Leon Bibb (February 7, 1922 – October 23, 2015) was an American-Canadian

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

and actor who grew up in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, studied voice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and worked on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. His career began when he became a featured soloist of the

Louisville Municipal College Simmons College of Kentucky is a private historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1879, it is the nation's 107th HBCU and is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education. History Beginnings In August 1865 ...

glee club A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...

as a student. He lived in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, after 1969. Bibb was born in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Kentucky and was one of the performers at the first

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

in 1959. He also had his own NBC television talk show. During the late-1950s and early-1960s, Bibb was one of a number of American entertainers, such as his good friend

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

, who were

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

ed for alleged ties to left-wing groups and causes. In 1963, Bibb traveled to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

to join

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

and others in the fight against

racial segregation in the United States In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as Housing in the United States, housing, Healthcare in the United States, healthcare, Education in the United States, education, Employment in ...

. Despite that setback, Bibb continued to perform, and around 1963–64 he was featured singing on the national TV show, ''Hootenanny'', on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' and performed with

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

on tours. He also provided the soundtrack to

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...

's 1960 film ''

The Young One ''The Young One'' ( es, La joven) (released as ''White Trash'' in the United States and ''Island of Shame'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1960 English-language Mexican drama film directed and co-written by Luis Buñuel, and starring Zachary Scott ...

''. His

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

vocals blend his classical, spiritual and blues influences. In 2009, he was made a Member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

. At the time of receiving this honor, Bibb was still an active performer. He died on October 23, 2015."Vancouver legend Leon Bibb dies at age 93", ''Vancouver Sun'', October 23, 2015
/ref> He is the father of the New York-based acoustic

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer/songwriter

Eric Bibb Eric Charles Bibb (born August 16, 1951) is a Grammy-nominated American-born blues singer and songwriter. Biography Bibb's father, Leon, was a musical theatre singer, who made a name for himself as part of the 1960s New York folk scene; his u ...

, and grandfather of Swedish dancer and performer Rennie Mirro.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Leon Bibb Sings Folk Songs'' (Vanguard, 1959) * ''Tol' My Captain'' (Vanguard, 1960) * ''Leon Bibb Sings Love Songs'' (Vanguard, 1960) * ''Leon Bibb Sings'' (Columbia, 1961) * ''Oh Freedom and Other Spirituals'' (Washington, 1962) * ''Cherries & Plums'' (Liberty, 1964) * ''The Now Composers'' (Phillips, 1967) * ''Foment, Ferment, Free... Free'' (RCA, 1969) * ''This Is Leon Bibb'' (RCA, 1970) * ''Shenandoah'' (Leon Bibb Productions, 1997) * ''Lift Every Voice And Sing'' (2003)

Live album

* ''Encore!'' (Liberty, 1963)

Collaborative albums

* The Skifflers: ''Goin' Down To Town'' (Epic, 1957) * Leon & Eric Bibb: ''A Family Affair'' (Manhaton, 2002) * Leon & Eric Bibb: ''Praising Peace: A Tribute To Paul Robeson'' (Stony Plain, 2006)

References

External links

*
Illustrated Leon Bibb discography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bibb, Leon 2015 deaths Members of the Order of British Columbia American folk singers Canadian folk singers 1922 births Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Male actors from Louisville, Kentucky Singers from Kentucky Simmons College of Kentucky alumni Folk musicians from Kentucky 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians American expatriate musicians in Canada