Paul Robeson

Here is a famous song performed live in Moscow in 1949 by the legendary Paul Robeson.
Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was an American actor, athlete, singer, writer, civil rights activist, and a great humanist. Son of a slave, Paul graduated with honors from his high school in Somerville, New Jersey, where he excelled academically, and participated in singing, acting, and athletics. Robeson later studied law at Columbia and African history and languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London. Robeson found fame as an actor and singer with his fine bass-baritone voice. He is one of the few true basses in American music, his beautiful and powerful voice descending as low as a C below the bass clef. In addition to his stage performances, his renditions of old Negro spirituals were acclaimed. Robeson also became interested in the folk music of the world. He came to be conversant with 20 languages, fluent or near fluent in 12. His standard reportoire after the 1920's included songs in many languages (e.g., Chinese, Russian, Yiddish, German, etc.). Between 1925 and 1942 Robeson appeared in eleven films, in the UK and the USA (Song of freedom, The proud valley, The Emperor Jones, Show boat, King Solomon's mines, Jericho, etc.).
In June 1949 during the 150th anniversary celebration of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, Robeson visited Russia to sing in concert and was given a warm public welcome. Robeson remains a celebrated figure in Wales. A number of Welsh artists have celebrated Robeson's life. In 1958, Robeson's 60th birthday was celebrated in several US cities and twenty-seven countries across Europe, the Soviet Union, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Over 3000 people gathered in Carnegie Hall to salute Robeson's 75th birthday, including Dizzy Gillespie, Odetta, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte (who also produced the show). In 1976, at the age of 77, Paul Robeson died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. In 1998, he received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2004, the United States Postal Service honored Robeson with a stamp in the Black Heritage series.
Listen to Paul Robeson's deep voice and enjoy this fantastic performance!

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