‘Ding Dong Dollar’ (DDD) was a Scottish songwriting project of the early 1960s, focusing on opposition to Polaris nuclear weapons. It is regarded as one of the high-points of political songwriting in Scotland and Britain; and one song, ‘The Freedom Come All Ye’, is widely considered as the single best new song of the Scottish folk music revival.
The documents gathered here by Stewart Black and Jim McLean trace the fascinating Russian connections of DDD, and tell the story of how Samuil Marshak became involved in translating the songs for publication in the Soviet Union. The album itself is available for sale at Folkways Recordings.
- Stewart Black and Jim McLean, ‘The Unknown Story of Marshak and Ding Dong Dollar’
- Ding Dong Dollar and Josh MacRae in Folk Notes (Autumn 1962)
- Ding Dong Dollar: Anti-Polaris Songs Songbook
- English Translation of Izvestia newspaper column on Ding Dong Dollar (24 September, 1961, Front Page)
- Stewart Black and Bill Wagman, ‘Anti-Nuclear Protest Songs from 1960s Scotland’ (Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage)
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- US album sleeve. On the ferry to Dunoon, 4th March 1961; Morris Blythman, Josh MacRae, Jackie O’Connor, Jim McLean, Nigel Denver, Hamish Imlach, Marion Blythman, Jackie Keir.
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- Guardian, 2 October 1961
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- Izvestia, 24 September, 1961, Front Page
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- Foreign Literature, October 1961 cover
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- Foreign Literature, October 1961 contents
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- Foreign Literature, October 1961, Marshak Translations
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- Foreign Literature, October 1961, Marshak Translations
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- Foreign Literature, October 1961, Marshak Translations
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- Foreign Literature, October 1961, Marshak Translations
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- Izvestia coverage of Polaris protests
