Songs to Fight the Plutocracy By: Talking Atomic Blues

Uploaded by autoharpca on Apr 6, 2009

"Talking Atomic Blues" (aka "Old Man Atom") was composed by California newspaperman Vern Partlow (1910-1987) in 1945. Inspired by interviews he conducted with nuclear scientists for an article he wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News. First recorded by Sam Hinton for ABC Eagle Records in 1949, it was covered by a number of artists, including Ozzie Davis and the Sons of the Pioneers. The song became one of the most popular novelty records of 1950, until the United States government's War on Communism prompted record companies to withdraw the recording from circulation.