Archives West Finding Aid

Joe Hickerson was born at Lake Forest, IL, on October 20, 1935. He is an American Folklorist and folksinger. He was exposed to folk songs by his parents when he was a child and began to play the guitar as a teenager. His interest in folk music deepened during his undergraduate years at Oberlin College (BA 1957). Among other musical activities while in college he hosted a radio program and served as local agent for the Folkways, Stinson, and Elektra record labels. He pursued graduate studies in folklore (MA 1961) and ethnomusicology at Indiana University and began to hone his skills as a performer in parallel with his academic and archival work there. In 1963 he was hired as librarian at the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress (now the Archive of Folk Culture); this marked the beginning of a 35-year career at that institution. He was promoted to head of the archive in 1974. During his time there Hickerson was active with numerous professional societies and other organizations including the Society for Ethnomusicology, the American Folklore Society, the John Edwards Memorial Foundation, Old Town School of Folk Music Resource Center, the Folklore Society of Greater Washington (of which he was a founder), Sing Out! magazine, and Foxfire. Since his retirement from the library in 1998 Hickerson has actively pursued his performing career. His performances have earned him awards from numerous folk festivals.

- Grove Music Online, Paul F. Wells