Jack Warshaw (born 1942) is an American folksinger, songwriter and musician, best known for his 1976 protest song " If They Come in the Morning," aka "No Time for Love." He moved to England in 1965 to start a career as an architect but stayed because the folk music scene and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

intervened.

Early life and career

Raised by liberal Jewish parents Jack's artistic and musical ability showed up in childhood. He competed for entry and was accepted at the High School of Music and Art, electing to study architecture. At age 16 he began to attend Greenwich Village folksong sessions, concerts by

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs from ...

and took up the guitar. Early in his studies at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in Oxford, Ohio, he became intensely engaged with folksongs and singers, strongly influenced by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

and The Weavers,

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

and

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...

, The New Lost City Ramblers,

Tom Paley Allan Thomas Paley (March 19, 1928 – September 30, 2017) was an American guitarist, banjo and fiddle player. He was best known for his work with the New Lost City Ramblers in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Paley was born on March 19, 1928, and ...

, Dave Van Ronk,

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His ...

and the

Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...

. He co-founded the University Folk Club, which held weekly "hootenannies," organized talent shows, festivals and concerts at the University. He formed a trio, the Wanderers, modeled on The Weavers, with Nicholas Bocher and Lynn Sandage, and later a duo with Kathy Davis. The two performed regularly at a variety of venues in Ohio. In 1961/2 he joined other hopefuls like

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, Peter Paul and Mary,

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

and many others at New York's

Gerdes Folk City Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village of Manhattan in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to present occasional incidental m ...

sessions run by Brother John Sellers. In 1963 while performing with Davis at legendary

The Bitter End The Bitter End is a 230-person capacity nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually s ...

in Greenwich Village they were spotted by music agent Peter Paul, who booked them at venues with the then aspiring

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halafta ...

, the Mamas and the Papas and Happy Traum. They were also mentored by Ed McCurdy. Jack earned a degree in architecture, studying under Professor Rudolf Frankel. He eventually won UK diplomas in town planning and historic building conservation. In 1966 he joined The Critics Group, the left wing folk/theatre group led by

and co-founded the Stop it Committee, the UK American Anti-war Group, remaining active in both until the Critics Group split up in 1973 and the Stop it Committee disbanded after US withdrawal from Vietnam in April 1975. From 1968 to 1972 he worked with BBC Radio Ballad producer Charles Parker (a member of the Critics Group),

and others, making anti-war radio programmes intended for broadcast to Vietnam GIs. Entitled "Off Limits" the programmes contained specially written songs and interviews with American deserters, critics, contemporary news clips, a Vietnamese girl, survivor of the 1969 My Lai Massacre and an extract from the US television interview by journalist

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

of Lt. William Calley, who was convicted for ordering the massacre. The US Government had marked him as a fugitive for resisting conscription, refusing to renew his passport. After Jimmy Carter's amnesty in January 1977, his passport was restored. Between 1966 and 1972/3 he performed with Critics Group members on albums, anti-war concerts and MacColl's Festival of Fools, playing various characters and as a musician. In 1968 he formed a duo with singer/actor Carol Rosenthal who also joined the Critics Group. They toured the UK until 1974. He was active in supporting the Chile Solidarity and Human Rights campaigns after the coup of 1973 Chile coup, writing "We Will Fight" and performing at many benefits alongside Chilean groups such as Karaxu While performing for Chile Human Rights and Chile Solidarity he met his future wife, Jane Foulsham. They married in 1978 and have three children, all working in cultural arts. He was a resident singer and organizer at MacColl's Singers Club

Folk club A folk club is a regular event, permanent venue, or section of a venue devoted to folk music and traditional music. Folk clubs were primarily an urban phenomenon of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain and Ireland, and vital to the second British folk r ...

, 1967–85; West London Folk Club, 1970–75; Knave of Clubs, 1973-82 and Court Sessions, 1980–90. He recorded a solo album in 1979, re-releasing it in 2010, which included the protest song, " If They Come in the Morning," retitled "No Time for Love" by

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the bands Planxty and Moving Hearts and has had significant success as a solo artist. His first albu ...

who made it widely popular. In 1973 with former Critics' Group members he helped found Combine, a political theatre group, and for several years performed in themed programmes at The Knave of Clubs, Bethnal Green. These included a 1974 multi media show about

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parm ...

which he scripted around

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

's famous 1951 album for

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

. He also collaborated with

Sandra Kerr Sandra Kerr (born 14 February 1942, Plaistow, Newham, Essex) is an English folk singer. Kerr sings and plays Concertina#German concertinas, English concertina, guitar, Appalachian dulcimer and autoharp. She was a member of The Critics Group fr ...

in performances at schools, songwriting workshops, concerts, political and union events and benefits. Meanwhile, Combine's output culminated in the collectively written Vietnam Victory Show, performed at the ASLEF hall in April 1975 following the liberation of Saigon. In 1978 he and Kerr recorded an album with South African exile Barry Gilder, made up primarily of Gilder's (now former South African Director of Intelligence) freedom songs and two songs by MacColl and Peggy Seeger. Smuggled into South Africa, it was banned but distributed clandestinely amongst supporters during the ANC's internal struggle against

