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Mark Warren Spoelstra (June 30, 1940 – February 24, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter and
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
and
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 ...
guitarist.


Biography

He was born and raised in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. He began his musical career in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in his teens and migrated around to wind up 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 ...
in time to take part in the folk music revival of the early 1960s. He is best remembered for his activity in the
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
area. He performed with
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
soon after Dylan's arrival 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 ...
, was a contributor to ''
Broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
'', and recorded a number of albums for
Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...
and other labels. Spoelstra was raised as a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
. His career was put on hold from 1963 to 1965, when he performed alternative service as a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
in
Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
. In the mid-1960s, he frequently performed at the Ash Grove in West Hollywood and the Cabale Creamery in Berkeley. It was here that he wrote most of his best songs, including an album of country songs used as the sound-track for the movie ''
Electra Glide in Blue ''Electra Glide in Blue'' is a 1973 American action film, starring Robert Blake as a motorcycle cop in Arizona and Billy "Green" Bush as his partner. The film was produced and directed by James William Guercio, and is named after the Harley ...
''. In 1969, while living in
Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...
, he formed the Frontier Constabulary with Mitch Greenhill and Mayne Smith. After Spoelstra left to resume his solo career in 1970, the band continued as the Frontier. Spoelstra later settled near
Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...
, where he lived until his death. Withdrawing from the touring life to raise a family, Spoelstra and his wife Sheri embraced Christianity. In the mid-1970s he became a minister and used his musical talents as a means to preach his spiritual messages. In the late 1970s, he recorded and released two albums of Gospel music, ''Somehow I Always Knew'' and ''Comin' Back To Town''. Retiring from music in the early 1980s, he worked for a number of years as a tour bus driver in
Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...
. Throughout this period in his life, Spoelstra remained in touch with his music. In 2001, he recorded an album entitled, ''Out Of My Hands'' for the Origin Jazz Library label; the first record he had made in 20 years. The album is a mix of new songs written for the album and some of his old favorites. In his later years he returned to the stage to perform on a limited scale. He would perform until the summer of 2006 when illness forced him to stop. Several of his albums recorded for
Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...
, long out of print, have been reissued. Spoelstra died from complications of
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
at his home in
Pioneer, California Pioneer is a census-designated place in Amador County, California. It is located east-northeast of Pine Grove, at an elevation of 2986 feet (910 m), along State Route 88. The community is in ZIP code 95666 and area code 209. The population ...
on February 25, 2007.


Discography


Studio albums and live recordings

* ''The Songs Of Mark Spoelstra with Twelve-String Guitar'' ( Folkways, 1963) * ''Mark Spoelstra recorded at Club 47 Inc.'' (Folkways, 1963) * ''Mark Spoelstra: five & twenty questions'' ( Elektra, 1965) * ''State Of Mind'' (Elektra, 1966) * ''Mark Spoelstra'' ( Columbia, 1969) * ''This House'' (
Bellaphon Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels. Recording artists * Johnny Cash * The Flippers * Ganymed * Geordie * Joan Jett & th ...
, 1971) * ''Somehow I Always Knew'' (Aslan Records, 1977) * ''Comin' Back To Town'' (Inwood Records, 1979) * ''Out Of My Hands'' ( Origin Jazz Library, 2001)


References


External links


Official websiteOrigin Jazz Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoelstra, Mark 1940 births 2007 deaths Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri American Quakers American folk singers Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American singers Singers from Missouri 20th-century American male singers