Cisco Houston
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk
singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie
due to their extensive history of recording together.
Houston was a regular recording artist for Moses Asch
's Folkways
recording studio
. He also performed with such folk/blues
musicians as Lead Belly, Sonny Terry
, and the Almanac Singers
.
, Delaware
, on August 18, 1918, the second of four children. His father, Adrian Moncure Houston, was a sheet-metal worker. The family moved to California while Houston was still young, and he attended school in Eagle Rock, California
, a suburb of Los Angeles
.
During his school years, Cisco began to play the guitar, having picked up an assortment of folk songs from family. It is reported that Houston was regarded as highly intelligent during his time at school, despite the nystagmus that afflicted his eyesight, leaving him to rely heavily on peripheral vision
. He learned primarily by memorizing what he heard in the classroom. Despite his difficulties, Cisco came to be regarded as a well-read individual.
struck, Houston began working to help support his family. In 1932, his unemployed father left home and a few years later Cisco went on the road, accompanied initially by his brother Slim. The years were spent traveling and working odd jobs throughout the western United States, always with a guitar at his side. Gil Houston passed through many places, included the town of Cisco
, California
, the place from which he took his name.
During his travels, Cisco expanded his repertoire of traditional songs, particularly in his time employed as a cowboy
. He performed music informally wherever he went, and eventually began occasionally playing at clubs and on Western radio stations.
Cisco returned to Los Angeles in 1938 and pursued a career in acting
. During this time Cisco, along with friend and fellow actor Will Geer
, visited folk singer Woody Guthrie
at a radio studio in Hollywood. This marks the beginning of the close friendship between Guthrie and Houston. The taciturn Cisco proved an ideal counterpart for the frenzied Woody, and the two men began traveling together, touring migrant worker
camps, singing, and promoting unionism
and workers’ rights
, eventually making their way to New York City.
by the end of his life), he managed to enlist in the Merchant Marines in 1940 and served in World War II
. Houston survived three separate torpedoing of ships he served on.
When he wasn’t shipping out, Cisco remained in New York and performed with the Almanac Singers
, a left-wing folk group that often included Pete Seeger
, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell
, and Woody Guthrie
, among others.
After the United States entered World War II, Woody Guthrie
joined Cisco in the Merchant Marines along with Jim Longhi, who documented this period in a memoir. Throughout three wartime trips, the two folksingers gave performances regularly, boosting the morale of the crew and, on the third trip, three thousand troops.
and Sonny Terry
, had taken part in recording sessions at the studio of Moses Asch
. Four years later, Asch founded the label Folkways, with Cisco performing on two of the first LPs issued by the new company.
Houston appeared in the Broadway theatre
play The Cradle Will Rock
in 1948 and in 1954 began hosting the Gil Houston radio show. The show was quickly cancelled, which led to some suspicion of blacklisting.
Throughout the fifties, Cisco performed regularly at clubs, churches, and colleges. He recorded for various labels, including Folkways, Stinson, Disc, Coral, Decca
and Vanguard
, and was a guest on a numerous radio and television programs.
Houston toured India
in 1959 under the sponsorship of the State Department with Sonny Terry
, Brownie McGhee
, and Marilyn Childs. In 1960 he hosted the television special, “Folk Sound U.S.A.” on CBS
, and appeared later that year at the Newport Folk Festival
. His recordings for Vanguard began with the album “The Cisco Special”, followed by a collection of Woody Guthrie songs.
, Cisco continued performing until no longer able. Two months before his death, he recorded a final album, “Ain’t Got No Home.” He returned to California, and died April 29, 1961 in San Bernardino.
In the months preceding his death, with the knowledge of his imminent demise, Cisco talked at length with his old friend Lee Hays, who recorded their sessions for a project he dubbed “The Cisco Tapes”. Hays held onto the tapes for two more decades, until his own death in 1981, but never completed creating something from the material.
Cisco’s death was mourned by a growing folk music community which included young songwriters including Bob Dylan
, Tom Paxton
, and Phil Ochs
, a new generation of musicians who revered such performers as Woody Guthrie
, Lead Belly, Sonny Terry
, and Cisco too.
