On today’s show I speak with folk musician and pioneering radio host Oscar Brand, who celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this year. Happy birthday Oscar!
Oscar Brand is the host of Folksong Festival on WNYC, a radio show which he has hosted since he got out of the army in 1945. I believe Folksong Festival to be the longest running radio program with a single host in the world! Oscar has had many many incredible guests on the show over these many years, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Jean Ritchie, Bob Dylan, everyone you can think of and more…an amazing program. It was great to hear his reminiscences of these people and the history of his program as we recorded this interview at his home in 2008.
Brand is a man of many talents, he is a very well known folk singer and a great wealth of songs on every topic imaginable, including bawdy songs and campaign songs! He was a founder back in 1959 and then the MC of the Newport Folk Festival. As an MC he was lucky enough to introduce both Jean Ritchie at her debut performance at the first ever Hootenany at Irving Plaza back in the 40’s, and then in 1959 introduced Joan Baez to a mass audience in her first appearance at Newport. Oscar is an old old friend of Down Home Radio founder Henrietta Yurchenco. They had the first folk music radio programs in New York back in the 1940’s.
A big thanks to Steve French for editing the audio of this interview.
You can hear Oscar Brand’s Folksong Festival program by clicking HERE.
[George Pickow, Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand at WNYC in New York City, 1947]
A Special Treat:
On Thanksgivings over the years Oscar Brand would always have whatever traveling folk singers that happened to be in town over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner. In 1966 he had Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Jean Ritchie, Ralph Rinzler, Mike Seeger and Almeda Riddle and others at his house. Oscar broke out his tape recorder and they made some really great recordings, posted here as an extra special treat! – He airs these recordings on his show every year at Thanksgiving, but here they are now, recorded from one of his broadcasts.
[Me and Oscar at the Alan Lomax memorial conference at Cooper Union in 2003.]
from tokyo
i listen to this.
thanks
kiyohide
When I was growing up my mother used to check out the “Oscar Brand celebrates the First Thanksgiving” from the local for every Thanksgiving. My family loved it. Now, I have a son of my own and it turns out that this is one of his rarest recordings and not one copy is to be found. In honor of thanksgiving, I hope that somewhere, someone would record it onto a digital format and release it for the public to enjoy even if it is a stream. Thank you, Jacob
I listened to the original, as I am his daughter, named for Jean Ritchie my godmother. Dad is doing great at 93 and the show is still on WNYC.org every Sat.Night at 10.
The only place that recording can be heard.
Jean..Please wish Oscar Brand happy belated 93th Birthday.As you may know, I opened the Pete Seeger 90th Birthday Show at Madison Sq. Garden with our Native People on May 3rd, 2009. I have always worked with Pete on the Clearwater since 1969 until his death on Jan. 27, 2014. I spoke to him about Oscar when we were writing some songs together last Sept. 2013, he truly did love Oscar no matter there disagreements. I’m now writing the story of Pete and my life and in the Village with everyone such as Dylan, Ginsberg, etc., But one of the most memorable Radio Shows I was in was with Oscar was at the Cooper Union,1979? He always gave me hope and supported me in my life and would record me on his radio shows, and I sincerely want to thank him… Always Thanks forever.. Roland Mousaa
Looking for lyrics and tune to a song Oscar Brand sang about 45 yrs ago with Bill Monroe and Jean Ritchie… some words go: “When the black lung gets you, it’s the kiss of death” any help? thanks, Mel