John McCutcheon plays music exclusively from the collections of the Library's American Folklife Center, including material from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger's collections, as well as his own. While in his 20s, McCutcheon traveled to Appalachia, collected folk music and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional music, such as Roscoe Holcomb, I.D. Stamper and Tommy Hunter. In addition to his own fieldwork, McCutcheon also traveled and collected with traditional musician and folklorist Mike Seeger. Most of this fieldwork is part of the permanent collections of the American Folklife Center.
Speaker Biography: John McCutcheon is an American folksinger, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. 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. His eclectic catalog of ballads, historical songs, children's songs, love songs, topical satire, fiddle and hammer dulcimer instrumentals, and even symphonic works, are among the broadest in American folk music. His vast repertoire also includes songs from many other contemporary writers. His own songwriting has been hailed by critics around the world; his song "Christmas in the Trenches" is considered a classic and was recently named one of the 100 Essential Folk Songs by NPR. His 36 albums have earned six Grammy nominations.
For more information, visit the website of the Library of Congress
Speaker Biography: John McCutcheon is an American folksinger, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. 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. His eclectic catalog of ballads, historical songs, children's songs, love songs, topical satire, fiddle and hammer dulcimer instrumentals, and even symphonic works, are among the broadest in American folk music. His vast repertoire also includes songs from many other contemporary writers. His own songwriting has been hailed by critics around the world; his song "Christmas in the Trenches" is considered a classic and was recently named one of the 100 Essential Folk Songs by NPR. His 36 albums have earned six Grammy nominations.
For more information, visit the website of the Library of Congress
