This page catalogues many of the best war-related songs -- both anthemic and antiwar -- that I have heard. This list is of songs that are on albums which otherwise don't have war and wartime as their whole theme. A separate page reviews records that are mainly about war and antiwar propaganda songs.



Sea Shanties and Sailing Songs



Stan Hugill "Stan Hugill Reminisces - Shanties and Stories of Life Under Sail" (Greenwich Village, 1979)
An LP of spoken word and earting song by the author of Shanties From The Seven Seas, one of the great authoritative texts on the subject of sailing songs. I haven't heard this album, but I do know it exists.


Hyde Street Chantey Singers "Sea Songs & Chanteys" (Hyde Street, 2002)
This San Francisco-based vocal choir tackles all the big classics: "Away For Rio," "Paddy Lay Back," "Leave Her Johnny, Leave Her," etc., albeit in a fairly genteel, Irish Rovers-ish kinda way. This disc is alright, but it lacks the grittiness that marks the best best chanteys recordings.


The Twelve Buccaneers w/ Colin Wilkie and Shirley Hart "Shanties" (1972)



Books

"The Sea, Ships & Sailors: Poems, Songs and Shanties"
selected by William Cole, Illustrated by Robin Jacques
(1967)

Links

  • Roots & Rhythm mailorder has a nice selection of raunchy pre-war oldies available for sale. Good way to find some of these hard-to-find indie releases...

  • Africana.Com has a good article about gospel pioneer Thomas A. Dorsey, who is also credited as a co-creator of hokum blues. The essay describes, in slightly clinical terms, what the hokum blues were all about...

  • The Blue Pages has a truly encyclopedic overview of the "party record" genre, with copious information about many hokum blues and jazz artists as well... great resource!





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