Clark "Bucky" Halker (born 1954) is an American academic, music historian, labor activist, singer and songwriter who specializes in

American folk music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

. Halker is best known for his work on

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

protest songs A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

, Illinois folk music, and his involvement with the preservation of

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

's musical legacy. He is a recipient of the

American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife". The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the library in 1928 as a repos ...

Archie Green Archie Green (June 29, 1917 – March 22, 2009) was an American folklorist specializing in laborlore (defined as the special folklore of workers) and American folk music. Devoted to understanding vernacular culture, he gathered and commente ...

Fellowship.

Early life

Halker was born in

Beaver Dam, WI Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin), Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primari ...

, and grew up in Ashland, WI, where he began performing in rock bands and as a solo artist as a teenager. He attended The College of Idaho, majoring in History. Later, he enrolled in graduate school at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, and continued his studies in History focusing on the working class and labor protest songs and poetry. After completing an MA and PhD at the University, he taught at the College of Idaho, Albion College, and North Central College. In 1986, moved to

Chicago, IL (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and began working as a freelance scholar and musician.

Career

Halker released his debut album, ''A Sense of Place'' in 1984, with ''Step n' Blue'', a collection of blues and folk songs, released shortly after in 1986. He joined the Chicago band The Remainders as frontman, and released a single record with them in 1993. ''Human Geography'' followed in 1993, and ''Passion, Politics, Love'' being released in 1997 to acclaim, with Erik Hague from AllMusic calling it "top-notch, varied Americana". 2001 saw the release of ''Don't Want Your Millions'', partly funded by the

Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...

, and considered a historic document of union and labor songs, featuring material from

Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for '' The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral his ...

The Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro-union ...

and

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

. In 1991, Halker authored the book ''For Democracy, Workers, and God: Labor Song-Poems and Labor Protest, 1865-1895'', accompanied by a

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

of labor protest songs. As part of his ongoing work with folk music, Halker has also produced the Illinois Humanities Council's ''Folksongs of Illinois'' series volumes 1-5, which chronicles the history of folk music in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

since 1865. Volume 4, ''Chicago Since 1945'', was released in 2011 through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. A National Endowment of the Arts grant funded Volume 5 of the series, ''Chicago Since 1970'', which was released in 2013. In 2015, Bucky released ''Anywhere But Utah: Songs of Joe Hill'', a tribute CD in honor of Joe Hill, an IWW activist, who was executed (for a murder he likely did not commit) by firing squad in Salt Lake City, Utah, November 19, 1915. The year 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of Hill's execution. The CD contains songs all written by Hill, some of which have never been recorded. Funding for the project was provided by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Swedish Council of America.

Woody Guthrie

For years, Halker has been involved in the promotion and preservation of Woody Guthrie's musical legacy through concerts, lectures, writings, and media programs. In 2012, Halker released ''The Ghost of Woody Guthrie'' in collaboration with Minneapolis musician Andy Dee. The album is a tribute to Guthrie and includes eighteen Halker originals songs and four Guthrie songs. On volume 4 of the ''Folksongs of Illinois'' CD series Halker included ''Old Chy-Car-Go'', a Guthrie song that was part of the performer's repertoire but had not been recorded before 2010. Halker recorded the song in collaboration with

Cathy Richardson Catherine E. Richardson (born February 21, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and narrator from the Chicago suburbs in Illinois. She is the lead singer for the band Jefferson Starship Additional , December 3, 2011 and her own C ...

. Bucky Halker also served on the board of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives until it disbanded in 2014. As part of Guthrie's birth centennial in 2012, Halker participated in several memorial concerts that showcased the singer's material.

Personal life

Halker is married and lives with his wife in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

References

External links