Jo Mapes (July 20, 1931 - February 2, 2018) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

, songwriter, critic and writer. She was prominent in the

folk music revival A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly composed songs with socially and politically aware ly ...

of the 1950s and 1960s and later became an advertising copywriter and nightclub critic for the Sun-Times in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Life

She was born Joanne Claire Coombs in Chicago, and moved to

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' ...

with her mother when in her teens.Ronald D. Cohen, ''Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970'', Univ of Massachusetts Press, 2002, pp.77, 107
/ref> At Thomas Starr King Junior High School she was friendly with Odetta Felious, and developed a love of folk songs. In the early 1950s she began singing and playing guitar in folk clubs, and in 1955 she appeared on the TV

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

'' Chance of a Lifetime''.Biography by Bruce Eder at Allmusic.com
Retrieved 4 April 2014 She moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in 1957, and later to

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 performed in clubs and concert venues around the country. Mapes was described by

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...

as "the best female folk singer and guitar player around, with unique singing style and stage presence." She was featured in the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

of the ABC TV series ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder name ...

'' in 1962, and later appeared in several episodes of the show. She recorded

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s for

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

, including ''The Hootenanny Star'' (1962), as well as appearing on several ''Hootenanny'' compilations. She also wrote songs including "Come On In", recorded by

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

, and others; and "Come and Open Your Eyes", recorded by

Spanky and Our Gang Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), because of the si ...

. In 1964 she released ''And You Were On My Mind'' on the short-lived FM label set up by Pete Kameron and Monte Kay, but the company went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

before the album could be distributed. Mike Callahan, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries, "FM Album Discography", ''Both Sides Now Publications''
Retrieved 4 April 2014 In 1964 she married

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

ist

Fleming Brown Fleming Brown (March 1, 1926 – 1984), born in Marshall, Missouri, United States, was an American banjo player and one of the early teachers at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. As an artist, Brown specialized in traditional songs of th ...

. She retired from performing after a farewell concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, and settled in Chicago to raise a family. She taught at the

Old Town School of Folk Music The Old Town School of Folk Music is a Chicago teaching and performing institution that launched the careers of many notable folk music artists. Founded by Folk musicians Frank Hamilton and Win Stracke, and Dawn Greening, the School opened in the ...

, Profile at ReverbNation.com
Retrieved 4 April 2014 and then worked as an award-winning copywriter, producer and

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

writer in the advertising industry, her clients including

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

and

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

; she provided the song for a

Raisin Bran Raisin bran (sultana bran in some countries; see sultana grape) is a breakfast cereal containing raisins and bran flakes. Raisin bran is manufactured by several companies under a variety of brand names, including the popularly known Kellogg's R ...

commercial. From 1968 to 1978 she worked as entertainment critic, columnist, and feature writer at the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

, and in 1986 she helped set up Artists In Evidence, a club associated with the Artists In Residence apartment building. Rick Kogan, "Artistry Of Jo Mapes Is Evident Once More", ''Chicago Tribune'', June 13, 1986
Retrieved 4 April 2014 More recently she has occasionally performed at clubs in Chicago.

References

External links

Jo Mapes thread at Mudcat.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapes, Jo 1935 births Living people American folk singers Folk musicians from Chicago