Raging Grannies of Denver records

Collection

Identifier: CoU-AMRC-76

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records for the Denver chapter of the Raging Grannies, ca. 2002-2008. Included are membership lists, newspaper clippings, online news articles, internal and external correspondence, publicity materials, typed songs, including original and proposed versions, are also in the collection. Three CD recordings, which include one holiday album, comprise the studio recordings of the collection. Two VHS tapes document 11 live performances in Denver and Colorado from 2002-2003. Also included are photographs of the Denver Grannies' performances and seven thank-you notes written to the Grannies.

Dates

Creation: ca. 2002-2008

Conditions Governing Access

Open

History of Raging Grannies of Denver

The Denver chapter of the Raging Grannies was modeled after the original group, which got its start in the early 1980s in Vancouver, British Columbia, and now has chapters all over the world. The Denver Grannies meet weekly to stay in practice for their frequent appearances at political rallies and protests around the metro area. Dressed in frumpy clothes and flowery hats – costumes that deliberately poke fun at the “granny” image – the women sing songs with highly-charged political lyrics, set to well-known tunes.

Mag Seaman, founder and leader of the group, first saw a group of Raging Grannies perform in the 1980s at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. In January of 2002, while attending a political protest, she decided a local Grannies group was needed and set about recruiting others.

Since the founding, members have written numerous political parody songs, using humor to make their pacifist and left-wing protests clear. They are regularly invited to perform at political rallies and protests in the Denver area.