Song tributes to and mentions of Cisco Houston include:
His repertoire included folk songs and traditional songs from different arenas of American life - cowboy songs, union songs, railroad songs, murder ballads, and more. He is also known for his renditions of Woody Guthrie
originals.
Though not known as a songwriter, Houston did contribute some original tunes. These include "Great July Jones", written with Lewis Allen; "Crazy Heart"; "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"; "Bad Man's Blunder", written with Lee Hays; "Diamond Joe"; "The Killer" (words traditional); "What did the deep blue sea say", and "Dollar Down". Some of his compositions were included in the songbook 900 Miles, the Ballads, Blues and Folksongs of Cisco Houston, issued by Oak Publications in 1965.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
due to their extensive history of recording together.
Houston was a regular recording artist for Moses Asch
Moses Asch
Moses Asch was the founder of Folkways Records. Asch ran the label from 1948 until his death...
's Folkways
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. He also performed with such folk/blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musicians as Lead Belly, Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
, and the Almanac Singers
Almanac Singers
The Almanac Singers were a group of folk musicians who, as their name indicates, specialized in topical songs, especially songs connected with the labor movement...
.
Early life
Gilbert Vandine Houston was born in WilmingtonWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, on August 18, 1918, the second of four children. His father, Adrian Moncure Houston, was a sheet-metal worker. The family moved to California while Houston was still young, and he attended school in Eagle Rock, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, a suburb of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
During his school years, Cisco began to play the guitar, having picked up an assortment of folk songs from family. It is reported that Houston was regarded as highly intelligent during his time at school, despite the nystagmus that afflicted his eyesight, leaving him to rely heavily on peripheral vision
Peripheral vision
Peripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze. There is a broad set of non-central points in the field of view that is included in the notion of peripheral vision...
. He learned primarily by memorizing what he heard in the classroom. Despite his difficulties, Cisco came to be regarded as a well-read individual.
The Great Depression
When the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
struck, Houston began working to help support his family. In 1932, his unemployed father left home and a few years later Cisco went on the road, accompanied initially by his brother Slim. The years were spent traveling and working odd jobs throughout the western United States, always with a guitar at his side. Gil Houston passed through many places, included the town of Cisco
Cisco, California
Cisco is an unincorporated community in Placer County, California. Cisco is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad, south-southwest of Cisco Grove. It lies at an elevation of 5938 feet ....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the place from which he took his name.
During his travels, Cisco expanded his repertoire of traditional songs, particularly in his time employed as a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
. He performed music informally wherever he went, and eventually began occasionally playing at clubs and on Western radio stations.
Cisco returned to Los Angeles in 1938 and pursued a career in acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
. During this time Cisco, along with friend and fellow actor Will Geer
Will Geer
Will Geer was an American actor and social activist. His original name was William Aughe Ghere. He is remembered for his portrayal of Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton in the 1970s TV series, The Waltons....
, visited folk singer Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
at a radio studio in Hollywood. This marks the beginning of the close friendship between Guthrie and Houston. The taciturn Cisco proved an ideal counterpart for the frenzied Woody, and the two men began traveling together, touring migrant worker
Migrant worker
The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...
camps, singing, and promoting unionism
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
and workers’ rights
Labor rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
, eventually making their way to New York City.
World War II
Despite Houston's poor eyesight (which rendered him nearly blindBlindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
by the end of his life), he managed to enlist in the Merchant Marines in 1940 and served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Houston survived three separate torpedoing of ships he served on.
When he wasn’t shipping out, Cisco remained in New York and performed with the Almanac Singers
Almanac Singers
The Almanac Singers were a group of folk musicians who, as their name indicates, specialized in topical songs, especially songs connected with the labor movement...
, a left-wing folk group that often included Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell
Millard Lampell
Millard Lampell was an American movie and television screenwriter who first became publicly known as a member of the Almanac Singers in the 1940s....
, and Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, among others.
After the United States entered World War II, Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
joined Cisco in the Merchant Marines along with Jim Longhi, who documented this period in a memoir. Throughout three wartime trips, the two folksingers gave performances regularly, boosting the morale of the crew and, on the third trip, three thousand troops.
