Joe Hickerson

Joseph Charles Hickerson (October 20, 1935 – August 17, 2025), known professionally as Joe Hickerson, was an American folk singer, song finder, and musicologist. He led the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress from 1963 to 1998.

Background

Hickerson was born in Lake Forest, Illinois, on October 20, 1935, and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut.<ref name = Risen>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He graduated from Oberlin College with a B.S. in physics in 1957.<ref name = AFS>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While at Oberlin, he performed folk music with a group called The Folksmiths.<ref name = Risen/> He then became a graduate student at Indiana University Bloomington, studying ethnomusicology; he earned a master's degree and was studying for a doctorate before joining the Library of Congress.<ref name = Risen/>

Career

For 35 years (1963–1998), Hickerson was Librarian and Director of the Archive of Folk Song at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.<ref name = AFS/> Hickerson was a lecturer, researcher, and performer, especially in New York, Michigan, and the Chicago area.Template:Citation needed

In 1958, with the Folksmiths, Hickerson participated in the first LP recording of "Kumbayah", having learned it from Tony Saletan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1960, Hickerson added two verses to the original version of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" created and recorded in 1958 by Pete Seeger, establishing a circular form for the song that became a standard that many others recorded.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Along with Dave Guard, Hickerson is credited with the creation, also in 1960, of the Kingston Trio's version of "Bonny Hielan' Laddie".Template:Citation needed

Personal life and death

Hickerson was married and divorced twice, and had a son.<ref name = Risen/> In later years, he was in a relationship with Ruth Bolliger,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and moved from the Washington, D.C. area, to Portland, Oregon, in 2013, to live closer to her.<ref name = Risen/>

Hickerson died at a care home in Portland on August 17, 2025, at the age of 89.<ref name = Risen/>

Discography

• We've Got Some Singing To Do (1958) The Folksmiths, featuring Joe Hickerson Folkways Records F-2407
• Joe Hickerson With a Gathering of Friends (1970) Folk-Legacy Records
• Drive Dull Care Away Volumes 1 & 2 (1976) Folk-Legacy Records

Filmography

• The Wobblies 1979 (song performer)

Bibliography

• Ray M. Lawless (1965) Folksingers and Folksongs in America, pages 112-3, Template:ISBN.
• Kristin Baggelaar and Donald Milton (1976) Folk Music: More Than A Song, pages 175-6, Template:ISBN.
• Dave Marsh and John Swenson (1979) The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st ed., page 171, Template:ISBN.

External links

• Joe Hickerson's website (archived 2011-08-03)
• Joe Hickerson interview on the down home radio show
• Joseph C. Hickerson Papers
• {{#if:Joe Hickerson|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
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• Joe Hickerson at International Songwriters Association