Lee Hays facts for kids

Lee Elhardt Hays (born March 14, 1914 – died August 26, 1981) was an American folk singer and songwriter. He was best known for singing the low bass parts with the famous group The Weavers. Throughout his life, he cared deeply about fighting racism, unfairness, and violence.

Lee helped write popular songs like "Wasn't That a Time?", "If I Had a Hammer", and "Kisses Sweeter than Wine". These songs became very important for The Weavers. He also helped people learn about older songs from the 1930s labor movement, such as "We Shall Not Be Moved".

Early Life and Family

Lee Hays was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was the youngest of four children. His father, William Benjamin Hays, was a Methodist minister. His mother, Ellen Reinhardt Hays, was a court stenographer before she married.

Lee's family moved often because of his father's church work. As a child, Lee lived in different towns in Arkansas and Georgia. He learned to sing sacred harp music in his father's church. Both his parents loved learning and books.

A sad event happened when Lee was five years old. He saw public lynchings of African-Americans. This experience made him care deeply about fairness and justice for all people. His uncle, Vance Randolph, was a famous folklorist. This helped Lee develop his interest in folk music.

When Lee was thirteen, his father died in a car accident. Soon after, his mother became very ill and needed hospital care. Lee's older sister also had to stop teaching for a while. This was a very hard time for Lee and his family.

Teenage Years and Learning

After his father's death, Lee went to Emory Junior College in Georgia. He graduated in 1930 when he was sixteen. He then tried to go to Hendrix-Henderson College in Arkansas. But the family's money problems, made worse by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (a time when the economy was very bad), meant he couldn't afford it.

Instead, Lee moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He lived with his oldest brother, Reuben, who worked in banking. Reuben helped Lee get a job as a page in a public library. Lee used this chance to teach himself many things. He read books that were considered "unfit for children." Reading these books opened his mind to new ideas. He started to think about how society could be more fair.

He later moved to the Cleveland YMCA for two years.

Joining the Fight for Fairness

In 1934, Lee decided to return to Arkansas. He wanted to join Claude C. Williams, a minister who was working to help coal miners. Williams believed in racial equality and was trying to start a union for miners. Lee enrolled at the College of the Ozarks, hoping to become a minister and help poor people.

There, he met Zilphia Johnson (later Zilphia Horton). She was also working with Williams. Zilphia was a talented musician and singer. She had joined the union efforts, even though her father owned the coal mine Williams was trying to organize. Lee lived with Williams and his family, becoming his main helper. Williams became like a father figure to Lee.

Williams faced many challenges for his work. He was dismissed from his church and even jailed for trying to organize a march for farmers. After Williams moved to Little Rock for safety, Lee followed him.

Lee then visited Zilphia, who had married Myles Horton. Myles was a founder of the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. This school taught adults about labor organizing and social justice. Zilphia directed music, theater, and dance workshops at Highlander. She asked Lee to lead songs for a miners' union meeting. This was a big step for Lee, and he continued to lead songs from then on. He felt that Claude Williams and Zilphia Horton changed his life the most.

Lee saw how art, like plays and songs, could help people work together for change. He decided to go to New York to study playwriting.

Documentary Film and Play

In New York, Lee lived at the Judson Memorial Church. He and a friend, Alan Hacker, raised money to make a documentary film. The film was about the struggles of Southern sharecroppers (farmers who rented land and paid with a share of their crops). It also showed how groups like the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU) were trying to help. The STFU was one of the first unions to include both black and white members.

Lee and Alan learned from famous photographer Paul Strand. They filmed in Mississippi, even though they faced problems from local landowners. Their film, America's Disinherited, showed how singing helped build a movement. It showed black and white hands together, followed by strikers singing "Black and white together / We shall not be moved." The film was shown in schools and is now in the Museum of Modern Art archives. Sadly, Alan Hacker died shortly after the film was finished.

During this time, Lee also wrote a play called Gumbo about the STFU. It was performed at Highlander.