Post World War II
During the years following the war, Cisco engaged in acting, music, and traveling, sometimes recording. In 1944 Cisco, along with Woody GuthrieWoody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
and Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
, had taken part in recording sessions at the studio of Moses Asch
Moses Asch
Moses Asch was the founder of Folkways Records. Asch ran the label from 1948 until his death...
. Four years later, Asch founded the label Folkways, with Cisco performing on two of the first LPs issued by the new company.
Houston appeared in the Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock is a 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles, and produced by John Houseman. The show was recorded and released on seven 78-rpm discs in 1938, making it the first cast album recording.The musical is a...
in 1948 and in 1954 began hosting the Gil Houston radio show. The show was quickly cancelled, which led to some suspicion of blacklisting.
Throughout the fifties, Cisco performed regularly at clubs, churches, and colleges. He recorded for various labels, including Folkways, Stinson, Disc, Coral, Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
and Vanguard
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
, and was a guest on a numerous radio and television programs.
Houston toured India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1959 under the sponsorship of the State Department with Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
, Brownie McGhee
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
, and Marilyn Childs. In 1960 he hosted the television special, “Folk Sound U.S.A.” on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, and appeared later that year at the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
. His recordings for Vanguard began with the album “The Cisco Special”, followed by a collection of Woody Guthrie songs.
Death and legacy
Diagnosed with terminal stomach cancerStomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
, Cisco continued performing until no longer able. Two months before his death, he recorded a final album, “Ain’t Got No Home.” He returned to California, and died April 29, 1961 in San Bernardino.
In the months preceding his death, with the knowledge of his imminent demise, Cisco talked at length with his old friend Lee Hays, who recorded their sessions for a project he dubbed “The Cisco Tapes”. Hays held onto the tapes for two more decades, until his own death in 1981, but never completed creating something from the material.
Cisco’s death was mourned by a growing folk music community which included young songwriters including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Tom Paxton
Tom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
, and Phil Ochs
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice...
, a new generation of musicians who revered such performers as Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, Lead Belly, Sonny Terry
Sonny Terry
Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
, and Cisco too.
Song tributes to and mentions of Cisco Houston include:
- "Fare Thee Well, Cisco" by Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
- "Cisco Houston Passed This Way" by Peter La FargePeter La FargePeter La Farge was a New York-based folksinger and songwriter of the 1950s and 1960s...
- "Blues for Cisco Houston" by Tom McGrathThomas McGrath (poet)Thomas Matthew McGrath, was a celebrated American poet....
- "Song To Woody" by Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
- "Christmas Time in Washington" by Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
Music
Cisco Houston was distinguished by his voice, a smooth baritone sometimes considered too polished for folk music. His voice was criticized as being too good, too professional, and lacking in authenticity. Cisco responded to this accusation:"There's always a form of theater that things take; even back in the Ozarks, as far as you want to go. People gravitate to the best singer...We have people today who go just the other way, and I don't agree with them. Some of our folksong exponents seem to think you have to go way back in the hills and drag out the worst singer in the world before it's authentic. Now, this is nonsense...Just because he's old and got three arthritic fingers and two strings left on the banjo doesn't prove anything."
His repertoire included folk songs and traditional songs from different arenas of American life - cowboy songs, union songs, railroad songs, murder ballads, and more. He is also known for his renditions of Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
originals.
Though not known as a songwriter, Houston did contribute some original tunes. These include "Great July Jones", written with Lewis Allen; "Crazy Heart"; "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"; "Bad Man's Blunder", written with Lee Hays; "Diamond Joe"; "The Killer" (words traditional); "What did the deep blue sea say", and "Dollar Down". Some of his compositions were included in the songbook 900 Miles, the Ballads, Blues and Folksongs of Cisco Houston, issued by Oak Publications in 1965.
Selected discography
- Cisco Houston Sings Songs of The Open Road, Folkways FA 2480
- 900 Miles & Other R. R. Songs / Cowboy Ballads, Folkways FA 2013
- Nursery Rhymes, Games & Folk Songs, Folkways FC 7606