Malvina Reynolds

Malvina Reynolds (née Milder; August 23, 1900 – March 17, 1978) was an American folk/blues singer-songwriter and political activist, best known for her songwriting, particularly the songs "Little Boxes", "What Have They Done to the Rain" and "Morningtown Ride".

Early life and education Malvina Milder was born on August 23, 1900 on Folsom Street They became socialists when Reynolds "was a little girl", to which she attributes her lifetime proximity to the socialist movement in the United States.

Career

Reynolds worked as a milliner and "hated it". She also worked as a telephone operator and a social worker.

Though she played violin in a dance band in her twenties, Reynolds began her songwriting career later in life. Reynolds claims that as soon as folk music came to the forefront, she knew it was for her. and others, "What Have They Done to the Rain" (1962), recorded by the Searchers, the Seekers, Marianne Faithfull, Melanie Safka and Joan Baez (about nuclear fallout),

In her later years, Reynolds contributed songs and material to PBS' Sesame Street, on which she made occasional appearances as a character named Kate.

Personal life and death In 1934, she married William ("Bud") Reynolds, a carpenter and labor organizer. In 1935, their only child was born, Nancy Reynolds Schimmel, a songwriter and performer. Reynolds lived on Parker Street in Berkeley.

In 1977, Reynolds became an associate of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP), an American non-profit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based medicine.

Shortly before her husband's death in September 1972, she was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. However, she refused to let the disease keep her from her usual performance schedule, until she fell ill in the afternoon of March 15, 1978, after a photo shoot in Berkeley. Rushed to hospital, she died during the early morning hours of March 17, 1978.

In popular culture In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed. One of the cards featured Reynolds's name and picture.

Reynolds' song "Little Boxes" was used as the theme for Showtime's TV series Weeds (2005–2012).

The TV show Big Sky featured the song "Little Boxes" at the end of the episode aptly titled "Little Boxes".

In 2020, most of the second verse of her one-minute ditty "Place to Be," as recorded by her, was used as the sound for a Zillow commercial.

Two of her songs are included on the Specials' album Protest Songs 1924–2012 (2021).

"Turn Around" was featured in several television commercials in the 1960's for Kodak.

Work

Four collections of Reynolds' music are available on compact disc. The Smithsonian Folkways label released Another County Heard From (Folkways 02524) and Ear to the Ground (Smithsonian Folkways 40124), and the Omni Recording Corporation in Australia issued Malvina Reynolds (Omni 112) and Malvina Reynolds Sings the Truth (Omni 114). Her work can also be found on Spotify.