Mark Spoelstra

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Mark Spoelstra (June 30, 1940--February 25, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter and folk and blues guitarist.

He was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He began his musical career in Los Angeles in his teens and migrated around to wind up in New York City in time to take part in the folk music revival of the early 60s. He is best remembered for his activity in the Greenwich Village area. He performed with Bob Dylan soon after Dylan's arrival in New York City, was a contributor to Broadside Magazine and recorded a number of albums for Folkways Records and other labels.

Spoelstra's career was put on hold in 1966 when he served in the military for a few years. After his service, he came to settle in the northern California area. He lived in that area until his death. He withdrew from the touring life in the early 1970s to raise a family. In the mid 1970s, he became a minister and used his musical talents to preach his spiritual messages. He worked for a number of years as a tour bus driver in Yosemite National Park. Throughout, Spoelstra remained in touch with his music. In 2001, he recorded an album entitled, Out of My Hands for the Origin Jazz Library label; the first record he'd made in 20 years. In his later years he returned to the stage to perform, although this was on a limited scale. In any event he performed until the summer of 2006 when illness forced him to stop. Several of his albums recorded for Elektra Records, long out of print, have also recently been reissued on compact discs.

Spoelstra died from complications of pancreatic cancer at his home in Pioneer, California on February 25, 2007.