Commonwealth College and Music

In 1937, Claude Williams became the director of Commonwealth College in Mena Arkansas. This was a school for labor organizing. Williams hired Lee Hays to lead a theater program there. The school newspaper announced that Lee would teach "Workers' Dramatics." They noted his experience from Highlander and his film work.

At Commonwealth, Lee and his drama group created many plays. One of Lee's plays, One Bread, One Body, was very successful. He also put together a songbook of union songs based on hymns. A fellow student, Eli Jaffe, said Lee was "deeply religious and extremely creative." He believed strongly in "the Brotherhood of Man."

However, Lee's health began to suffer. Commonwealth College also faced many problems. It was often attacked by its neighbors and had money troubles. In 1940, Claude Williams was removed from his position, and the school soon closed.

The Almanac Singers and World War II

As Commonwealth College closed, Lee Hays moved to New York. He wanted to turn his collection of labor songs into a book. He stayed with poet Walter Lowenfels in Philadelphia. Lowenfels became another important mentor for Lee. Together, they later wrote the song "Wasn't That a Time?" Lee also started writing poems and articles about Arkansas folklore.

In New York, Lee became roommates with Millard Lampell and Pete Seeger. All three were interested in labor songs. They started singing together at left-wing events and called themselves the Almanac Singers. Other musicians like Woody Guthrie and Bess Lomax Hawes also joined the group at different times.

The Almanac Singers' first album, Songs for John Doe, came out in 1941. It had songs that spoke against war. At this time, many people were worried about the war in Europe. The group faced criticism for their views.

However, things changed quickly. When Germany attacked Russia in June 1941, and the U.S. began preparing for war, the Almanacs changed their focus. They started singing songs that supported the war effort. They performed at union halls and "hootenanies" (informal folk music gatherings). They even released an album called Dear Mr. President that strongly supported the war.

Despite this, their past reputation caused problems. Key members like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie joined the war effort. Lee Hays was not accepted into the Armed Forces due to a mild case of tuberculosis. The group eventually broke up.

People's Songs and The Weavers

After World War II ended, Lee Hays and Pete Seeger helped start a new group called People's Songs. Its goal was to create and share songs about workers and the American people. Pete Seeger was president, and Lee Hays was executive secretary. Lee felt his energy return in this new role. He encouraged friends like Fred Hellerman (who would later join The Weavers) to get involved.

Lee's old friend Waldemar Hille became the music editor for the People's Songs Bulletin. Zilphia Horton sent in a new favorite song: "We Shall Overcome". Lee wrote many new songs for the Bulletin himself.

Bernard Asbell, a member of People's Songs, remembered Lee's importance. He said Lee and Pete made folk music serve political purposes. Lee had a great sense of history and connected the music to American traditions. He was seen as the "philosopher of the folk music movement" and was also very funny.

However, Lee's co-workers sometimes found him difficult. In late 1946, Pete Seeger suggested someone else take over as executive secretary. Lee was very upset by this. He went back to Philadelphia to stay with Walter Lowenfels. From there, he wrote a weekly column for the Bulletin, teaching younger people about the labor and civil rights struggles of the 1930s.

In 1948, People's Songs supported Henry Wallace's presidential campaign. After Wallace lost, People's Songs went bankrupt. But a new group, People's Artists, continued.

Forming The Weavers

After the election, People's Songs decided to hold a fundraising "hootenanny" with folk dances. A group from People's Artists—Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert—worked together to provide music for the dances. They called their act "Around the World." The audience loved them.

In 1949, this new quartet started performing at events. They were first called "The No Name Quartet." Four months later, they chose their famous name: The Weavers.

The Weavers were present at a concert for Paul Robeson in Peekskill, New York, in 1949. After the show, a mob attacked the cars of the audience and performers. Lee Hays, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger escaped in a car. Lee wrote a song called "Hold the Line" about this event. The Weavers recorded it. The song "If I Had a Hammer", which Lee wrote with Pete Seeger, also came from this difficult time.

