencil ^[2][23]

Discography

Further information: Oscar Brand discography

References

External links