David Patrick Wilcox (born March 9, 1958) 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 ...

ian and singer-songwriter guitarist. He has been active in the music business since the late 1980s.

Career

Wilcox was born in

Mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

, Ohio, and attended

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

Yellow Springs, Ohio Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Antioch College. History The area of the village had long b ...

in 1976, where he began learning guitar. He later transferred to

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a requisite course of study, work an on-campu ...

in North Carolina in 1981 and graduated in 1985. Wilcox appeared regularly at a

Black Mountain, North Carolina Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,848 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountain Dep ...

nightclub called McDibbs. His debut album ''The Nightshift Watchman'' was released in 1987 on Jerry Read Smith's label, Song of the Woods, and was reissued in 1996. He began touring regularly. After performing at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, he signed with

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in 1989. He made several albums with this label. His albums were described by one ''Rolling Stone'' critic as "unjustly neglected". After his contract with A&M expired in 1994, Wilcox continued to write songs, tour and release albums. In 1994, he performed at Carnegie Hall with thirty other singer-songwriters in a showcase event. Wilcox also appeared on the cover of '' Acoustic Guitar'', which described him as James Taylor combined with the "husky breathiness more reminiscent of the late Nick Drake" and said he was the "best known of the brilliant crop of singer-songwriters to emerge in the late '80s." He was based in Asheville, North Carolina in the 1990s, in Washington, D.C. and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1999–2000, and again in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous ci ...

in 2009.

2016-09-23 David Wilcox in Richmond VA 4583

In the next decade, Wilcox continued to release albums, including ''Into the Mystery'' in 2003. He has been a guest artist at guitar workshops. His lyrics are sometimes of the "probing meaning-of-life" type, as well as "thought-provoking". Wilcox plays acoustic guitars made by Olson Guitars. His

fingerstyle Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plect ...

playing, which is similar to Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, extensively uses open tuning, often in combination with customized capos with notches cut out to allow lower strings to ring open. He has been featured in ''Performing Songwriter'' magazine on five occasions. About his approach to music: His 2005 album ''Out Beyond Ideas'' was a joint project with his wife Nance Pettit, described as a significant diversion from prior work, featuring sacred poetry set to music from different religious traditions, including Saint Francis of Assisi, Jalaludin Rumi, Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz, Rabia al Basri,

Yehuda Halevi Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...

, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Uvavnuk, and

Kabir Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das ...

. During 2005 Wilcox traveled the country with his wife and teen-aged son in an Airstream trailer attached to a bio-diesel truck. He named one of his albums ''Airstream''. His album ''Vista'' was released in April 2006. In 2008 Wilcox was honored with a silver award along 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 ...

, in '' Acoustic Guitar''s singer-songwriter category. His ''Open Hand'', produced by Seattle-based guitarist and producer Dan Phelps, was released in March 2009. Wilcox and Phelps were joined by longtime Tori Amos bassist Jon Evans and drummer James McAlister. Wilcox is sometimes confused with Canadian rock and blues guitarist David Wilcox. Although his albums have had diverse arrangements, Wilcox generally performs as a soloist. He has released 16 albums. Wilcox performed a benefit concert in

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,Coffee With Conscience in late spring of 2008. He recently played a duet with James Landfair, a critically acclaimed folk musician based out of Little Rock, Arkansas, of Buddy Mondlock's song "The Kid." It was published on YouTube on February 21, 2013. He won top honors in the 23rd Annual USA Songwriting Competition (2018) with his song "We Make The Way By Walking". He also won First Prize in the Folk category in the competition. He has received criticism and accusations of bigotry, racism and xenophobia from those who do not appreciate the intent of his 2010 song "We Call It Freedom" which is written ironically to appear to support torture of prisoners in the war on terrorism. In 2019 he covered "Why We Build The Wall" from

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial underworl ...

Critical reception

A ''New York Times'' music critic wrote Wilcox has a "handful of sterling folk-pop songs, a genial voice and enough guitar virtuosity to make even his lesser material sound convincing." Another described him as a prolific songwriter and folk artist. Another wrote that he "sings with a mellow fluency that suggests a hybrid of Mr. Taylor and Kenny Rankin, but he has better enunciation than either." Critics describe his voice as having a "warm, expressive" quality with an "engaging vocal style" and a "warm, baritone vocal tone." His music has been written as "deeply philosophical" and "insightful". One music critic wrote he was an "influential acoustic guitarist... the PBS darling of contemporary singer-songwriter folk." Another critic wrote that an "eager, unapologetic sincerity flows from the heart of David Wilcox's acoustic music," and elaborated that "Wilcox uses extended metaphors and beautifully detailed imagery in lyrics that are far more compassionate and philosophic than self-absorbed... Indeed, as steeped in romance as most popular music is, it rarely speaks directly to issues of loneliness, intimacy and commitment – let alone mortality and inner fortitude. Wilcox does this with sensitivity, analytic zeal and subtle emotional force."Alt URL
/ref> Many critics compare his style to

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

as well as Joni Mitchell and

John Gorka John Gorka (born July 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement." Personal life Gorka was raised in the Colon ...

. A ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' critic suggested Wilcox's best album was ''How Did You Find Me Here'', which was released in 1989. One critic sensed Wilcox had a "boyish sensitivity" with "something to say about love, relationships and life" which is sung with "insight, humor and moments of profundity." However, the critic felt Wilcox needs to "get some excitement into his music and voice... His even-keel, generic style of singing, playing and music-writing isn't enough to keep the focus of the modern short attention span" and his songs lack "musical distinctiveness." Wilcox is a "poet/storyteller first, a songwriter/player second".

Discography

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, David 1958 births American folk musicians American folk guitarists American male guitarists American folk singers American male singer-songwriters Fingerstyle guitarists Living people People from Yellow Springs, Ohio Antioch College alumni People from Mentor, Ohio Vanguard Records artists Fast Folk artists A&M Records artists MNRK Music Group artists Musicians from Asheville, North Carolina Singer-songwriters from Ohio Guitarists from North Carolina Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from North Carolina