Herb Metoyer (September 8, 1935 – July 24, 2015) was a Detroit-based singer-songwriter and novelist, best known for his folk music and other work involving

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He was an early mentor to, and lifelong influence on, Mike Taylor, who performed extensively with

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

and co-wrote the song "

Rocky Mountain High "Rocky Mountain High" is a song written by John Denver and Mike Taylor and is one of the two official state songs of Colorado. Recorded by Denver in 1972, it is the title track of the 1972 album '' Rocky Mountain High'', and rose to No. 9 o ...

Musical career

Metoyer wrote songs for more than 40 years, and was one of the few African Americans to come out of the 1960s folk movement, being prominently associated with

Fred Neil Fred Neil (born Frederick Ralph Morlock Jr.; March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularl ...

and his group of musicians. It has been said about Metoyer and Neill that "Though the folk movement of the early sixties has always been seen as white and middle class, it included many compelling black folk acts, such as

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 ...

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

, and lesser known names like Herb Metoyer, Josh White Jr,

Terry Callier Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter. Life and career Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was ...

, Major Wiley and many others that were part of Fred Neil's circle of friends and were touched by his music. It is one of the great injustices that these hugely talented artists remain forgotten and under appreciated even today." He played with

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, Mike Taylor,

Josh White Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the Sou ...

, Vince Martin, and many others. His album ''Something New'', recorded in 1965 on MGM's

Verve Folkways Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage of the popularit ...

label received a Four Star rating by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine. His song "Mother, Fools are a Long Time Coming" was recorded on Neil's '' Sessions'' album, a copy of which was placed by astronauts in a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic treasure trove, cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy ...

on the Moon.

Novelist

Metoyer published two novels and published over twenty books for other authors. His last novel, ''Small Fires in the Sun'', chronicles the struggles of three cultures trying to coexist in colonial Louisiana – the French, the Spanish, and the African slaves. In 1984, he became a founding member of the Detroit Black Writers' Guild.

Personal life

Metoyer considered himself a " Louisiana Creole gentleman" with deep roots in Louisiana. Born Herbert R. Metoyer Jr. in

Oakdale, Louisiana Oakdale is a city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, Allen Parish in south Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn. The history of Allen P ...

, he graduated at age 19 from

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. He was a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

helicopter pilot during 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 ...

, rising to the rank of Major. At the time of his death, of pulmonary fibrosis, he resided in Southfield, Michigan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metoyer, Herb 1935 births 2015 deaths people from Oakdale, Louisiana Songwriters from Michigan Writers from Detroit Southern University alumni American folk singers