At the laying of Carnegie Hall's cornerstone in 1890, Andrew Carnegie said that "all good causes may here find a platform." At no time during Carnegie Hall's history were those words better represented than in the 1960s when voices were raised in protest, singing out to be heard. Throughout this pivotal decade, among the more than 3,600 events, was an extraordinary variety of benefits and tributes for social causes that used Carnegie Hall's stage as a platform from which to raise funds or awareness.
Sing Out! The 1960s at
Carnegie Hall, a special exhibit focusing on historic events that took place at
Carnegie Hall in the 1960s, is on display in the Hall's Rose Museum through April 30, 2018, as part of the Hall's citywide
The '60s: The Years that Changed America festival. Admission is free.
The exhibit-which includes a number of original artifacts, some on view to the public for the first time in 50 years-highlights 16 key musical and non-musical events at the Hall during this tumultuous decade when artists and crusaders representing various perspectives called out for social justice. The artifacts in the exhibit have been assembled from the
Carnegie Hall Archives and on loan from private individuals and collectors, including folk singer Barbara Dane, Bill Pagel-one of the largest collectors of
Bob Dylan material in the world-and graphic artist
Paul Davis. The events featured include a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., organized by
Maya Angelou and Sammy Davis, Jr. with an all-star roster, including
Tony Bennett,
Harry Belafonte;
Mahalia Jackson,
Carmen McRae, and
Sidney Poitier; a benefit concert for Cesar Chavez and the California Grape Workers, organized by
Gloria Steinem; an evening with the most outspoken African American comedian of his day,
Dick Gregory, and the Freedom Singers, benefiting the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; A Sing-In for Peace-considered the first musical protest against the Vietnam War-organized by folk singer Barbara Dane and husband Irwin Silber, co-founder and editor of Sing Out! magazine; a concert featuring Louis X (Louis Farrakhan, Sr.), head of the Nation of Islam who performed his original composition "Orgena" (the words "a negro" spelled backwards), a satire on blacks being integrated into white society; and Nina Simone's 1964 concert during which she sang "Mississippi Goddam," written by her in response to the 1963 murders of Medgar Evers, head of the NAACP in Mississippi and four young children at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Alabama. Simone performed in front of a mostly white audience, which changed her career and made her become a vocal member of the Civil Rights Movement. The event was recorded live and "Mississippi Goddam" was released as a single, quickly becoming an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement.
Featured in the display are two original pieces handwritten by
Bob Dylan: the lyrics to Dylan's song "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" (which he performed at
Carnegie Hall in 1965) and a stanza of
Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," written out by Dylan with his signature, as well as the first printing of Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind, which was featured in Sing Out! magazine." Also on display will be a first edition of We Shall Overcome, which was heard in
Carnegie Hall for the first time at a benefit for the Highlander Folk School and became the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and
Pete Seeger's live recording made in June 1963, considered by many historians as a landmark event showcasing songs as a means of political protest.
Carnegie Hall's Rose Museum is located at 154 West 57th Street on the second floor.
The Museum is open seven days a week, 11:00AM-4:30PM from October through June. (Also available evenings to Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage concert patrons).
Admission is free.
The '60s: The Years that Changed America
Carnegie Hall's citywide '60s festival (through March 24, 2018) explores the turbulent spirit of this defining decade through the lens of arts and culture, including music's role as a meaningful vehicle to inspire social change. As many of the hard-won victories of the 1960s are being debated, for this ambitious festival
Carnegie Hall turned for the first time to a figure outside the music world-Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Robert A. Caro, famed biographer of Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson-for inspiration to present a festival examining this pivotal decade. The '60s festival has featured an extraordinary selection of more than 50 events across the arts and culture spectrum, including music, dance, exhibitions, talks, films, and family programming as well as radio and digital offerings presented by more than 35 festival partner organizations across the city and beyond.
For the complete schedule of programming for The '60s: The Years that Changed America, through March 24, 2018, visit
carnegiehall.org/60s
Funded by the Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation and opened in 1991, the Rose Museum chronicles Carnegie Hall's history and exhibits the Hall's archival treasures to the public. The museum's permanent exhibit contains a chronology of events from 1891 to the present, a history of the building, and items related to the many notable figures who have walked through the Hall's doors.
Support for The '60s: The Years that Changed America is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of
Carnegie Hall.
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