The World Folk Music Association is a non-profit organization formed in 1983 by folk singer/songwriter

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than fifty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

and Dick Cerri, a radio host from Washington D. C. The first chairman of the board was Paxton and Cerri served as president. Paxton and Cerri declared that the WFMA was "dedicated to promoting contemporary and traditional folk music, spreading the word to fans, and keeping the folk community informed and involved". WFMA presents a monthly showcase in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, and from 1984 to 2011 hosted an annual benefit concert. The WFMA presented its Lifetime Achievement Award, Kate Wolf Award, and John Denver award at its annual concert through 2006. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' described the 6th annual concert as "nostalgic and topical, competent and compelling". To celebrate

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 82d birthday, WFMA presented a Woody Guthrie Tribute Concert in 1994. A two-night concert in tribute of

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

's 45th anniversary was held by WFMA in 2002. In 2013, WFMA hosted a benefit concert to support the Madison House Autism Foundation. WFMA also sponsored the final

Chad Mitchell Trio The Chad Mitchell Trio, later known as The Mitchell Trio, were an American vocal group who became known during the 1960s. They performed traditional folk songs and some of John Denver's early compositions. They were particularly notable for perf ...

concert in 2014.

WFMA Lifetime Achievement Award

The first recipient of the WFMA Lifetime Achievement Award was

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

in 1994. Other winners include: *

Lou Gottlieb Louis Gottlieb (October 10, 1923 – July 11, 1996) credited as Lou Gottlieb, was an American bassist and comic spokesman for music trio The Limeliters. He held a PhD in musicology and was considered one of the so-called "new comedy" performers, ...

of the

Limeliters The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb (bass violin/bass), Alex Hassilev (banjo/baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (guitar/tenor). The group was active from 1959 until 1965, and then after a hiatus of ...

, 1995 *

Oscar Brand Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Can ...

, 1996 *

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

, 1997 (posthumous award) *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

, 1998 (posthumous award) *

Tommy Makem Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banj ...

, 1999 *

Rod Kennedy John Roddick Kennedy (March 17, 1882 – September 28, 1935) was a Canadian amateur and professional ice hockey player. Kennedy, a defenceman, played most of his hockey in the amateur era, representing two storied clubs in the Montreal Wanderers ...

, 2000 * John Stewart, 2001 *

Joe Glazer Joe Glazer (June 19, 1918 – September 19, 2006), closely associated with labor unions and often referred to as "labor's troubadour," was an American folk musician who recorded more than thirty albums over the course of his career. Early l ...

, 2002 * Carolyn Hester, 2003 *

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Ma ...

, 2004 (posthumous award) * Dick Cerri, 2005 *

, 2006

Kate Wolf Memorial Award

Established in 1987 to honor the memory of Kate Wolf, a singer/songwriter who died from leukemia, the Kate Wolf Memorial Award is presented "to the performer who best epitomizes the music and spirit of Kate Wolf." It has been awarded to: *

Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...

, 1988 *

Christine Lavin Christine Lavin (born January 2, 1952) is a New York City-based singer-songwriter and promoter of contemporary folk music. She has recorded numerous solo albums, and has also recorded with other female folk artists under the name Four Bitchin ...

of Four Bitchin' Babes, 1989 *

Rosalie Sorrels Rosalie Sorrels (June 24, 1933 – June 11, 2017) was an American Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She began her public career as a singer and collector of traditional folksongs in the late 1950s. During the early 1960s she left her husband an ...

, 1990 *

Robin Batteau Robin Batteau (born January 12, 1948) is an American composer, singer-songwriter, and music producer. Batteau is the brother of singer/songwriter David Batteau. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover and should have graduated from Harvard Uni ...

, 1991 * Hugh Romney, also known as Wavy Gravy, 1992 *

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

Peter, Paul, and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Traver ...

, 1993 * Crow Johnson, 1994 *

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award f ...

, 1995 * Jack Hardy, 1996 *

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 ...

, 1997 *

David Buskin David Buskin (born December 13, 1943 in New York City) is a singer, songwriter, performer, author, playwright, jingle composer and girls' basketball coach. He is well known for composing numerous television and radio commercials produced in the 19 ...

