Songs of Free Men

Songs of Free Men
Studio album by
Paul Robeson
Released1943
Recorded1942
LabelColumbia Masterworks
Paul Robeson chronology
Chee Lai – Songs of New China
(1941) 		Songs of Free Men
(1943) 		Spirituals
(1946)
Songs of Free Men (1943)
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboardpositive[1]
Songs of Free Men / Spirituals
(budget LP, 1968)
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboard[2]

Songs of Free Men is a studio album by Paul Robeson, recorded in early 1942 and released on Columbia Masterworks in 1943.

Track listing

The album was originally issued in 1943 as a set of four 10-inch 78-r.p.m. records, catalog number MM 543.[3]

No.TitleWriter(s)CommentsLength
1."From Border to Border" (from Quiet Flows the Don)DzerzhinkySung in English and Russian 
2."Oh, How Proud Our Quiet Don" (from Quiet Flows the Don)DzerzhinkySung in English and Russian 
3."The Purest Kind of a Guy" ("Joe's Birthday Song" from No for an Answer)BlitzsteinSung in English 
4."Joe Hill"
Sung in English 
5."The Peat-Bog Soldiers" ("Moorsoldaten": song from a German concentration camp) Sung in English and German 
6."The Four Insurgent Generals" (Spanish loyalist song)Arr. EislerSung in English and Spanish 
7."Native Land"DunayevskySung in Russian and English 
8."Song of the Plains"Arr. KnipperSung in English and Russian ("Polyushko-pole") 

Charts

Songs of Free Men (1998)
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]

In 1997, the album had a re-release on CD with 17 additional tracks including "Ol' Man River" from Showboat.[5] It charted on Billboard's classical albums chart at number 47.[6] Later, in the critics' poll published at the end of the year, the magazine's editor-in-chief Timothy White would list it among the best albums of 1998, at number 10 (tied with another Robeson's album, The Peace Arc Concerts).[7]

Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Top Classical Albums (Billboard)[6] 47

References

  1. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 27, 1943. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 21, 1968. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Paul Robeson - Songs Of Free Men". Discogs. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "Paul Robeson - Songs of Free Men: Recital". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Paul Robeson - Songs Of Free Men". Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via www.discogs.com.
  6. ^ a b "Paul Robeson Chart History (Top Classical Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  7. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 26, 1998. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Google Books.


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