Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are a musical duo who perform folk, bluegrass and children’s music. They have performed with

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), '' Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ...

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.Patsy Montana Rubye Rose Blevins (October 30, 1908 – May 3, 1996), known professionally as Patsy Montana, was an American country music singer, songwriter and actress. Montana was the first female country performer to have a million-selling single with her ...

, Riders in the Sky and others. The Washington Area Music Association has recognized the duo with over 60 Wammie Awards for folk, bluegrass, and children’s music. Cathy & Marcy earned

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

s for their recordings ''cELLAbration: a Tribute to Ella Jenkins'', and ''Bon Appétit!: Musical Food Fun''. Their CD’s ''Postcards'' and ''Banjo Talkin were Grammy Finalists in the Best Traditional Folk Album category. Cathy & Marcy currently live in Silver Spring, Maryland and Lansing, North Carolina.

History

Cathy Fink was born in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, but began her musical career in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

in the early 1970s,

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...

and playing

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

in coffeehouses. A singer,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

ist,

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 usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player and

yodeler Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from th ...

, she made her recording debut in 1975 with Duck Donald, with whom she toured for five years and recorded three albums. Marcy Marxer grew up in

Swartz Creek, Michigan Swartz Creek is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,758 at the 2010 census. The city is a suburb of Flint and has incorporated land formerly within Flint Charter Township, Gaines Township, and Cla ...

and learned to play guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion- stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more tra ...

and

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aer ...

while still in high school. She went to work for General Motors but continued to play at every opportunity. In 1978, after receiving theater training at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ar ...

and the Ringling Brothers Clown College, she devoted herself to music full-time. The two met in 1980, in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, at the

Mariposa Folk Festival Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia, Ontario. It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers. After being held in various places in Ontario for a ...

. By 1983 they had begun writing songs together and appearing on each other's albums. Soon after, they began performing together, often in children's concerts. In 1989, they released a self-titled album, and a permanent partnership was formed.

Awards

*14 Grammy Nominations *Grammy 2003 Best Musical Album for Children- ''cELLAbration: a Tribute to Ella Jenkins'' *Grammy 2004 Best Musical Album for Children - ''Bon Appétit!'' *Finalist John Lennon Songwriting Contest Award - 2008 - ''JUBILATION'' *John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Winner, ISC Grand Prize Winner - 2005 ''SCAT LIKE THAT'' *Dagnabbit– John Lennon Songwriting Contest Award *Names - Mid Atlantic Songwriting Contest, Best Folk Song

Discography

* WAHOO! Community Music, Inc. 2019 * Shout & Shine (Fink, Marxer, Gleaves), Community Music, Inc. 2018 * Zoom a Little Zoom: A Ride Through Science, Community Music, Inc. 2010 * Get Up and Do Right, Community Music, Inc. 2017 * Cantale a tu Bebe, Community Music, Inc. 2017 * Dancin' in the Kitchen: Songs for All Families, Community Music, Inc. 2015 * Things Are Comin' My Way (Marcy Marxer), Community Music, Inc. 2012 * Nobody Else Like Me, A&M, 1994, Community Music, Inc. 2012 * Help Yourself, A&M, 1993, Community Music, Inc. 2012 * Rockin' the Uke, Community Music, Inc. 2011 * Sing to Your Baby – Sing Plays and Love Songs for New Families, Community Music, 2011 Peter E. Randall Publishing, 2012 * The Great American Folksong w/ Children's Chorus of Washington, SonoLuminus, 2011 * Triple Play EP, Community Music, 2010 * Banjo to Beatbox EP with Special Guest Christyles Bacon, Community Music, 2009 * Oold Time Banjo Festival, Rounder, 2007 * Banjo Talkin’, Rounder, 2007 * Scat Like That: A Musical Word Odyssey, Rounder, 2005 * cELLAbration: A Tribute to Ella Jenkins, Smithsonian Folkways, 2004 * Bon Appetit! Musical Food Fun, Rounder, 2003 * Pocket Full of Stardust, Rounder, 2002 * Postcards, Community Music, 2002 * All Wound Up / Cathy & Marcy & Brave Combo, Rounder, 2001 * Pillow Full of Wishes, Rounder, 2000 * Changing Channels, Rounder, 1998 * Voice on the Wind, Rounder, 1997 * Blanket Full of Dreams, Rounder, 1996 * A Parent's Home Companion, Rounder, 1995 * A Cathy & Marcy Collection for Kids, Rounder, 1994 * Air Guitar, High Windy, 1994, Community Music, 2010 * Banjo Haiku, Community Music, 1992 * The Runaway Bunny/Goodnight Moon, Harper Collins, 1989 * Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Sugar Hill Records, 1989 * Blue Rose, Sugar Hill Records, 1988 * When the Rain Comes Down, Rounder, 1987 * Jump Children, Rounder, 1986 * The Leading Role, Rounder Records, 1985 * Grandma Slid Down the Mountain, Rounder, 1984 * Doggone My Time, Rooster Records, 1983, Community Music, 1999

References

External links

Cathy and Marcy HomepageCathy Fink's YouTube Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fink, Cathy and Marxer, Marcy American street performers American musical duos Folk music duos American children's musical groups Grammy Award winners Musical groups from Maryland Musical groups from Michigan American folk musical groups Female musical duos