If I Had a Hammer
| "The Hammer Song" | |
|---|---|
Original 1950 release by The Weavers on Hootenanny Records, 101-A. | |
| Single by The Weavers | |
| B-side | "Banks of Marble" |
| Released | 1950 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Label | Hootenanny |
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Seeger Lee Hays |
| "If I Had a Hammer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Peter, Paul and Mary | ||||
| Single by Peter, Paul and Mary | ||||
| from the album Peter, Paul and Mary | ||||
| B-side | "Gone the Rainbow" | |||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 2:11 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Seeger Lee Hays | |||
| Producer(s) | Albert Grossman Milt Okun | |||
| Peter, Paul and Mary singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "If I Had a Hammer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Trini Lopez | ||||
| Single by Trini Lopez | ||||
| from the album Trini Lopez at PJ's | ||||
| B-side | "Unchain My Heart" | |||
| Released | 1963 | |||
| Venue | P.J.'s | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Seeger Lee Hays | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Costa | |||
| Trini Lopez singles chronology | ||||
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| "Datemi un martello" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Rita Pavone | ||||
| B-side | "Che m'importa del mondo" | |||
| Released | December 1963 | |||
| Recorded | 1963 | |||
| Genre | Pop, chanson, surf rock | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | RCA Italiana | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Seeger Lee Hays Sergio Bardotti | |||
| Producer(s) | Luis Bacalov | |||
| Rita Pavone singles chronology | ||||
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"If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" is a protest song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the Progressive movement, and was first recorded by the Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. It was a No. 10 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 and then went to No. 3 a year later when recorded by Trini Lopez in 1963. In a May 1963 interview on Folk Music Worldwide, Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary characterized the song as "a young national anthem for the United States".
The Weavers released the song under the title "The Hammer Song" as a 78 rpm single in March 1950 on Hootenanny Records, 101-A, backed with "Banks of Marble".