About Anne Feeney
Lived 1951 – 2021 (aged 69). Anne Feeney was an American singer-songwriter, composer, lawyer and trade unionist.
Higher education and beginnings in music and activism As a high school student, Feeney purchased a Martin D-28 guitar in 1968 and gave her first performance at an anti-Vietnam War protest in 1969, playing a song by Phil Ochs. The group disbanded in 1977, but Feeney carried on performing locally. She was a member of the Gender Bias Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association. She was also chapter president of NOW and served on the organization's state executive board in Pennsylvania. In 2008, she said in an interview, "I think music is a fantastic way of empowering people and giving them strength and energy. I've spent a good part of my life trying to find and write music that will empower people to resist and stand up for what's right." Isn't This a Time: A Tribute to Harold Leventhal and Get Up/Stand Up: The History of Pop and Protest. as well as the American Federation of Musicians. She put out 12 albums in all, Feeney's song "Have You Been to Jail for Justice?" was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary She also collaborated with spoken word artist Chris Chandler, whom Sing Out! said "finally met his match with the powerful, radical singer-songwriter" Feeney, and called their performances together "highly entertaining." In 1989, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary wrote expressing his enthusiasm for her music, which he saw as a continuation of his own efforts: "I think your songs are wonderful, your group is terrific and your music rings with resonance of all that Peter, Paul and Mary has attempted to share throughout the last 28 years. It is comforting and exciting to know that the torch of folk music is being passed on to people as concerned, artful and decent as yourselves." She and Berlin had two children, Dan and Amy . In 2002, she married Swedish political artist Julie Leonardsson.
In August 2010, while touring in Sweden, Feeney was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. She underwent treatment, recovered and returned to touring, but the cancer returned in 2015. Have You Been to Jail for Justice?, 2001
If I Can't Dance, 2006 Dump the Bosses Off Your Back, 2008
With Chris Chandler Flying Poetry Circus, 2001 Live from the Wholly Stolen Empire, 2003
Other appearances The Great Peace March – Songs From The Road (1986) – As part of the ensemble, also producer Vote in November: Election 2004 Anti-Theft Device (Various Artists) 2004 – includes "Carnivals #3" (with Chris Chandler) Hail To The Thief & His Daddy's Judges: Songs for the Bush Years (Various Artists) 2001 – includes "Carnivals" (with Chris Chandler), "Beady Eyes" (with George Mann), "Corporate Welfare Song" Hold Me Up to the Light: A Tribute To Peter Wilde (Various Artists) 2003 – includes "Sourmouth Sprout" (with Chris Chandler) Stoking the Fires of Resistance: A Musical History Of The US War On The Iraqi People (Various Artists) – includes "Shell Game" Hail to the Thieves Volume III: Songs to Take Our Country Back! (George Mann, Julius Margolin and Friends) 2006 – includes "Defenders of Marriage" Classic Labor Songs From Smithsonian Folkways (Various Artists), 2006 – includes "We Just Come To Work Here, We Don't Come To Die" Farewell to the Thief! Vol. IV (George Mann, Julius Margolin and Friends) 2008 – includes "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back", "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" Never Surrender (Evan Greer) 2009 – Featured on "The Picketline Song" Hugs For Chelsea: Benefit For Chelsea Manning (Various Artists) 2017 – includes "Whatever You Say, Say Nothing"
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Important facts
People in Anne Feeney's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Anne Feeney's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Anne Feeney?
American singer-songwriter and musician (1951-2021)
When was Anne Feeney born?
Anne Feeney was born on 1 July 1951 in Charleroi.
When did Anne Feeney die?
Anne Feeney died on 3 February 2021 in Pittsburgh.
What was Anne Feeney's occupation?
Anne Feeney was a singer-songwriter, composer, lawyer and trade unionist.
What nationality was Anne Feeney?
Anne Feeney was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Anne Feeney. https://biography.guide/anne-feeney/
MLA: "Anne Feeney." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/anne-feeney/.
Chicago: "Anne Feeney." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/anne-feeney/.
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