Listening to Now

One would not necessarily have to be an historian of the Folk Revival to be familiar with the work of Bob Gibson (1931-1996) but it would useful. Gibson was big news in the late 1950s to early 1960s during what some wag once called “the great folk scare.” His main instruments were banjo and 12-string guitar. He wrote songs recorded by many others including Peter, Paul, and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Kingston Trio. One of his claims to fame is that he introduced a then-unknown Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959.

Sadly, Gibson’s career was side-tracked by an addiction to drugs and alcohol, and by the time he was sober and ready to get back at it in the late 1970s the kind of music he had to offer was no longer much in demand, at least not as far as mainstream musical culture was concerned. He did, however, continue to work on new albums, musicals, and plays. He died in 1993 at the age of 64, having been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy.

His released what is considered his best known album in 1961, Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn. You can find his complete discography here.

Richie Unterberger’s brief bio of Gibson at AllMusic is particularly instructive.

While Bob Gibson’s recordings may sound like run-of-the-mill folk to modern listeners, he played an important role in popularizing folk music to American audiences in the 1950s at the very beginning of the folk boom. His 12-string guitar style influenced performers like Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin; he was a mainstay at one of the first established folk clubs in the U.S., the Gate of Horn in Chicago; and he wrote songs with Shel Silverstein and Phil Ochs as well as performing in a duo with Hamilton Camp. Most of all, he was one of the first folkies on the scene — when he began performing and recording in the mid-’50s, there was hardly anyone else playing guitar-based folk music for an educated, relatively affluent audience.

All Music

Coming first or at least early may not make you famous, but it does make you important.

The song I chose to post is from the aforementioned album Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn. “Old Blue” is an old folk song likely originating from the minstrel shows of the late 19th century. The album is a live recording so it really provides a great sense of what it must have been like to be at a club when folk music was the thing – with banjos, guitars, tight vocal harmonies, a pronounced nod to the folk tradition, all in front of a very appreciative audience.