20 Favourite Songs & Transatlantic Exchange Concert

The story of how the tapes of the 20 songs recorded in March of 1954 came to be “re-discovered” is interesting. They were originally given by Paul Robeson to the late Peter Blackman, a man of Barbadian descent who was an active trade unionist and socialist poet in England. He is best remembered for his pamphlet of poems “My song is for all men”, and it is obvious that there was a close affinity between him and Paul Robeson on many counts. On his passing, his son, also named Peter Blackman, found the tapes among his belongings, and loaned them to Mike Lewis a retired BBC engineer who is the brother of Roger Lewis, Secretary of the South Wales Miners’ Eisteddfod. Mike’s connection with the tapes go further, as he was a member of the Treorchy Male Voice Choir which sang at Porthcawl’s Grand Pavilion on October 5th, 1957, when Paul Robeson made his historic and defiant “Transatlantic Exchange” broadcast. This CD contains the 20 tracks included on those tapes given by Paul Robeson to Peter Blackman, and also a new version of the actual Transatlantic Exchange concert itself. The songs sung by Paul Robeson during that historic event are taken from the tapes recorded during the broadcast in the studio in New York, rather than the version heard over the telephone in the Grand Pavilion, which explains why they are “cleaner” than any version issued before now. We are extremely grateful to Mike Price for the professional work he made on all these tracks, to ensure they can now be enjoyed in optimum conditions.

CD1: (20 Songs):   CD2: (The “Transatlantic Exchange” Concert):

1. Didn’t my lord deliver Daniel?
2. Kevin Barry
3. Ode to joy,
4. There’s a man going round takin’ names
5. Song of the Warsaw Ghetto
6. The Volga Boat Song
7. John Brown’s body
8. Madrid
9. Joe Hill
10. Ol’ man river
11. Crimson petal
12. Spanish lullaby
13. Night
14. All through the night
15. Oh mistress mine
16. Turn ye to me
17. The Minstrel Boy
18. Riddle song
19. What is America to me?
20. Danny Boy

CD2: (The “Transatlantic Exchange” Concert):

21. John Humphrys: Introduction
22. Wil Paynter
23. Paul Robeson: greetings from New York
24. Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel?
25. All through the night
26. This little light of mine
27. Ode to Joy
28. Lullaby (Schubert)
29. Wil Paynter
30. Treorci Male Choir: Y Delyn Aur
31. Paul Robeson: thanks
32. Wil Paynter/Paul Robeson: Land of my fathers
33. We’ll keep a welcome
34. John Humphrys: end piece