Buffy St. Marie may well be the first and only folk singer to win an Oscar for Best Song as a co-composer for "Up Where We Belong" (from An Officer And A Gentleman). Born on a Cree reservation in Canada, she was adopted and raised in Maine and Massachusetts.
In the early 1960s, she began writing her unique brand of protest and love songs, which have been performed by many artists the world over. ( "Until It's Time For You To Go" "Cripple Creek" and "Universal Soldier" are just three of her enduring classics. The Band did a version of "Cripple Creek".)
St. Marie was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and as a result, was blacklisted during the Johnson years. For a while, she appeared at grass - roots concerts, AIM (American Indian Movement) events, and other activist benefits. She spent five years on "Sesame Street" and had her first Top 40 hit "Mister, Can't You See" in 1972. She recently acquired a Ph.D in Fine Arts, and is still recording, performing, and lecturing.
Josh White Sr. spend his early years and teens in extreme poverty; he was malnourished, shoeless, and often dressed in rags. From this wretched beginning, he perservered to become one of the genre's greatest. He introduced blues, spirituals, and black folk music to mainstream America.
He was the first black singer to give a White House Command Performance(1941), to perform in previously segregated hotels (1942), to get a million-selling record, "One Meatball"(1944), and the first to make a solo concert tour of America (1945). He enjoyed tremendous success until he was blacklisted in 1950, his career destroyed by the McCarthy trials. White was able to resurrect his career later, though he was now chroncially ill. He died from heart disease and other complications in 1969. He was only 54.
Ritchie Havens was greatly influenced by Nina Simone and the Greenwich Village scene. He first gained notice as one of the best live perfomers around. He's played at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival, 1968 Miami Pop Festival, the 1969 Isle of Wright one, and also that same year, Woodstock.
His second album, Alarm Clock, was his first to reach the Top 30 and also brought forth the Top 20 hit "Here Comes The Sun" (1971). He's also noted for the song "Freedom." Havens has his own record label, Stormy Forest, and is still touring, recording, and performing.
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