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Around the same time Jack produced and performed in a series of programmes in the UK and Ireland supported by the US Embassy cultural section. In 1979 he toured Republican venues in Northern Ireland with singer Breege Keenan. A period of declining interest in folksongs, together with family commitments led him to stop touring until 2009. In the intervening years he continued to sing at benefits and festivals, which included organizing in 1984/5 a concert for his Union branch to support the UK miners' strike (1984-85) and performing at Whitwell Derbyshire colliery village. Meanwhile, he pursued a successful career in historic conservation. Emerging in 2006 after a break of some 15 years, he continues to write and perform a mix of traditional and original songs, teaming up with Texas folk/blues singer/songwriter Stuart Burns in tours of US and UK, issuing two albums together and collaborating on 2 further albums with UK musicians including

, Ben Paley, Neil Warren, Dave Botting, Steve Fuller, Dominic Geraghty, and Zoe Warshaw. In 2015 he appeared at the Aldbury Pumphouse festival and Lyme Regis Folk in concert. In 2014 and 2016 he was invited to perform solo concerts in Denmark. His 2018 Album "Misfits Migrants and Murders" includes songs about refugees, the

November 2015 Paris attacks A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 21:16, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-De ...

and the

Grenfell Tower Fire On 14 June 2017, a List of fires in high-rise buildings, high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of Public housing in the United Kingdom, flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 British Summer Time, BST ...

. Jack married an English social scientist and educator in 1978. They have three children, all working in the arts. The Australian Union Songs collection includes texts and recordings of Jack Warshaw's social and political compositions

Songwriting

* ''If They Come in the Morning'' (1977) (aka No Time for Love) - A condemnation of injustice to political prisoners. Widely known in UK, Ireland and Europe. Covered by several others including

and Roy Bailey; translated into other languages. * '' Ballad of the Unknown Soldier'' (1966) with Rod Shearman - Anti-Vietnam War song * '' No Room'' (1966) exploitation of down-and-outs by Chicago slumlord * ''The Grape Pickers'' (1970) - about California Chicano migrant

fruit picking Fruit picking or fruit harvesting is a seasonal activity (paid or recreational) that occurs during harvest time in areas with fruit growing wild or being farmed in orchards. Some farms market " You-Pick" for orchards, such as the tradition of App ...

workers, covered by

, ("From Where I Stand", Folkways FW8563). * ''The Kent State Massacre'' (1970) - covered by

Barbara Dane Barbara Jean Spillman (May 12, 1927 – October 20, 2024), known professionally as Barbara Dane, was an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silbe ...

, (Paredon Records, 1974). * ''We Will Fight'' (1976) - about the Chile coup of 1973, covered by Roy Bailey and Barry Gilder. Gilder's version became popular amongst ANC activists in exile 1977-90 (Gilder "Songs and Secrets" 2012)http://global.oup.com/academic/product/songs-and-secrets-9781849042376;jsessionid=91432ADCBB278E4B746A9413D3C3FCE2?cc=gb&lang=en& * ''Long Time Gone'' - about the

and its effect on separated friends * ''Hold the Line Again'' (1975) about the Grunwick strike * ''The San Jose Mine'' (2010) about the Chile San Jose mine disaster * '' United 93'' (2011) about the 9/11 heroes * ''Junk Food Junkie'' (2010) Government hypocrisy about

junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calorie#Nutrition, calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, Protein (nutrient), protein, or m ...

* ''Eco-town Blues'' bad plans for town expansion * ''New York Girl'' (2012) A love song * ''Troubadour'' (2013) for

* ''

Shooting of Michael Brown On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson. Wilson, a white male Fergu ...

'' (2014)

Song Topics

* Miners struggles * Strikes and trade unions * Urban affairs and development *

Junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calorie#Nutrition, calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, Protein (nutrient), protein, or m ...

* Children * Love ballads * Guantanamo prison *

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Global surveillance Global mass surveillance can be defined as the mass surveillance of entire populations across national borders. Its existence was not widely acknowledged by governments and the mainstream media until the global surveillance disclosures by Edw ...

* Extinction of Earth

Discography (Combine Records)

* ''Long Time Gone'' 1979 and 2010 * ''Livin' the Dream'' with SM Burns 2011 * ''Good Road'' with SM Burns 2013 * ''Endangered Species'' 2015 * ''Misfits Migrants and Murders'' 2018 * ''The Last Tree'' 2020

References

The Stop It Committee

The Stop It Committee

The MacColl and Seeger Archive, Ruskin College, Oxford

v.20#1 p26 * Gilder, Barry "songs and Secrets" 2012 p31 * https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=site:unionsong.com+Jack+Warshaw&gws_rd=cr&ei=wnHHVOzECsyrU9ahgLAG *

American folk music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warshaw, Jack 1942 births Living people Singers from New York City American folk singers Jewish American musicians Miami University alumni Jewish folk singers The High School of Music & Art alumni 21st-century American Jews