Written by: Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons

She was the only girl among the boys.

Ronnie Gilbert would’ve stood out anyway, with her big voice. In a series of videos done with Snader Telescriptions, she wore an evening gown. I’m not making this up; she wore an evening gown with a choker while singing with Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Pete Seeger, singing “Good Night Irene” and “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You.” Of course it was 1951, so folk singers weren’t doing the straight long-hair-wearing-turtlenecks yet. So it wasn’t odd to see a folk singer wearing this beautiful evening gown, singing with the boys. They were the Weavers, one of the most popular music groups in the late forties/early fifties.

She had cofounded the Weavers with Seeger in the late 40’s. Their song “Tzena Tzena Tzena” was number one for thirteen weeks. Thirteen weeks! The thing is, I know this song from Anne Lamott’s Hard Laughter, when the narrator and a family friend started dancing to the song in the family living room. When Irene McGee played “Good Night Irene” on The Real World, I said aloud, “Oh my God! They’re playing the Weavers on MTV!”

Their mainstream success was darkened by the black list. They were told to not sing their most “liberal” songs because of Joe McCarthy’s scare tactics. Better dead than red! They refused, not wanting their message to go unheard. Seeger and Hays went to testify before the House of Un-American Activities, but Hays pled the Fifth and Seeger cited the First Amendment in refusing to testify. All four of them were placed on a FBI watch. Their music couldn’t be played on the radio or television. Decca Records canceled their contract. Now I wonder if they felt so alone. They couldn’t complain on Twitter what was going on. There was no Amy Goodman to interview them on Democracy Now. From a commercial standpoint, their careers never recovered.

However, the Red Scare died down. In 1955 they performed a sold out concert at Carnegie Hall. Vanguard signed them a new contract, but Seeger objected to singing a rock and roll song, and then quit the group altogether when they were asked to do a cigarette commercial. While the group kept on making records, it wasn’t the same without their co-founder.

In 1980, Lee Hays was of ill health. Knowing he wasn’t going to live much longer, he convinced his Weavers group members to do another concert at Carnegie Hall. They did. It was sold out, with baby boomers, their parents, and grandkids going to see the Weavers. They sang all the old songs but mixed it up and sang a Holly Near song as well. The experience became a wonderful documentary called The Weavers: Wasn’t That a Time! Lee Hays died a year later, with his ashes mixed in with his compost heap (At his request)

Gilbert moved to the Bay Area. She was always around, doing concerts with Holly Near, speaking at rallies. In 1994 she did an one woman show playing the activist Mother Jones. She kept playing countless music festivals, singing her heart out. In 2004, she married her manager Donna Korones. Mayor Gavin Newsom performed the ceremony. No doubt at the reception, there was music. Lots and lots of singing.

When I heard about Gilbert dying, I thought oh no. Pete Seeger died the year before, so the last surviving member of the Weavers is Fred Hellerman at age eighty-eight. For me though, it was the end of the era. Near where I write, I have a picture of the Weavers in 1950. Their mouths are open in mid-song. They look incredibly beautiful and brave. They remind me that when people object to reading Alison Bendel’s Fun House on religious grounds or Donald Trump making fun of Megyn Kelly, the bravest thing you can do is speak out.

Or in their case, sing out.