Kenneth Whiteley (born April 30, 1951) is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer. He began performing folk music in the early 1970s, making frequent appearances at the

Mariposa Folk Festival Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia, Ontario. It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers. After being held in various places in Ontario for a f ...

and recording and touring with acclaimed children's performer

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian, ( hy, Րաֆֆի, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author of Armenian descent born in Egypt, best known for his children's music. He developed his career as a " ...

. Whiteley frequently performed with his brother Chris Whiteley and later with his niece and nephew

Jenny Whiteley Jenny Whiteley is a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. She was a member of the band Heartbreak Hill, and released several solo albums of folk music. She has won two Juno Awards for her music. Early life and family Whiteley grew up ...

and Daniel Whiteley. Whiteley has been honoured with numerous awards, including a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

in 2004, and he was inducted into the Mariposa Festival Hall of Fame in 2008.

Early life and career

Whiteley was born in

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Bellefonte is a borough in, and the county seat of, Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is approximately twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The boro ...

to Canadian parents. They moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

when Whiteley was five years old. He began to play guitar at the age of twelve and was influenced at an early age by the folk, blues and jug band traditions. He began performing with his older brother Chris Whiteley and in 1965 they, along with clarinettist Tom Evens, formed the Original Sloth Band. The trio recorded three albums and appeared at numerous folk festivals, including Mariposa, the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Vancouver Folk Festival. Whiteley became a Life Member of the Toronto Musicians' Association, Local 149 of the

American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City, ...

, in May 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteley, Ken Canadian folk singer-songwriters 1951 births Canadian children's musicians Living people Canadian Folk Music Award winners Canadian male singer-songwriters