John McCutcheon
Encyclopedia
John McCutcheon is an American folk music
singer and multi-instrumentalist
who has produced 34 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer
, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar
, banjo
, autoharp
, mountain dulcimer, fiddle
, and jawharp.
in Minnesota
. While in his 20s, he travelled to Appalachia
and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music, such as Roscoe Holcomb
, I.D. Stamper, and Tommy Hunter
. His vast repertoire also includes songs from contemporary writers like Si Kahn
(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 several additional children's albums.
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
of 1914. He also wrote a song entitled "Hail to the Chief" consisting entirely of malapropism
s attributed to George W. Bush
.
In his performances, McCutcheon often introduces his music with a story, and has become known as a storyteller. He has made multiple appearances at the National Storytelling Festival
in Jonesboro, Tennessee.
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 and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
who has produced 34 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
, mountain dulcimer, fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, and jawharp.
Career
McCutcheon is a graduate of Saint John's UniversityCollege of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. While in his 20s, he travelled to Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music, such as Roscoe Holcomb
Roscoe Holcomb
Roscoe Holcomb, 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, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen...
, I.D. Stamper, and Tommy Hunter
Tommy Hunter (fiddler)
Tommy Hunter was a fiddler from Mars Hill, North Carolina.Hunter started playing the fiddle when he was seven years old. He was brother to vilionist, Nan Fisher. At age twelve he played with his father's band on a radio station in Asheville, North Carolina. Hunter was a 1989 North Carolina Folk...
. His vast repertoire also includes songs from contemporary writers like Si Kahn
Si Kahn
Si Kahn is an American singer-songwriter, activist, and founder and former executive director of Grassroots Leadership.- Early life and education :...
(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 several additional children's albums.
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
Christmas in the Trenches
"Christmas in the Trenches" is a ballad from John McCutcheon's 1984 Album Winter Solstice. It tells the story of the 1914 Christmas Truce between the British and German lines on the Western Front during the Great War from the perspective of a fictional British soldier. Although Francis Tolliver is...
" (from his 1984 album Winter Solstice), tells the story of the Christmas truce
Christmas truce
Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas of 1914, during the First World War...
of 1914. He also wrote a song entitled "Hail to the Chief" consisting entirely of malapropism
Malapropism
A malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
s attributed to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
In his performances, McCutcheon often introduces his music with a story, and has become known as a storyteller. He has made multiple appearances at the National Storytelling Festival
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 in 1973...
in Jonesboro, Tennessee.
Discography
- How Can I Keep From Singing? (June Appal RecordingsJune Appal RecordingsJune Appal Recordings was established by Appalshop to record and distribute music of and from Central Appalachia. Artists with June Appal releases include Buell Kazee, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Carla Gover, Nimrod Workman and others. Over the last thirty years, June Appal has released more than...
, 1975) - The Wind That Shakes The Barley (June Appal RecordingsJune Appal RecordingsJune Appal Recordings was established by Appalshop to record and distribute music of and from Central Appalachia. Artists with June Appal releases include Buell Kazee, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Carla Gover, Nimrod Workman and others. Over the last thirty years, June Appal has released more than...
and RounderRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
, 1977) - Barefoot Boy With Boots On (Rounder, 1980)
- Fine Times At Our House (Rounder, 1982)
- Howjadoo (Rounder, 1983, family album)
- Winter Solstice (Rounder, 1984, with TrapezoidTrapezoid (band)Trapezoid is an American folk music group led by Paul Reisler. Founded in 1975 by Sam Rizzetta, they began as a quartet of hammer dulcimer players. Two of the four played the traditional hammer dulcimer, while the other two played baritone and treble hammer dulcimers specially designed by Rizzetta...
and Washington Bach ConsortWashington Bach ConsortWhat began as a group of friends coming together to play the music of Bach has become one of the world's premiere Baroque ensembles. Founded in 1977 by J. Reilly Lewis, the Washington Bach Consort is a professional chorus and orchestra noted for its performance of 18th-century music on period...
) - Signs of the Times (Rounder, 1986, with Si Kahn)
- Step By Step (Rounder, 1986)
- Gonna Rise Again (Rounder, 1987)
- Mail Myself to You (Rounder, 1988, family album)
- Water From Another Time (Rounder, 1989, retrospective)
- What It's Like (Rounder, 1990)
- Live at Wolf Trap (Rounder, 1991)
- Family Garden (Rounder, 1993, family album)
- Between the Eclipse (Rounder, 1995)
- Summersongs (Rounder, 1995, family album)
- Wintersongs (Rounder, 1995, family album)
- 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 ChapinTom ChapinTom Chapin is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter and storyteller.-Biography:Chapin attended State University of New York at Plattsburgh and graduated in 1966. From 1971-1976, he hosted a TV show called Make a Wish...
) - Autumnsongs (Rounder, 1998, family album)
- Springsongs (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)
- Stand Up! ...Broadsides for Our Time (self-published, 2004)
- Welcome the Traveler Home: The Winfield Songs (self-published, 2004)
- Mightier Than the Sword (Appalsongs, 2005)
- This Fire (Appalsongs, 2007)
- Sermon on the Mound (Appalsongs, 2008)
- Untold (Appalsongs, 2009)
- Passage (Appalsongs, 2010)
External links
- John McCutcheon official site
- "Making waves making music - 2004 article in local paper
- Audio/Video John McCutcheon is the only guest on Woodsongs show 471