Joseph C. Hickerson (born October 20, 1935, in

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in southeastern Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipali ...

) is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer and musicologist. A graduate of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, for 35 years (1963–1998) he was Librarian and Director of the

Archive of Folk Song The Archive of Folk Culture (originally named The Archive of American Folk Song) was established in 1928 as the first national collection of American folk music in the United States of America. It was initially part of the Music Division of the Lib ...

at the

American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife". The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the library in 1928 as a rep ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Joe brought together the Ukrainian source and his own verses to create the basis for "

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is a folk song written by American singer-songwriter Pete Seeger in 1955. Inspired lyrically by the traditional Cossack folk song "Koloda-Duda", Seeger borrowed an Irish melody for the music, and published the ...

" in collaboration with

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

. He participated in the first LP recording of " Kumbayah". Along with

Dave Guard Donald David Guard (October 19, 1934 – March 22, 1991) was an American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of the Kingston Trio. Guard was born i ...

, he is credited with the creation of

the Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

's version of "Bonny Hielan Laddie". He is a lecturer, researcher, and performer, especially in New York, Michigan, and the Chicago area. he is living in Portland, Oregon. He attended

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

for graduate studies in folklore.

Discography

*''We've Got Some Singing To Do'' (1958) The Folksmiths, featuring Joe Hickerson

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

F-2407 *''Joe Hickerson With a Gathering of Friends'' (1970)

Folk-Legacy Records Folk-Legacy Records was an independent record label specializing in traditional and contemporary folk music of the English-speaking world. It was founded in 1961 by Sandy and Caroline Paton and Lee Baker Haggerty. The label recorded Frank Proffi ...

*''Drive Dull Care Away Volumes 1 & 2'' (1976)

Filmography

*'' The Wobblies'' 1979 (song performer)

References

Bibliography

*Ray M. Lawless (1965)
Folksingers and Folksongs in America, pages 112-3
', . *Kristin Baggelaar and Donald Milton (1976)
Folk Music: More Than A Song, pages 175-6
', . *

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born ) is an American music critic and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has published num ...

and John Swenson (1979)
The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st ed., page 171
', .

External links

Joe Hickerson's website (archived 2011-08-03)Joe Hickerson
interview on the down home radio show 1935 births Living people American folk musicians American librarians Oberlin College alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni American folk-song collectors People from Lake Forest, Illinois {{Library-bio-stub