Actor, writer, and social activist Ian Ruskin has released a new two-hour documentary on the life of Barbara Dane. Titled, “A Wild Woman Sings the Blues: the Life and Music of Barbara Dane,” the documentary includes interviews with several musicians and others who know Dane well.
Theo Gonzalves, Associate Professor and Chair of American Studies, was interviewed for the project and appears in the documentary. Gonzalves is a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, working with the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. His project, “Singing Truth to Power: The Story of Paredon Records,” traces the cultural history of a record label whose output of recorded music and speeches documented revolutionary movements throughout the globe. Dane founded Paredon Records in 1970 and produced 50 albums that Gonzalves is studying as part of his project.
Other interviews in the documentary include Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Irwin Silber, Holly Near, James Early, and many more. For more information on the documentary, click here. To read a UMBC Magazine story about Gonzalves’s project, click here.
Tags: AmericanStudies, CAHSS
