- John Jacob Niles
John Jacob Niles (b. Louisville,
Kentucky ,April 28 ,1892 ; d.Lexington, Kentucky ,March 1 ,1980 ) was an American composer, singer, and collector of traditionalballads . Called the "Dean of American Balladeers" [http://www.john-jacob-niles.com/] , Niles was an important influence on theAmerican folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, withJoan Baez ,Burl Ives , andPeter, Paul and Mary , among others, recording his songs.Biography
Niles learned music theory from his mother, and began writing down folk music as a teenager. He became a serious student of
Appalachia n folk music by transcribing traditional songs from oral sources while an itinerant employee of theBurroughs Corporation in easternKentucky , from 1910 to 1917. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps duringWorld War I , in which he was injured, he studied music inFrance , first inLyon , then inParis at theSchola Cantorum , also meetingGertrude Stein . Returning to the United States in 1920, he continued his studies at theCincinnati Conservatory of Music . He sang opera inChicago and folk songs on early radio. In 1925, he moved toNew York City and held various jobs in the entertainment industry. In the 1930s, he toured Europe and the United States withcontralto Marion Kerby . He performed at theWhite House in 1938, and on occasion at theNewport Folk Festival during the 1950s.In the 1920s, Niles began publishing music. He made four extended trips into the southern Appalachians as an assistant to photographer
Doris Ulmann , again transcribing traditional songs from oral sources, including the ballads "Pretty Polly" and "Barbara Allen." On other occasions, he transcribed songs he heard sung byAfrican American s and by fellow soldiers in World War I.Niles is also a noted songwriter. His songs, many of which are based on traditional sources, include "Venezuela," "
Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair ," and the haunting Christmas song "I Wonder As I Wander ."Henry Miller 's "Plexus" includes a powerful tribute to Niles's recording of this song. Niles composed "Go 'Way From My Window" when he was a mere 16 years old, but did not perform it until 1930.Marlene Dietrich recorded it and sang it on stage.Bob Dylan quoted its first line in his song "It Ain't Me Babe ." Later in life, Niles published compositions in a more classical style, including works for choir andart song s for voice and piano. The latter include his last work, a setting of poems byThomas Merton .Starting in 1938, he recorded a number of his compositions and transcribed songs, performing the material in an intense, dramatic manner. He employed a trademark very high
falsetto to portray female characters, and often accompanied himself on anAppalachian dulcimer ,lute , or other plucked stringed instrument.In 1936, he married Rena Lipetz. They settled on the Boot Hill farm in
Clark County, Kentucky , where they spent the rest of their lives. He is buried at the nearby St. Hubert's Episcopal Church. The John Jacob Niles Center for American Music at theUniversity of Kentucky is named after him, and displays a number of traditional instruments he handcrafted.Discography
*"The Tradition Years: I Wonder as I Wander"(1958, Tradition Records; 2006, Empire Musicwerks)
*"American Folk & Gambling Songs" (1956, Camden Record LP)
*"An Evening With John Jacob Niles" (1959, Tradition Records LP; 2002, Empire Musicwerks)
*"John Jacob Niles Sings Folk Songs" (1964, Folkways Records LP)
*"No Direction Home " (Bob Dylan documentary DVD) - contains a video clip of Go 'Way From My Window.
*"Mister Lonely" Directed by Harmony Korine in 2008 - contains "The Maid Freed from the Gallows".Books by Niles
*1929 (with Douglas Moore). "Songs My Mother Never Taught Me".
*1934. "Songs of the Hill Folk".
*1950. "The Shape Note Study Book".
*1961. "The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles".Films
*1978. "John Jacob Niles". Whitesburg, Kentucky: Appalshop.
External links
* [http://www.john-jacob-niles.com/ John Jacob Niles, American Folk Singer] authorized website with comprehensive discography and streaming audio.
* [http://www.uky.edu/FineArts/Music/Niles/ The John Jacob Niles Center for American Music] at the University of Kentucky.
* [http://www.john-jacob-niles.com/gambling_songs.htm The Gambling Songs of John Jacob Niles,] a reminiscence by his son John Edward, 2005.
* [http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Biographies/john_jacob_niles.htm Short biography.]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.