Tom Paxton

Tom Paxton was born on October 31, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois. He served briefly in the Army, which moved him to New York. This enabled him to frequent bars, coffeehouses, and restaurants in the Greenwich Village area where he began to play folk music regularly in the 1960s, especially when his service ended with the military. Considering the volatility of his era, many of his songs had a left-leaning political slant, and often commented on the political issues of the day.

Interestingly, though, none of his songs ever made top charts or were in the Top 100 in the United States. He became quite successful, however, because of his consistency with writing and performing songs. He generally had more success in the United Kingdom, where he signed with Warner Brothers and released an album entitled How Come the Sun in 1971. He has performed literally all over the world and is also well-known for his series of children’s albums. In 2009, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy during the 51st Grammy Awards.