You can get some basic details from Wikipedia: Joe Hickerson (born 1935) is a noted folk singer and songleader. A graduate of Oberlin College, for 35 years (1963?1998) he was Librarian and Director of the Archive of Folk Song at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
But that doesn't begin to convey the vast wealth of folksong that dwells in his brain--the lyrics and tunes, the history, the anecdotes associated with every song, nor does it hint at his great presentations of the material, filled with historical seriousness and wry humor all mixed up behind his sly grin and his upside-down-strung southpaw guitar.
Joe Hickerson was one of FSGW?s founders in 1964 and active for years on our board. He had earlier been first president of Folk Song Clubs at Oberlin and at Indiana in the 1950s and 60s. He studied folklore and ethnomusicology at a time when he was told he had to choose between academia and performing ? couldn?t do both. Fortunately, he ignored that advice. He also sold LPs and hosted a radio show during his university years.
In 1963 Joe came to Washington to be Reference Librarian for the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress (later called the Archive of Folk Culture), becoming Head of it in 1974. His daily work involved the traditional music of this country ? the collections, source materials, personalities, and reference and finding aids. And along the way he soaked up countless songs. Since his 1998 retirement, he has performed, lectured, written, received honors and awards, been ?The Songfinder? for Sing Out! Magazine, and researched projects ranging from ?O Brother Where Art Thou? to ?Folksongs of Washington, DC.?
Joe sings mostly traditional songs with various American roots, African-American, Anglo-American, Celtic or other. He is also a fine, left-handed guitar player. He has performed for more than 50 years in the US, Canada and Europe. He was called a ?great songleader? by Pete Seeger ? who shares with Joe the songwriting credit for ?Where Have All the Flowers Gone.? Seeger sang his three verses at Camp Woodland, where Joe was a counselor in 1959 and 60; Joe finished two more verses, and the campers sang the song back to Pete on a future visit.
Joe has recorded three solo albums (with friends) and a couple with the Golden Ring, all for Folk Legacy Records, and he was a member of the Folksmiths, who released a Folkways LP in 1958, and which was the first American recording of "Kumbayah".
A founder of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, a long-time resident of the DC area, and the go-to guy for folk music at the Library of Congress for decades, Joe returns to us from his current digs in Portland, Oregon to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the society. Joe has always said he prefers to sing WITH people, not AT them, so on Sunday, July 13, bring your voice to Seekers Church, 276 Carroll St., NW, Washington, DC. It's about a block from the Takoma Metro Station. General admission $20, FSGW members $15.
Joe will also be presenting a talk as part of the Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture Series at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, July 15, 2014, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building titled "Folk Music, Archives, and Performing: Experiences, Adventures, and Great Stories."
