Charlie King (born 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter and political

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

Biography

King was born and raised in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

and cites the folk music revival of the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

era as his musical influences. His songs have been recorded and sung by other performers such as

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 ...

Holly Near Holly Near (born June 6, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Family Holly Near was born in Ukiah, California, United States, and was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She has two sisters, Ti ...

, Ronnie Gilbert,

John McCutcheon John McCutcheon (born August 14, 1952) is an American folk music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 45 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other in ...

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

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and Judy Small. Honors include an " Indie" award for one of the top three folk recordings of 1984. In May 1998 the

War Resisters League The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States, having been founded in 1923. History Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' ...

gave their Peacemaker Award to Charlie and to

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...

. Pete Seeger nominated Charlie for the Sacco-Vanzetti Social Justice Award, which he received in November 1999.Award description and winner list
/ref> Charlie King has released a dozen solo albums since 1976. He has also released three albums with the touring ensemble Bright Morning Star, and numerous compilation albums with other artists. Folk legend

said, "If we had more Charlie Kings in the world I'd be less worried," to which

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

added, "Luckily, we have him!" King regularly performs at Camp Kinderland in Tolland, Massachusetts.

References

External links

Official website of Charlie King
* https://web.archive.org/web/20081118215906/http://www.commchurch.org/saccovanzetti.htm American male singer-songwriters American political music artists Living people 1947 births 20th-century American folk musicians 21st-century American folk musicians {{US-folk-singer-stub