A few months later, The Weavers began performing at the Village Vanguard club. They became incredibly successful. Gordon Jenkins, a bandleader and director at Decca Records, loved their performances. He was especially charmed by Lee Hays's folksy stories from the Ozarks. Jenkins convinced Decca to record the group. The Weavers became huge hits, selling millions of records.

The Weavers and the Blacklist

In the 1950s, a period called the "Red Scare" began in the U.S. People were very worried about communism. Pete Seeger and other members of The Weavers were listed as possible "subversives" in a pamphlet called Red Channels. They were put on the Hollywood blacklist, which meant they couldn't work in entertainment. Lee Hays was also accused of being a member of the Communist Party.

Because of this, Decca Records stopped selling their music, and their songs were not played on the radio. They couldn't perform on TV or in most music venues. The Weavers broke up in 1952. Lee Hays used to joke that another entertainer named Lee Hayes (with an "e") was also banned because their names were so similar!

During these difficult years, Lee lived with the family of Earl Robinson, another artist affected by the blacklist. Lee wrote reviews and short stories. One of his stories, "Banquet and a Half," won a prize.

In 1955, Lee was called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He chose not to answer their questions, using his right under the Fifth Amendment.

Also in 1955, The Weavers had a sold-out reunion concert at Carnegie Hall. Their audience still loved them! The album of this concert, The Weavers at Carnegie Hall, became one of the best-selling albums of the year. This led to more tours and albums for the group.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1958, Lee Hays started recording children's albums with a group called the Baby Sitters. A young Alan Arkin was part of this group.

In the mid-1960s, the group Peter, Paul and Mary had a huge hit with their cover of "If I Had a Hammer." This meant Lee Hays received a lot of money from royalties (payments for his songs). This income helped him live comfortably, as his health had been poor for years.

In 1967, he moved to Croton-on-Hudson, New York. There, he enjoyed gardening, cooking, writing, and spending time with friends. He even appeared in the film Alice's Restaurant (1969), playing a preacher. The film was based on a popular song by Arlo Guthrie, the son of Lee's old friend Woody Guthrie.

Lee had always been overweight and was diagnosed with diabetes in 1960. This led to heart problems, and he needed a pacemaker. Later in his life, both of his legs had to be amputated. Younger friends helped take care of him.

Despite his health issues, Lee performed in several Weavers reunion concerts. His last concert with the group was in November 1980 at New York City's Carnegie Hall. His very last public performance was in June 1981 at the Hudson River Revival.

Lee Hays died on August 26, 1981, from heart problems related to his diabetes. He passed away at his home in Croton-on-Hudson. The documentary film The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!, which Lee had helped write, was released in 1982.

Near the end of his life, Lee wrote a farewell poem called "In Dead Earnest." It was a heartfelt message, showing his honest and down-to-earth personality.

External sources

• Coogan, Harold. "Lee Elhardt Hays (1914–1981)", Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.
• Courtney, Steve. "So long to Lee Hays" (Obituary). North County News, September 2–8, 1981. P. 7.
• Hays, Lee and Koppelman, Robert Steven, Editor. Sing out, warning! Sing out, Love!: The Writings of Lee Hays. Amherst, Mass., University of Massachusetts Press, 2003.
• Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage: Lee Hays Collection
• Houston, Cisco. Interviewed by Lee Hays in 1961. Website.
• Stambler, Irwin, and Grelun Landon, eds. The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country and Western Music. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983.
• [Wilson, John S.] "Singer Lee Hays, Founder of the Weavers Quartet" (Obituary). Pittsburgh Post Gazette. (New York Times News Service, August 27, 1981. p.27)
• Willens, Doris. The Lonesome Traveler: A Biography of Lee Hays. Introduction by Pete Seeger. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1988.
• The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time! Warner Brothers, 1982. Film.