Intended to give voice to union workers during the progressive era, the song was written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes in 1949. The Hammer Song was the breakout hit for their musical group The Weavers and released on their label, Hootenanny Records, in March of 1950. The song paved way for their commercial success, leading to hits “Kisses Sweeter than Wine,” and “Wimoweh,”

The song’s original intent spoke well to the civil rights movement, and also helped to kickstart another group’s career. Peter, Paul and Mary’s 1962 version was their first big hit…their next was Puff the Magic Dragon.

This episode was co-written by Kelsey Francella, part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership.

Photo credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Pete_Seeger_1986.jpg