Paul Robeson - black singer, actor and activist

[watervole]

 Last night, I watched 'The Proud Valley' which I'd recorded from Talking Pictures (a very useful channel for old movies).

From the brief plot blurb - black American miner comes to Welsh mine (or words to that effect) - I had hoped that it might involve Paul Robeson, and indeed it did.

It was filmed in 1940 and must have been almost unique at that time in having a black hero as the protagonist.

Paul had a long-standing relationship with the Welsh miners, which was why I thought he might be in the film.

Virtually the first song I every heard of his was 'Land of my Fathers' and I wondered then why an American was singing this song with such incredible feeling.

It was because he meant every word of it.

Watch on YouTube

This article here gives a good overview of his life and his relationship with the Welsh, which began when he met a group of Welsh miners which he was performing in London.

He had the most amazing male voice I've ever heard.

 

The song he was probably best know for was 'Old Man River'.  

Watch on YouTube

 

There are many more of his songs out there.  Go and listen!

Comments

[lexin]

That version of "Land of My Fathers" is splendid. So moving.

[watervole]

That was the song that hooked me to go and find more of his music, and eventually to learn more about his life.

He qualified as a lawyer, but white clients would not accept a black lawyer.

[igenlode]

I've seen that one (rated it 8/10); it's a good film.

[watervole]

It's an okay film. The plot is a bit predictable, but there's some fantastic singing and the black guy gets to be popular, seized on with glee by the Welsh choir master, intelligent, and dies heroically to save his friends.

I'll probably watch it again, if for nothing else to enjoy the moment when he breaks out in to 'Lord God of Abraham'.

[igenlode]

I saw it as part of a "Paul Robeson season" at the National Film Theatre, and as I recall it was the only one of those films that I'd actively have suggested that a friend buy a ticket for -- and the only one that actually got under my skin emotionally.

"Song of Freedom" gets a bit silly (Robeson's dock worker has a subconscious mystical connection with his 'African roots' and turns out to be a long-lost king with a genetic memory of his ancestral tribe), and suffers from the fact that Robeson, however good his voice, is very obviously *not* the trained opera singer the story requires him to be.

I think the best of the rest was "Jericho", where he plays an American GI who escapes an unjust court-martial and ends up posing as a French Zouave and finding himself in North Africa; there's an interesting set-up between him and the conscientious white officer who tries to see justice done and instead ends up paying the price for his escape. But as I recall that film does also get a bit silly towards the end; "The Proud Valley" is the only one that's really consistent in quality.

[watervole]

Agreed. Robeson's strength was in American folk songs and spirituals. Not opera.

[igenlode]

Yes, it's a terrific folk singer's voice (which as a style I actually prefer).

[watervole]

Absolutely. I'm a folkie through and through, which is one reason I so enjoy his singing.

I also have a soft spot for male voice choirs.