Bill Staines

Infobox Writer
name = Bill Staines

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imagesize = 220px
caption = At the Pawtucket Arts Festival, 2004. Photo by Thom C.
pseudonym =
birthdate = birth date and age|1949|02|21
birthplace = Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
occupation = Folk Singer, Songwriter
nationality = American
period =
genre = Folk
notableworks =
influences =
influenced =
website = http://www.acousticmusic.com/staines/ Bill Staines

Bill Staines is an American songwriter and folk singer from New England, well known for composing children's songs as well as folk songs with a timeless quality. In the early 1960s he started his professional career in the Cambridge, Massachusetts area. Staines began touring nationwide a few years later. In 1975 he won the National Yodeling Championship at the Kerrville Folk Festival. He performs about 200 times a year and has appeared on "A Prairie Home Companion", "Mountain Stage", and "The Good Evening Show".

Notable Bill Staines songs include "Bridges," "Crossing the Water," "Sweet Wyoming Home", "The Roseville Fair", "A Place in the Choir", "Child of Mine," and "River."

His songs have been recorded by other artists including, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith, Mason Williams, The Highwaymen, Glenn Yarborough, Jerry Jeff Walker, Schooner Fare, Grandpa Jones, and Priscilla Herdman. Staines has recorded twenty-two of his own albums, fifteen of which are still in print as of 2005. His songs have been published in four songbooks, "If I Were A Word, Then I'd Be A Song"; "River"; "Music To Me: The Songs of Bill Staines", and "All God's Critters Got A Place In The Choir".

Staines is left-handed and plays a right-handed guitar upside-down so that the bass strings are at the bottom. He has developed his own fingerings and picking style over long years playing this way.

In 2004 his memoir, "The Tour: A Life Between the Lines", was published.

Bill currently lives in the seacoast area of New Hampshire with his wife, Karen; his son, Bowen; and his cocker spaniel- Andy, who was featured on the cover of his most recent album, "Old Dogs". His son also pursues a career as folk singer.

Discography

All references from the [http://www.acousticmusic.com/staines/bsdisco.htm Bill Staines Discography] except when noted.

* "Miles" (1975)
* "Old Wood and Winter Wine" (1977)
* "Just Play One Tune More" (1977)
* "Whistle of the Jay" (1979)
* "Sandstone Cathedrals" (1983)
* "Bridges" (1984)
* "The First Million Miles" (1989)
* "Tracks & Trails" (1991)
* "The Happy Wanderer" (1993)
* "Going to the West" (1993)
* "The Alaska Suite" (1993) [ [http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/49500cd75d91bd68 Bill Staines - Pandora] ]
* "Looking For The Wind" (1995)
* "One More River" (1998)
* "The First Million Miles, Vol. 2" (1998) [ [http://www.amazon.com/First-Million-Miles-Vol-2/dp/B000005YW2 The First Million Miles, Vol. 2 at Amazon.com] ]
* "October's Hill" (2000)
* "Journey Home" (2004)
* "The Second Million Miles" (2005)
* "Old Dogs" (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.acousticmusic.com/staines/ The Bill Staines Web Site]