John McCutcheon (born August 14, 1952) is an American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has produced 41 albums since the 1970s. He is regarded as a master of the

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

mountain dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length ...

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, and jaw harp. He has received six

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations.

Career

McCutcheon was born to Roman Catholic parents in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city into east and west. The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and ...

. He attended Saint James Grade School and graduated from Newman Catholic High School. He is a graduate of

Saint John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) ** St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus * College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and C ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. While in his 20s, he travelled to

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music, such as

Roscoe Holcomb Roscoe Holcomb, (born Roscoe Halcomb September 5, 1912 – died February 1, 1981) 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 ...

, I.D. Stamper, and

Tommy Hunter Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, '' Country Hoedown''. ''T ...

. His 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 seven additional children's albums. He has also written three books for children. 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" 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 ...

" (from his 1984 album ''Winter Solstice''), tells the story of the

Christmas truce ckb: ئاگربەستی کریسماس The Christmas truce (german: Weihnachtsfrieden; french: Trêve de Noël; nl, Kerstbestand) was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christ ...

of 1914. In his performances, McCutcheon often introduces his music with a story. He has become known as a storyteller, and has made multiple appearances at the

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 teache ...

Jonesborough, Tennessee Jonesborough (historically also Jonesboro) is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 5,860 as of 2020. It is "Tennessee's oldest town". Jonesborough is part of the ...

. He is married to children's author and storyteller,

Carmen Agra Deedy Carmen Agra Deedy is an author of children’s literature, storyteller and radio contributor. Early life Born in Havana, Cuba, she migrated to the United States with her family in 1963 after the Cuban Revolution. Deedy grew up in Decatur, ...

. McCutcheon's music has, since the 1990s, increasingly evolved into

heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The ge ...

-influenced ballads, while he still occasionally performs purer folk music. In 2011 McCutcheon portrayed

IWW The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

organizer and songwriter Joe Hill in Si Kahn's one-man play ''Joe Hill's Last Will'', produced by Main Stage West in

Sebastopol, California Sebastopol ( ) is a city in Sonoma County, in California with a recorded population of 7,521, per the 2020 U.S. Census. Sebastopol was once primarily a plum and apple-growing region. Today, wine grapes are the predominant agriculture crop, a ...

2017-04-21 John McCutcheon performs in Richmond VA

Discography

* ''How Can I Keep from Singing?'' (

June Appal Recordings June Appal Recordings is a record label that was founded by Jack Wright and established by Appalshop to record and distribute music of and from central Appalachia. Artists with June Appal include Buell Kazee, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Carla Gov ...

, 1975) * ''The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (

and

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

, 1977)* * ''From Earth To Heaven'' (

, 1978) (As part of group Wry Straw) * ''Barefoot Boy with Boots On'' (Rounder, 1980) * ''Fine Times at Our House'' (Rounder, 1982; reissued Greenhays, 2010) * ''Howjadoo'' (Rounder, 1983) * ''Winter Solstice'' (Rounder, 1984, with

Trapezoid A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a Convex polygon, convex quadri ...

and Washington Bach Consort) * ''Signs of the Times'' (Rounder, 1986, with Si Kahn) * ''Step By Step: Hammer Dulcimer Duets, Trios and Quartets'' (Rounder, 1986) * ''Gonna Rise Again'' (Rounder, 1987) * ''Mail Myself to You'' (Rounder, 1988) * ''Water from Another Time: A Retrospective'' (Rounder, 1989) * ''What It's Like'' (Rounder, 1990) * ''Live at Wolf Trap'' (Rounder, 1991) * ''Family Garden'' (Rounder, 1993) * ''Between the Eclipse'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''Summersongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''Wintersongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1995) * ''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 Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song " Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a so ...

) * ''Autumnsongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (Rounder, 1998, family album) * ''Springsongs (series: John McCutcheon's Four Seasons)'' (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) * ''Hammer Dulcimer Repertoire'' (Homespun Tapes, 2003; CD and book) * ''Stand Up! Broadsides for Our Time'' (self-published, 2004; reissue 2010) * ''Welcome the Traveler Home: The Winfield Songs'' (self-published, 2004; reissue 2010) * ''Mightier Than the Sword '' (Appalsongs, 2005) * ''This Fire'' (Appalsongs, 2007) * ''The Hammer Dulcimer'' (Hal Leonard, 2007; 6 CDs and booklet) * ''Sermon on the Mound'' (Appalsongs, 2008) * ''Untold'' (Appalsongs, 2009) * ''Passage'' (Appalsongs, 2010) * ''This Land: Woody Guthrie's America'' (Appalsongs, 2011) * ''22 Days'' (Appalsongs, 2013) * ''Joe Hill's Last Will'' (Appalsongs, 2015) * ''Trolling for Dreams'' (Appalsongs, 2017) * ''Ghost Light'' (Appalsongs, 2018) * ''To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger'' (Appalsongs, 2019) * ''Cabin Fever: Songs from the Quarantine'' (Appalsongs, 2020) * ''Bucket List'' (Appalsongs, 2021)

Books

* ''Happy Adoption Day'' (1996) * ''Christmas in the Trenches'' (2006, book with CD) * ''Flowers for Sarajevo'' (2017)

Grammy Award Nominations

John McCutcheon has received six

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominations. The

s are awarded annually by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...

. , - , align="center", , , "John McCutcheon's Four Seasons: Summersongs" , , Best Musical Album for Children , , , - , align="center", , , "John McCutcheon's Four Seasons: Wintersongs" , , Best Musical Album for Children , , , - , align="center", , , "Bigger Than Yourself" , , Best Musical Album for Children , , , - , align="center", , , "John McCutcheon's Four Seasons: Autumnsongs" , , Best Musical Album for Children , , , - , align="center", , , "John McCutcheon's Four Seasons: Springsongs" , , Best Musical Album for Children , , , - , align="center", , , "Christmas in the Trenches" , , Best Spoken Word Album for Children , , , -

References

External links

John McCutcheon official site

"Making waves making music – 2004 article
in ''

The Hook The Hook, or The Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a rai ...

''
Audio/Video
John McCutcheon is the only guest on Woodsongs show 471 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccutcheon, John 1952 births Living people American folk singers American fiddlers American storytellers American autoharp players Converts to Quakerism Hammered dulcimer players American multi-instrumentalists Fast Folk artists Old-time musicians Nonviolence advocates American Quakers People from Wausau, Wisconsin Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University alumni Appalachian dulcimer players American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Virginia 21st-century American violinists 21st-century American male musicians Red House Records artists Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin