Len Hunt Chandler, Jr. (born May 27, 1935), better known as Len Chandler, is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

musician from

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Biography

He showed an early interest in music and began playing

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

at age 8. Studying classical music in his early teens, he learned to play the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

so he could join the high school band, and during his senior year joined the Akron Symphony Orchestra. He eventually earned his B.A. in Music Education from the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

, moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and received an M.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. By the early 1960s, Chandler began to get involved in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

. He sang at demonstrations and rallies and won a reputation as a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

writer. One of his most famous songs was " Beans in My Ears", which was covered by the

Serendipity Singers The Serendipity Singers were a 1960s American folk group, similar to The New Christy Minstrels. Their debut single " Don't Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)" was a Top Ten hit and received the group's only Grammy nomination in 1965. The ...

, as well as

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

. He also served as one of the original crew members of Seeger's CLEARWATER organization, working to save the environment around the

Hudson River Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to Yo ...

. One of Chandler's song entitled "Run Come See the Sun", was sung by Pete Seeger at the Sanders Theater in Boston in the year 1980. This song had a repeated phrase, which built up the harmony as well. (Source: Pete Seeger concert at the Sanders Theater, released on Smithsonian Folkways Records.) Chandler was also a performer in the traveling anti-war troupe ''

F.T.A. ''F.T.A.'' is a 1972 United States, American documentary film starring Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland and directed by Francine Parker, which follows a 1971 Opposition to the US involvement in the Vietnam War, anti-Vietnam War road show for G.I ...

'', which was organized by Jane Fonda in 1971. With

Holly Near Holly Near (born June 6, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Early years Holly Near was born in Ukiah, California, United States, and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She was eight years ...

and Rita Martinson, the group toured the United States and bases throughout the Pacific Rim. The travels were filmed, however the documentary was pulled from theatres a week after its release due to the controversy surrounding Fonda's visit to Hanoi. After penning topical material related to the Original Black Panther Party,

Lew Irwin Lew Irwin has been a Los Angeles-based journalist for more than 50 years. He was the original anchor/reporter at KABC-TV from 1957–1962 and the news director of Los Angeles radio stations KPOL, KRLA, KDAY, and KNX-FM. While at KRLA in the late 1 ...

brought him to

KRLA 1110 KRDC (1110 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles as a full-time simulcast of ESPN Radio affiliate KSPN. The station is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company and is th ...

to write three topical songs a day for their radio program, ''

The Credibility Gap The Credibility Gap was an American satirical comedy team active from 1968 through 1979. They emerged in the late 1960s delivering comedic commentary on the news for the Los Angeles AM rock radio station KRLA 1110, and proceeded to develop more ela ...

'', which released some of his songs, including "Soul in Ice", on their record ''An Album Of Political Pornography''. At

KRLA KRLA (870 kHz) "AM 870 The Answer" is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Glendale, California, it serves Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, which al ...

he also wrote and recorded the short theme song "The Chronicles of Pop" for the

Pop Chronicles The ''Pop Chronicles'' are two radio documentary series which together "may constitute the most complete audio history of 1940s–60s popular music." They originally aired starting in 1969 and concluded about 1974. Both were produced by John ...

radio program. In the early 1970s, he formed the Alternative Chorus-Songwriters Showcase to promote new talent. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in the mid-1970s. Len Chandlers' song "Keep On Keepin' On" of 1964 was used by Martin Luther King Jr. in a speech after King's secretary saw the song in New York Broadside issue 34.

Discography

*1967 - ''To Be a Man'' ( Columbia CS 9259) *1967 - ''The Lovin' People'' (Columbia CS 9553 - stereo, CL 2753 - mono) *1968 - ''An Album Of Political Pornography'', with Lew Irwin and The Credibility Gap (

Blue Thumb Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when o ...

)

References

External links

Illustrated Len Chandler discography
*
Pop Chronicles Interviews #153 - Len Chandler
November 7, 1968. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Len 1935 births American folk musicians Musicians from Akron, Ohio University of Akron alumni Living people