, 1998 *

Nina Gerber Nina Gerber is an American guitarist who first came to attention when she accompanied singer-songwriter Kate Wolf from 1979 until Wolf's death in 1986. Gerber was born and raised in Sebastopol, California. In 1975, Gerber was still at high schoo ...

, 1999 *

Noel Paul Stookey Noel Paul Stookey (born December 30, 1937) is an American singer-songwriter who was famous for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary; however, he has been known by his first name, Noel, throughout his life. Nowadays, he continues to w ...

, 2000 * The Kennedys, 2001 *

Anne Hills Anne Hills (born October 18, 1953) is an American folk singer-songwriter. Hills was born to a family of missionaries in Moradabad, India, and grew up in Michigan, United States. She studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, where she pl ...

, 2002 *

David Massengill David Massengill (born 1951, Bristol, Tennessee) is an American folk singer-songwriter, guitar and Appalachian dulcimer player. Massengill considers Dave Van Ronk his mentor, and is fond of quoting Van Ronk's tribute "he takes the dull out of du ...

, 2003 * Tom Rowe of

Schooner Fare Schooner Fare is a Maine-based folk band, consisting of Steve Romanoff (vocals, six and twelve-string guitar, five-string banjo), Chuck Romanoff (vocals, twelve-string guitar, tenor banjo), and formerly Tom Rowe (vocals, bass guitar, tin whist ...

, 2004 (posthumous award) * The Shaw Brothers, 2005

John Denver Award

Established in 1998, the John Denver Award was awarded in 1999 to Denver's original publisher and producer,

Milt Okun Milton Theodore Okun (December 23, 1923 – November 15, 2016) was an American arranger, record producer, conductor, singer and founder of Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. Okun transformed the careers of a dozen or more major U.S. a ...

. Other recipients include: * Kenn Roberts, 2000 *

Bill Danoff William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American songwriter and singer. He is known for “ Afternoon Delight", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, includin ...

, 2001 * Tom Wisner, 2003 * Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino (

Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

), 2004 * Dawn Publications, 2006

References

{{reflist, refs= {{Cite book, title=Number #1 : the story of the original Highwaymen, last=Noble, first=Richard E., publisher=Outskirts Press, year=2009, isbn=9781432738099, location=Denver, pages=142–161; 265–267, oclc=426388468 {{cite book, title=College & Research Libraries News, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJ5JAQAAIAAJ, date=January 1996, page=206, publisher=Association of College and Research Libraries {{Cite journal, date=1983, title=Changing Scene, journal=Music Educators Journal, volume=70, issue=2, pages=22, doi=10.2307/3401206, issn=0027-4321, jstor=3401206 {{cite news , title=Dick Cerri (obituary), url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/dick-cerri-folk-music-radio-host-in-dc-area/2013/10/18/d46cb6b0-383a-11e3-ae46-e4248e75c8ea_story.html, access-date=9 Nov 2019 , work=The Washington Post , date=30 Oct 2013 {{cite web , title=Showcase Series , url=http://www.wfma.net/PRshowcase.htm , website=World Folk Music Association , access-date=9 November 2019 {{cite web , title=WFMA Past Events , url=http://www.wfma.net/wfmapast.htm , website=World Folk Music Association , access-date=9 November 2019 {{cite news , last1=Joyce , first1=Mike , title=Folk's Global Gathering , work=The Washington Post , date=21 Jan 1991 , id={{pq, 307355472 {{Cite news, url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-07-01-1994182143-story.html, title=Woody's music is our music and will be played today, last=Adamarczyk, first=Peg, date=1 Jul 1994, work=The Baltimore Sun, language=en-US, access-date=2019-11-17 {{Cite web, url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/apr/19/20030419-090925-7185r/, title=If I had a camera, website=The Washington Times, language=en-US, access-date=2019-11-17 {{cite web , title=Collaborating with World Folk Music Association , url=https://www.madisonhouseautism.org/collaborating-with-the-world-folk-music-association/ , website=Madison House Autism Foundation , access-date=9 November 2019 {{cite web , title=Concerts , url=https://chadmitchelltrio.com/concerts.html , website=Chad Mitchell Trio: Then & Now , access-date=17 November 2019

External links

Official website
American folk music