John McCutcheon (born August 14, 1952) is an American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 45 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of t ...

, mountain dulcimer,

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

, and

jaw harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...

. He has received six

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations.

Career

McCutcheon was born to Roman Catholic parents in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

. He attended Saint James Grade School, Newman Catholic High School, and Saint John's University. While in his 20s, he travelled to

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music, including

Roscoe Holcomb Roscoe Holcomb (born Roscoe Halcomb; September 5, 1912 – February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, ...

and

Tommy Hunter Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, ''Country Hoedown''. ''Th ...

. His repertoire includes songs from contemporary writers like

Si Kahn Si Kahn (born April 23, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, and activist; he is the founder and former executive director of Grassroots Leadership. Biography Early life and education Kahn grew up in State College, Pennsylvania. When he was ...

(e.g. "Gone Gonna Rise Again", "Rubber Blubber Whale") as well as a large body of his own music. When McCutcheon became a father in the early 1980s he found most children's music "unmusical and condescending", and sought to change the situation by releasing a children's album, ''Howjadoo'', in 1983. Originally, he had only intended to do one children's record, but the popularity of this first effort led to the production of seven additional children's albums. He has written three children's books. Much of his work, however, continues to focus on writing politically and socially conscious songs for adult audiences. One of his most successful songs, " Christmas in the Trenches" (from his 1984 album ''Winter Solstice''), tells the story of the

Christmas truce The Christmas truce (; ; ) was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christmas 1914. The truce occurred five months after hostilities had begun. Lulls occurred in the fighting a ...

of 1914. In his performances, McCutcheon often introduces his music with a story. He has become known as a storyteller, and has made multiple appearances at the

National Storytelling Festival The National Storytelling Festival is held the first full weekend of October in Jonesborough, Tennessee at the International Storytelling Center. The National Storytelling Festival was founded by Jimmy Neil Smith, a high school journalism teacher, ...

Jonesborough, Tennessee Jonesborough (; historically also Jonesboro) is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 5,860 as of 2020. It is "Tennessee's oldest town". Jonesborough is part of the ...

. He is married to children's author and storyteller,

Carmen Agra Deedy Carmen Agra Deedy is an author of children’s literature, storytelling, storyteller and radio contributor. Early life Born in Havana, Cuba, she migrated to the United States with her family in 1963 after the Cuban Revolution. Deedy grew up ...

, and the two live in

Smoke Rise, Georgia Smoke Rise is a residential community in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, located northeast of Atlanta in the City of Tucker, incorporated in 2016. It is located north of the city of Stone Mountain on the eastern side of the city of Tucker ...

. McCutcheon's music has, since the 1990s, increasingly evolved into

heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The g ...

-influenced ballads, while he still occasionally performs purer folk music. In 2011, he portrayed IWW organizer and songwriter Joe Hill in Si Kahn's one-man play ''Joe Hill's Last Will'', produced by Main Stage West in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, California, with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum- and apple-growing region. Wine grapes are the predominant a ...

2017-04-21 John McCutcheon performs in Richmond VA

Discography

* ''How Can I Keep from Singing?'' (

June Appal Recordings June Appal Recordings is a record label that was founded by Jack Wright and established by Appalshop to record and distribute music of and from central Appalachia. Artists with June Appal include Buell Kazee, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Carla Gove ...

, 1975) * ''The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (

and Rounder, 1977 and 2000)* * ''From Earth To Heaven'' (

, 1978) (As part of group Wry Straw) * ''Barefoot Boy with Boots On'' (Front Hall, 1981; reissued Rounder, 1998) * ''Fine Times at Our House'' (Greenhays, 1982; reissued Rounder, 2010) * ''Howjadoo'' (Rounder, 1983) * ''Winter Solstice'' (Rounder, 1984, with

Trapezoid In geometry, a trapezoid () in North American English, or trapezium () in British English, is a quadrilateral that has at least one pair of parallel sides. The parallel sides are called the ''bases'' of the trapezoid. The other two sides are ...

and Washington Bach Consort) * ''Signs of the Times'' (Rounder, 1986, with Si Kahn) * ''Step By Step: Hammer Dulcimer Duets, Trios and Quartets'' (Rounder, 1986) * ''Gonna Rise Again'' (Rounder, 1987) * ''Mail Myself to You'' (Rounder, 1988) * ''Water from Another Time: A Retrospective'' (Rounder, 1989) * ''What It's Like'' (Rounder, 1990) * ''Live at Wolf Trap'' (Rounder, 1991) * ''Family Garden'' (Rounder, 1993) * ''Between the Eclipse'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''Summersongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''Wintersongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''Nothing to Lose'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''Sprout Wings and Fly'' (Rounder, 1997) * ''Bigger Than Yourself'' (Rounder, 1997, co-written by Si Kahn) * ''Doing Our Job'' (Rounder, 1997, with

Tom Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song " Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a so ...

) * ''Autumnsongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1998, family album) * ''Springsongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1999, family album) * ''Storied Ground'' (Rounder, 1999) * ''Supper's on the Table'' (Rounder, 2001, retrospective) * ''The Greatest Story Never Told'' (Red House Records, 2002) * ''Hail to the Chief'' (self-published, 2003) * ''Hammer Dulcimer Repertoire'' (Homespun Tapes, 2003; CD and book) * ''Stand Up! Broadsides for Our Time'' (self-published, 2004; reissue 2010) * ''Welcome the Traveler Home: The Winfield Songs'' (self-published, 2004; reissue 2010) * ''Mightier Than the Sword '' (Appalsongs, 2005) * ''This Fire'' (Appalsongs, 2007) * ''The Hammer Dulcimer'' (Hal Leonard, 2007; 6 CDs and booklet) * ''Sermon on the Mound'' (Appalsongs, 2008) * ''Untold'' (Appalsongs, 2009) * ''Passage'' (Appalsongs, 2010) * ''This Land: Woody Guthrie's America'' (Appalsongs, 2011) * ''22 Days'' (Appalsongs, 2013) * ''Joe Hill's Last Will'' (Appalsongs, 2015) * ''Trolling for Dreams'' (Appalsongs, 2017) * ''Ghost Light'' (Appalsongs, 2018) * ''To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger'' (Appalsongs, 2019) * ''Cabin Fever: Songs from the Quarantine'' (Appalsongs, 2020) * ''Bucket List'' (Appalsongs, 2021) * ''Leap!'' (Appalseed Productions, 2022) * ''Together'' (Appalseed Productions, 2023, with

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.

) * ''Field of Stars'' (Appalseed Productions, 2025)

Books

* ''Happy Adoption Day'' (1996) * ''Christmas in the Trenches'' (2006, book with CD) * ''Flowers for Sarajevo'' (2017)

Grammy Award nominations

John McCutcheon has received six

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations. The

s are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

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Best Musical Album for Children The Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children was an honor presented to recording artists for quality children's music albums at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Hono ...

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Best Spoken Word Album for Children Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

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References

External links

John McCutcheon official site

"Making waves making music – 2004 article
in ''

The Hook The Hook, or the Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a r ...

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Audio/Video
John McCutcheon is the only guest on Woodsongs show 471 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccutcheon, John 1952 births Living people American folk singers American fiddlers American storytellers American autoharp players Converts to Quakerism American hammered dulcimer players American multi-instrumentalists Fast Folk artists Old-time musicians American nonviolence advocates American Quakers People from Wausau, Wisconsin Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University alumni Appalachian dulcimer players American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Virginia 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American male musicians Red House Records artists Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin People from DeKalb County, Georgia