David Mallett
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the singer-songwriter David Mallett. For people using the "Mallet" spelling, see David Mallet (disambiguation).
David Mallett is a singer-songwriter best known for his authorship of the popular tune "Garden Song," made famous by John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
and Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
. He has recorded for independent record labels for most of his career. A resident of Maine for most of his life, in the 1980s he relocated to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, and released two albums with the folk and blues label Vanguard
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
. He has since moved back to Maine and established his own label, North Road Records.
In a career that spans four decades, his music has traveled to all corners of the world. His songs have been recorded by more than 150 artists, including Pete Seeger, Alison Krauss, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, and even the Muppets, and his "Garden Song" has become an American folk classic. In 2010 he released "Alright Now," his first collection of songs in more than six years, including "Beautiful," dedicated to his daughter Molly. He frequently performs with violinist Susan Ramsey and bassist Michael Burd, with sound by Tom Gordon.
He has performed in town halls and folk clubs across America and Europe in addition to major venues such as Barns of Wolf Trap, Newport Folk Festival, and "Prairie Home Companion". The Bangor Daily News recognized him as one of the 58 most memorable Mainers of the 20th Century. The readers of Folkwax voted him 2003 Artist of the Year and "Artist in Me" 2003 Album of the Year. He has recorded 14 albums, including “The Fable True” (2007), based on Thoreau’s last expedition in 1857, a spoken word CD with accompanying music.
His sons, Will and Luke, perform as The Mallett Brothers.
He has released fourteen albums:
- David Mallett (1978)
- Pennsylvania Sunrise (1979)
- Hard Light (1981)
- Open Doors and Windows (1983)
- Vital Signs (1986)
- For a Lifetime (1988)
- This Town (1993)
- In the Falling Dark (1995)
- Parallel Lives (1997)
- Ambition (1999)
- Artist in Me (2003)
- Midnight on the Water (2006)
- The Fable True (2007)
- Alright Now (2009)
His songs have been recorded by John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
, Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
, Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bok, Trickett, ,Muir
Gordon Bok
Gordon Bok is a folklorist and singer/songwriter who grew up in Camden, Maine.-Career:His first album, self-titled, was produced by Noel Paul Stookey and released in 1965 on the Verve Records Folkways imprint...
, Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
among others.