Jukebox

Ode to a Federal Entitlement

The first recipient of Social Security benefits, Ida Mae Fuller, may not seem a promising subject for a song. But Joe Glazer (1918-2006), known as "Labor's Troubadour," sang "in the footsteps of Ida Mae, millions get their checks today" on a 1954 album. Hear it on "If You Ain't Got the Do-Re-Mi," songs about money from Smithsonian Folkways compiled to mark the opening on Wall Street of the Smithsonian-affiliated Museum of American Finance.

Listen to Glazer sing "Ida Mae"

Music courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways, the non-profit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. Please click here to purchase or for more information.

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