The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane

It always amazes me how so many talented, amazing folks, who were successful and well respected in their day have been either just plain forgotten or whose presence and influence have deliberately been suppressed. Barbara Dane is one of those people . This film shows that this immensely talented singer , who did folk , blues ,and jazz music so well and with some of the biggest names in music , like Louis Armstrong , Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt , has been unappreciated by today's audiences.

The documentary posits two reasons for this. One is very politically active life being involved in every major movement in the US from the 1950's to her death last year. Whether it was singing to anti war veterans or organizing musicians to accompany freedom riders in the South Barbara was involved. This led to her being stalked by the FBI et al. The other reason was that stardom was not her ambition , a good song and a sense of community was all she needed.

She was an amazing woman and this film demonstrates how and why. The documentary is not groundbreaking in its style but is in its subject. Learn more about this woman named Barbara Dane and learn about the U. S. A and the social justice movements that shaped its history over the past seventy years.