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June 9, 2015

Folk Singer Ronnie Gilbert, Co-Founder of the Weavers, Dies at 88 
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Folk music fans are mourning the death of singer Ronnie Gilbert, one of
four founding members of the Weavers, who helped popularize folk music
and bring its message of social change to the world. In a documentary
called "The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time," Ronnie Gilbert recalled the
period around the Weavers' founding after World War II, saying "We still
had the feeling that if we could sing loud enough and strong enough and
hopefully enough, it would make a difference." The Weavers were targeted
by anti-Communist fervor, investigated by the Senate Internal Security
Subcommittee, and blacklisted. Fellow Weavers member Pete Seeger, who
died last year, praised Ronnie Gilbert during an interview on Democracy
Now! In 2004 as he remembered the founding of the Weavers.

Pete Seeger: "And we were fortunate to run into one of the world’s
greatest singers, Ronnie Gilbert. She was in her early twenties,
beautiful alto voice, and a strong alto voice. I’d have to be two
inches from the microphone. She could be two feet from the microphone,
and she’d drown me out."

Ronnie Gilbert died on Saturday at a retirement community in the
California Bay Area suburb of Mill Valley at the age of 88. Her death
was confirmed by her partner Donna Korones, whom she married in 2004,
during a brief window when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed
same-sex marriages. Their marriage was later invalidated by the
California Supreme Court.

 

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