John McCutcheon Biography

Wisconsin native John McCutcheon (born August 14, 1952) is an American folk music singer and multi-instrumentalist who has produced over twenty-five albums since the 1970s. He is a graduate of Saint John's University in Minnesota, and now resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.

While in his 20s, McCutcheon travelled to Appalachia and learned from some of the legendary greats of traditional folk music, such as Roscoe Holcomb, I.D. Stamper, and Tommy Hunter. His vast repertoire also includes songs from contemporary writers like Si Kahn (e.g. Gone Gonna Rise Again, Rubber Blubber Whale) as well as a large body of his own music. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and Jew's harp.

When he became a father in the early 1980s he found most children's music "unmusical and condescending", and sought to change the situation by releasing a children's album, Howjadoo, in 1983. Originally, he had only intended to do one children's record, but the popularity of this first effort led to the production of several additional children's albums. Much of his work, however, continues to focus on writing political and socially conscious songs for adult audiences. One of his most successful songs, "Christmas in the Trenches" (from his 1984 album Winter Solstice) tells the story of the Christmas truce of 1914.