U.S. Child Labor, Dorsey Dixon, Babies In The Mill, Newport

The music for this video is from Dorsey Dixon, the songwriter of Babies In The Mill. Dorsey sings and accompanies himself on the guitar on this song as he did on all of his recordings on this CD.

This cut of Babies In The Mill was released as one of 19 songs written by Dorsey Dixon on the CD: Babies In The Mill, Carolina Traditional, Industrial, Sacred Songs, 1997, HMG Hightone Records.

Dorsey also recorded with his younger brother Howard Dixon, as the duo The Dixon Brothers. I knew Dorsey personally as a child, and oh if I knew then, what I know now!!!!

This clip documents a dark part of the history of the United States as mostly seen through the lens of photographer Lewis W. Hine. American child labor was prolific in southern cotton mills and all kinds of other industries in other parts of the country. This video doccuments the period of approximately 1900-1920.

Dorsey Dixon was a great songwriter who also happened to have been forced to work in a cotton mill as a young teen. He knew all of the 'ins and outs' of that time in history. Dixon wrote Babies In The Mill as a 'memory song' remembering his time as a child working in a cotton mill.

Dixon also penned the Bluegrass standard 'Wreck On The Highway', cut by Roy Acuff. Babies In The Mill is one of Dixon's best songs, IMHO - even more to my liking than Wreck On The Highway.

Dixon was a socio-religious activist, poet, textile worker, noted guitarist and songwriter who called both North and South Carolina home.

The highlight of his career (per critics), was performing along with others on the bill, including Bob Dylan, Doc Watson and Maybelle Carter, at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963. Newport happened for Dorsey just five years prior to his death. Dixon's Newport live performance was released on vinyl by Vanguard Records (Old Time Music At Newport).

Dorsey Dixon lived in my hometown, was a friend of my father's and performed often at my grandfather's church. He also played music with my father, who was a piano player, in our living room.

Dorsey did not gain any significant royalties from 'Wreck On The Highway', even though Acuff's first release of Wreck On The Highway was a hit record. At that time Acuff had assigned himself 'the songwriting credit' and received all royalties generated by the cut.

A live version of Roy Acuff's 'Wreck On The Highway' was included in the original 1972, widely aclaimed release, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken'. Unfortunately, the liner notes listed 'Dorothy Dixon' as the songwriter of Wreck On The Highway. This LP was released 4 years after Dorsey Dixon's death.

Just to set the record straight, Wreck On The Highway (or as first recorded in 1938 by The Dixon Brothers as 'I Didn't Hear Anybody Pray'), was written by Dorsey Dixon, not Roy Acuff as Acuff claimed for a number of years. Roy Acuff ripped it off from Dixon and later had to pay Dorsey a settlement, which according to my father, amounted to about $80 bucks! Talk about injustice!

Dixon also penned another favorite, 'Intoxicated Rat'.

I've been able to find most all of Dorsey & The Dixon Brother's music on CD. Just google Dorsey Dixon and The Dixon Brothers and you'll come up with hits of where to purchase the CD's.

Dorsey would want to be remembered as first a Christian, (being a deeply religious Free Will Baptist) and lastly as an activist through his music.

Rest In Peace dearest, sweet Dorsey and know that you will never be forgotton if I have anything to do with it ...

Category:

Music

Tags:

• American
• Child Labor
• Child Labour
• Dorsey Dixon
• Americana
• Babies In The Mill
• Textiles
• Newport Folk Festival
• 1963
• Country
• Bluegrass
• greenteawoman
• Dixon Brothers
• Cotton Mill
• lintheads
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Traditional
• Piedmont
• Hillbilly
• Lewis W. Hine
• Lewis Hine
• photographs
• photography

[mashtones]

The Gastonia Gallop: Cotton Mills Songs & Hillbilly Blues- available on Amazon- is a collection of other songs by similar artists reflecting on life in the piedmont textile mills.

Linthead Stomp- The Creation Of Country Music In The Piedmont South is a book by Patrick Huber explores the relationship of the mills and the old time music. Wonderful video and post thanks.

[greanteawoman]

Thanks to you mashtones, I finally got around to ordering Linthead Stomp yesterday. It should be here in a week. I am very excited about getting the book. There is also a series of vids here on YT of a symposium Patrick Huber did at UNC talking about writing Linthead Stomp as part of his dissertation for a PhD in history. He plays some of the songs during his presentation. Great viewing and thank you so much for telling me about the book and CD. I am also going to order The Gastonia Gallop.

[taggline]

"Come out of bed little sleepy heads..." This work answers a whole raft of questions for me. As a dad and child rights advocate, this tune and the incredible photographic essay, speak volumes...In our contemporary "world" economy...the work is done by those same kids...offshore. Beautiful piece.

[greanteawoman]

Just played this for my 84 year-old uncle who knew Dorsey and Howard well. As the video played, he shouted the names of many of the mills. When the photo of the whistle came up, he said "I hated that damn whistle". He called the children, "Poor little lint heads". When Hine's photo of the two little boys standing up on the 'cotton machine' came up, he said, "It looks just like daddy told me!". "Daddy", was my grandpa. Blew me away. Both of my grandpa's lost a finger working in those mills. Tks!

[raghavahuja99]

gud 1 great help for our tableau

[dayspeace]

this is a very nice video and song.

[rebennington]

Thank you for posting and sharing this beautifully sad folk song that is a part of OUR history we seem to forget...Love

[Appleriver3]

Thank you

[palmpedal]

Thanks for posting this. I knew of the history of "Wreck on the highway" but this was very interesting to a natural tar heel (living in TN).

[Sohave]

today our great mills here in Europe and the Us has all been closed down ( just as conditions improved) but the the same thing is happening in the countries they have outsourced to. Great and higly political tune!

[farmer63980]

great song Amen

[farmer63980]

great song

[farmer63980]

great songs Amen