Earl Robinson

Earl Hawley Robinson (July 2, 1910 – July 20, 1991) was a folk music singer-songwriter and composer from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is remembered for his music, including the songs "Joe Hill", "Black and White", and the cantata "Ballad for Americans," which expressed his left-leaning political views. He was a member of the Communist Party in the 1930s. In addition, he wrote many popular songs and music for Hollywood films.

The jazz clarinettist Perry Robinson is his son.

He studied violin, viola and piano as a child, and studied composition at the University of Washington, receiving a BM and teaching certificate in 1933. In 1934 he moved to New York City where he studied with Hanns Eisler and Aaron Copland. He was also involved with the depression-era WPA Federal Theater Project, and was actively involved in the anti-fascist movement and was the musical director at the Communist-run Camp Unity in upstate New York. In the 1940s he worked on film scores in Hollywood until he was blacklisted for being a Communist. Unable to work in Hollywood, he moved back to New York, where he headed the music program at Elisabeth Irwin High School, directing the orchestra and chorus.

Robinson's musical influences included Paul Robeson, Lead Belly, and American folk music. He composed "Ballad for Americans" (lyrics by John La Touche) which became a signature song for Robeson. It was also recorded by Bing Crosby. He wrote the music for and sang in the short documentary film Muscle Beach (1948), directed by Joseph Strick and Irving Lerner.

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