Bill Staines
Encyclopedia
Bill Staines is an American folk music
ian and singer-songwriter
from New England
, who writes and performs in a traditional vein. He has also written and recorded children's songs.
Raised in Lexington
, Massachusetts
, Staines began his professional career in the early 1960s in the Cambridge
, Massachusetts area. He began touring nationwide a few years later. In 1975 he won the National Yodeling
Championship at the Kerrville Folk Festival
. He performs about 200 times a year and has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion
, Mountain Stage
, and The Good Evening Show.
Staines' songs include "Bridges," "Crossing the Water," "Sweet Wyoming Home", "The Roseville Fair", "A Place in the Choir", "Child of Mine," and "River."
His songs have been recorded by many other artists including, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Makem and Clancy
, Nanci Griffith
, Mason Williams
, The Highwaymen
, Glenn Yarbrough
, Jerry Jeff Walker
, Schooner Fare
, Grandpa Jones
, The Grace Family
, and Priscilla Herdman
. Staines has recorded twenty-two of his own albums, fifteen of which are still in print as of 2005. Staines' songs have been published in four songbooks, If I Were A Word, Then I'd Be A Song; River; Music To Me: The Songs of Bill Staines, and All God's Critters Got A Place In The Choir.
Staines is left-handed and plays a right-handed guitar upside-down, with the bass strings on the bottom. Consequently, he has developed his own fingerings and picking style.
In 2004 his memoir
, The Tour: A Life Between the Lines, was published.
Staines currently lives in the seacoast area of New Hampshire
with his wife, Karen; his son, Bowen; and his cocker spaniel Andy, who was featured on the cover of his album, "Old Dogs". His son also pursues a career as folk
singer.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ian and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, who writes and performs in a traditional vein. He has also written and recorded children's songs.
Raised in Lexington
Lexington
-Places:In the United States:*Lexington, Kentucky, the largest 'Lexington'*Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldest 'Lexington'** Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War*Lexington, Alabama*Lexington, Georgia...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Staines began his professional career in the early 1960s in the Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts area. He began touring nationwide a few years later. In 1975 he won the National Yodeling
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
Championship at the Kerrville Folk Festival
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
. He performs about 200 times a year and has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
, Mountain Stage
Mountain Stage
Mountain Stage is a two-hour music radio show, first aired in 1983, produced by WV Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide by National Public Radio and the Voice of America's satellite radio service. Hosted by Larry Groce, the program showcases diverse music, from the traditional to modern...
, and The Good Evening Show.
Staines' songs include "Bridges," "Crossing the Water," "Sweet Wyoming Home", "The Roseville Fair", "A Place in the Choir", "Child of Mine," and "River."
His songs have been recorded by many other artists including, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Makem and Clancy
The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group, most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy...
, Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
, Mason Williams
Mason Williams
Mason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live...
, The Highwaymen
The Highwaymen (folk band)
The Highwaymen were a circa 1960 "collegiate folk" group, which originated at Wesleyan University and had a Billboard number-one hit in 1961 with "Michael" and another Top 20 hit in 1962 with "Cottonfields"...
, Glenn Yarbrough
Glenn Yarbrough
Glenn Yarbrough is an American folk singer. He was the lead singer with The Limeliters between 1959 and 1963, and had a prolific solo career, recording on various labels.-Biography:...
, Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker
Jerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...
, Schooner Fare
Schooner Fare
Schooner Fare is a local Maine folk band, consisting of the late Tom Rowe , Steve Romanoff , and Chuck Romanoff . Schooner Fare plays primarily original maritime, socially conscious, and traditional folk music...
, Grandpa Jones
Grandpa Jones
Louis Marshall Jones , known professionally as Grandpa Jones, was an American banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer...
, The Grace Family
Paul and Win Grace
Paul and Win Grace, now known as Paul Fotsch and Win Grace, were a married duo of American folk musicians and old-time musicians. They released seven albums between 1984 and 2006 and toured extensively across North America. They performed with daughters Leela and Ellie Grace as The Grace Family...
, and Priscilla Herdman
Priscilla Herdman
Priscilla Herdman is an American folk singer. Although she has written songs, sheis notable chiefly for her interpretations of other artists' work....
. Staines has recorded twenty-two of his own albums, fifteen of which are still in print as of 2005. Staines' songs have been published in four songbooks, If I Were A Word, Then I'd Be A Song; River; Music To Me: The Songs of Bill Staines, and All God's Critters Got A Place In The Choir.
Staines is left-handed and plays a right-handed guitar upside-down, with the bass strings on the bottom. Consequently, he has developed his own fingerings and picking style.
In 2004 his memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, The Tour: A Life Between the Lines, was published.
Staines currently lives in the seacoast area of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
with his wife, Karen; his son, Bowen; and his cocker spaniel Andy, who was featured on the cover of his album, "Old Dogs". His son also pursues a career as folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer.
Discography
All references from the Acoustic Music Bill Staines Discography except when noted.- A Bag of Rainbows (1966)
- Somebody Blue (1967)
- Bill Staines (1971)
- Third Time Around (1973)
- Miles (1975)
- Old Wood and Winter Wine (1977)
- Just Play One Tune More (1977)
- Whistle of the Jay (1979)
- Rodeo Rose (1981)
- Sandstone Cathedrals (1983)
- Bridges (1984)
- Wild, Wild Heart (1985)
- Redbird's Wing (1988)
- The First Million Miles (1989)
- Tracks & Trails (1991)
- The Happy Wanderer (1993)
- Going to the West (1993)
- The Alaska Suite (1993)
- Looking For The Wind (1995)
- One More River (1998)
- The First Million Miles, Vol. 2 (1998)
- October's Hill (2000)
- Journey Home (2004)
- The Second Million Miles (2005)
- Old Dogs (2007)