MALVINA REYNOLDS

'Malvina Reynolds' (born as Malvina Milder on August 23,1900, died March 17, 1978) was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, probably best known for writing the song "Little Boxes".^[1]

Contents

Early life

Music career

References

External links

Early life

Born in San Francisco to two Jewish immigrants and socialist opponents of World War I, Malvina Milder married William Reynolds, a carpenter and devout communist organizer, in 1934 and had one child, Nancy, in 1935. She had earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and later went on to earn her doctorate there, finishing her dissertation in 1938.

Music career

Though she played violin in a dance band in her twenties, she began her songwriting career late in life. She was in her late 40s when she met Earl Robinson, Pete Seeger and other folk singers and songwriters. She returned to school at UC Berkeley, where she studied music theory. She went on to write several popular songs, including "Little Boxes" (about suburban living, said to be inspired by Daly City, California), "What Have They Done to the Rain", recorded by Joan Baez(about nuclear fallout), "It Isn't Nice" (a civil rights anthem), "Turn Around" (about children growing up, later sung by Harry Belafonte), and "There's a Bottom Below" (about being depressed). Reynolds was also a noted composer of children's songs, including "Magic Penny" and "Morningtown Ride", a #1 UK single (December 66) recorded by The Seekers.
Only two collections of her music are available on compact disc, both on the Smithsonian Folkways label, ''Another County Heard From'' (Folkways 02524) and ''Ear to the Ground'' (Smithsonian Folkways 40124).
A film biography, ''Love It Like a Fool,'' was made a few years before she died in 1978.
Reynolds' most famous song, "Little Boxes" (made famous by Pete Seeger), has enjoyed renewed popularity by being featured in Showtime's TV series ''Weeds''.
As Malvina Reynolds explained at a concert, (paraphrasing) "I was once introduced as the woman who'd written so many songs, she must write one every day before breakfast. That wasn't true, so one morning I decided I better write a song before breakfast, and out came 'Little Boxes'."

References

1. Biography at Western Kentucky University by Charles H. Smith and Nancy Schimmel - Accessed Nov 2006

External links

★ Biography at Sister's Choice

★ Memories of her mother, by Malvina Reynolds' daughter

★ Smithsonian Folkways- Malvina Reynolds

★ Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems

★ Complete discography