John Cohen
Encyclopedia
John Cohen is a founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers
as well as a musicologist, photographer and filmmaker of note. Some of his best known images document the Abstract Expressionist scene centered around New York's Cedar Bar; Beat Generation
writers during the filming of Robert Frank
and Alfred Leslie
's Pull My Daisy
; and the "old time" musicians of Appalachia
. (The title of Cohen's 1962 film, High Lonesome Sound, has become synonymous with that music.) He has been one of the most important "discoverers" of traditional musicians and singers, finding and recording Dillard Chandler
, Roscoe Holcomb
, and many banjo players, most notably on the album High Atmosphere
. His field recording
of a Peruvian wedding song is included on the Voyager Golden Record
, attached to the Voyager
spacecraft.
Cohen married Penny Seeger, the youngest member of the musical Seeger
family, which includes half-brother Pete Seeger
. They had 2 children, Sonya and Rufus.
He currently resides in the lower Hudson Valley
of New York.
He has taught photography and drawing at Purchase College. He organized a gallery show of Peruvian retablos at the college as well.
The Grateful Dead song "Uncle John's Band," on Workingman's Dead
, was written about Cohen and his band.
New Lost City Ramblers
The New Lost City Ramblers is a contemporary old-time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the Folk Revival. The founding members of the Ramblers, or NLCR, are Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley...
as well as a musicologist, photographer and filmmaker of note. Some of his best known images document the Abstract Expressionist scene centered around New York's Cedar Bar; Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
writers during the filming of Robert Frank
Robert Frank
Robert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
and Alfred Leslie
Alfred Leslie
Alfred Leslie is an American artist and filmmaker. He first achieved success as an Abstract Expressionist painter, but changed course in the early 1960s and became a painter of realistic figurative paintings.-Biography:...
's Pull My Daisy
Pull My Daisy
Pull My Daisy is a short film that typifies the Beat Generation. Directed by Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie, Daisy was adapted by Jack Kerouac from the third act of his play, Beat Generation; Kerouac also provided improvised narration...
; and the "old time" musicians of Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
. (The title of Cohen's 1962 film, High Lonesome Sound, has become synonymous with that music.) He has been one of the most important "discoverers" of traditional musicians and singers, finding and recording Dillard Chandler
Dillard Chandler
Dillard Chandler was an American Appalachian Folk singer from Madison County, North Carolina. He is chiefly known for his a cappella performances on compilation albums recorded by folklorist and musicologist John Cohen....
, Roscoe Holcomb
Roscoe Holcomb
Roscoe Holcomb, was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen...
, and many banjo players, most notably on the album High Atmosphere
High Atmosphere
High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina is a 1975 compilation album released by Rounder Records. The album is composed of Appalachian folk music recordings gathered by musicologist John Cohen in North Carolina and Virginia.The album was originally released in 1975...
. His field recording
Field recording
Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside of a recording studio. The recording is typically recorded in the same channel format as the desired result, for instance, stereo recording equipment will yield a stereo product...
of a Peruvian wedding song is included on the Voyager Golden Record
Voyager Golden Record
The Voyager Golden Records are phonograph records which were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft, which were launched in 1977. They contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form, or for...
, attached to the Voyager
Voyager program
The Voyager program is a U.S program that launched two unmanned space missions, scientific probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment of the late 1970s...
spacecraft.
Cohen married Penny Seeger, the youngest member of the musical Seeger
Seeger
-Seeger family:*Charles Seeger , American musicologist, composer, and teacher; Constance Edson Seeger, violinist; first wife of Charles; 3 children"Seeger" may also reference either of two legal cases involving the individuals above:...
family, which includes half-brother 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...
. They had 2 children, Sonya and Rufus.
He currently resides in the lower Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
of New York.
He has taught photography and drawing at Purchase College. He organized a gallery show of Peruvian retablos at the college as well.
The Grateful Dead song "Uncle John's Band," on Workingman's Dead
Workingman's Dead
Workingman's Dead is the fourth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded in February 1970 and originally released on June 14, 1970....
, was written about Cohen and his band.
Monograph
- There Is No Eye: John Cohen Photographs, introduction by Greil Marcus ISBN 157687107X, ISBN 1576871193
Selected filmography
- The High Lonesome Sound (1962)
- Fifty Miles from Times Square (1970)
- The End of an Old Song (1972). A DVD version is in print as part of Dark Holler: Old Love Songs and BalladsDark Holler: Old Love Songs and Ballads-Track listing:-External links:* * – A documentary on the tradition of unaccompanied ballad singing in Madison County...
(2005-09-27). Washington: Smithsonian Folkways. - Q'eros: The Shape of Survival (1979)
- Peruvian Weaving: a continuous warp (1980)
- Sara and Maybelle (1981)
- Gypsies Sing Long Ballads (1982)
- Mountain Music of Peru (1984)
- Dancing with the Incas (1990)
- Carnival in Q'eros (1992)
- Play on John: A Life in Music (2009) on Smithsonian NetworksSmithsonian NetworksSmithsonian Networks is a joint venture between CBS Corporation's Showtime Networks and the Smithsonian Institution. The service consists of Smithsonian Channel, Smithsonian On Demand, and ....
Selected discography (as producer)
- High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North CarolinaHigh AtmosphereHigh Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina is a 1975 compilation album released by Rounder Records. The album is composed of Appalachian folk music recordings gathered by musicologist John Cohen in North Carolina and Virginia.The album was originally released in 1975...
(1975) - There Is No Eye: Music for Photographs, Smithsonian FolkwaysFolkways RecordsFolkways 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:...
SFW CD 40091 (2001), companion to the book - Back Roads to Cold MountainBack Roads to Cold MountainBack Roads to Cold Mountain is a 2004 compilation album released by Smithsonian Folkways. The album was released in the wake of the award winning soundtrack to the film Cold Mountain, and is composed of Appalachian folk music recordings compiled by musicologist John Cohen in Appalachia.The album...
(2004)