The Sounds of Washington Square Park in 1962
On a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1962, a tourist venturing through Washington Square Park would find it packed with singers, banjo pickers, and guitar strummers all playing folk music. The park was generally “packed in so tight, you can’t even lay a guitar case down flat.”
These “citybillies” were mostly students, transplanting a little piece of Tennessee to Greenwich Village. It was a good and cheap way to spend a Sunday afternoon, according to Major Wiley, and might even be a chance to meet a charming young lady or man.
A year before, performing in Washington Square Park required a permit - something that was not given out frequently to folksingers especially. Izzy Young, featured in the recording, says that "all music belongs to the city," including folk. A protest was held and a song was written in response to defend the right to make music in Washington Square, declaring that “this square is your square, this square is my square.”
Included are other raw clips of music that might be heard in the park - anything from blues and bongos to Spanish guitar. The person who recorded these clips left a typewritten sheet of notes telling which ones to use in the final version. The first clip was labeled by the recorder as "solo guitar w. rich negro voice - blues" and the second recording was labeled "'La Seine' mandolin and voice - not too bad".
Listen here:
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