The Weavers

The Weavers were an immensely popular and influential folk music quartet from Greenwich Village, New York, United States.

The Weavers group was formed in 1947 by Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Ha

The Weavers were an immensely popular and influential folk music quartet from Greenwich Village, New York, United States.

The Weavers group was formed in 1947 by Ronnie Gilbert, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Pete Seeger. A fifth member, Eric Darling, sometimes sat in with the group when Seeger was unavailable. The name came from an 1892 drama of the same name by Gerhart Hauptmann. After a period of finding themselves unable to find much, if any paid work, they finally achieved a performance slot at the jazz club the Village Vanguard. This led to their discovery by arranger Gordon Jenkins and their signing with Decca Records. The group had a big hit in 1949 with Leadbelly's Goodnight Irene, backed with the Jewish traditional folk song Tzena, Tzena.