Tom Paxton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tom Paxton | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Thomas Richard Paxton | |
| Born | October 31, 1937. Chicago, Illinois. | |
| Genre(s) | Folk | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist. | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Vocals | |
| Years active | 1962 - Present | |
| Label(s) | Elektra, Vanguard, Rhino, Reprise, Flying Fish, Rounder, Mountain Railroad, Appleseed | |
| Influences | Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Bob Gibson, Burl Ives, Tom Lehrer, Mississippi John Hurt, Similar Artists: Dave Van Ronk, Phil Ochs, David Bromberg, Cisco Houston, Guy Carawan, John Denver, Anne Hills, Bob Dylan | |
| Website | http://www.tompaxton.com/ | |
Thomas Richard Paxton is a well-known American folk singer and singer-songwriter.
He was born October 31, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest child of Burton and Esther Paxton. The Paxton family moved to Bristow, Oklahoma in 1948, where Tom grew to adulthood and which he still considers home. He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he majored in drama and developed an interest in folk music.
After time in the Army Reserves, Paxton moved to New York City where he frequented the city's Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses led to an ever-increasing circle of work. He made his professional debut at the Gaslight, the renowned folk haunt that also issued the singer's first album. In 1962 Gaslight Records would press 2,000 copies of his debut album, I'm The Man Who Built The Bridges.
Paxton also auditioned to join the Chad Mitchell Trio, but although he failed, the group enjoyed a 1963 hit with "The Marvelous Toy," one of his early songs. Paxton performed at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, a performance that would be recorded and released by Vanguard Records. Paxton would go on to record a second album with Vanguard at the Newport Folk Festival the following year, but his association with that record company lapsed and it would not be until the year 2000 that Vanguard once again released a Tom Paxton album (Tom Paxton: Best of the Vanguard Years). In 1964 Paxton was signed to Elektra Records for whom he recorded his best-known work. Then in 1965 he made his first tour of the United Kingdom — the beginning of a still-thriving professional relationship that has included many tours of the country in succeeding years.
He and his wife Midge have been married since 1963 and have two daughters; Jennifer and Kate. All three women have served as inspiration for many of Paxton's songs. He now has three grandsons; Christopher, Sean, and Peter.
In addition to songwriting, Tom Paxton has written many critically acclaimed children's books, some of which were inspired by his songs for children.
He has performed thousands of concerts around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. Paxton enjoys a strong relationship with fans throughout the world. His songs have experienced enduring appeal, including modern standards such as "The Last Thing on My Mind" (perhaps Paxton's best-known song, it has been recorded by dozens of artists, including Judy Collins, Doc Watson, Sandy Denny, Dolly Parton, The Move, Cry, Cry, Cry and Porter Wagoner), "Ramblin' Boy", "Bottle of Wine", "Whose Garden Was This", "The Marvelous Toy", and "The Hostage" (which recounts the 1971 uprising at Attica State Prison).
Tom Paxton's songs can be emotionally affective, and cover a wide range of topics, from the serious and profound to the lighthearted and comical. "What Did You Learn In School Today?" mocks the way children are often taught lies. "Jimmy Newman" is the story of a dying soldier, and "My Son John" is a moving song about a soldier who comes back home and can't even begin to describe what he's been through. "A Thousand Years" tells the chilling tale of Neo-Nazi uprising, and the "Train for Auschwitz" is about the holocaust. "On the Road to Srebrenica" is about Muslims who were killed in a 1995 massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The Bravest" is a song about the firefighters who gave their lives while trying to save others on September 11, 2001. Then there are Tom's lighthearted "short shelf-life songs", which are topical songs about current events and things in the news, and these songs change all the time as new ones are written and old ones can reappear as things have a way of cycling around in this world. There's "In Florida" about the 2000 election scandal, "Without Delay" a song about the disgraced former congressman, "Bobbit" about the John and Lorena Bobbit fiasco, "Little Bitty Gun" which lampoons Nancy Reagan, there's the hilarious classic "The Ballad of Spiro Agnew", and "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation" (which more recently has become "George W. Told the Nation") among others.
Contents |
[edit] Discography
- 1962 I'm the Man That Built the Bridges — Gaslight
- 1964 Ramblin' Boy — Elektra
- 1965 Ain't That News — Elektra
- 1966 Outward Bound — Elektra
- 1967 Morning Again — Elektra
- 1968 The Things I Notice Now — Elektra
- 1970 Tom Paxton #6 — Elektra
- 1970 The Compleat Tom Paxton — Elektra
- 1971 How Come the Sun — Reprise
- 1972 Peace Will Come — Reprise
- 1973 New Songs for Old Friends — Reprise
- 1974 Children's Song Book — Bradleys
- 1975 Something in My Life — Private Stock
- 1976 Saturday Night — MAM
- 1977 New Songs from the Briarpatch — Vanguard
- 1978 Heroes — Vanguard
- 1979 Up and Up — Mountain Railroad
- 1980 The Paxton Report — Mountain Railroad
- 1983 Bulletin — Hogeye
- 1983 Even a Gray Day — Flying Fish
- 1984 The Marvelous Toy and Other Gallimaufry — Flying Fish
- 1985 One Million Lawyers and Other Disasters — Flying Fish
- 1986 A Paxton Primer — Pax
- 1986 Folksong Festival 1986 — Pax
- 1986 And Loving You — Flying Fish
- 1987 Balloon-Aloon-Aloon — Sony Kids' Music
- 1988 Politics Live — Flying Fish
- 1988 The Very Best of Tom Paxton — Flying Fish
- 1988 In The Orchard — Sundown Records
- 1989 Storyteller — Start Records Ltd
- 1991 It Ain't Easy — Flying Fish
- 1992 A Child's Christmas — Sony Special P?
- 1992 Peanut Butter Pie — Sony Kids' Music
- 1992 Suzy Is a Rocker — Sony Kids' Music
- 1994 Wearing the Time — Sugar Hill
- 1996 Live for the Record — Sugar Hill
- 1996 A Child's Christmas — Delta
- 1997 A Car Full of Songs (see also 1999) — Sony Kids' Music
- 1997 Goin' to the Zoo — Rounder
- 1997 I've Got a Yo-Yo — Rounder
- 1997 The Best of Tom Paxton — Hallmark
- 1998 Tom Paxton Live In Concert — Strange Fruit
- 1999 Fun Animal Songs — Delta
- 1999 Fun Food Songs — Delta
- 1999 A Car Full of Fun Songs (See also 1997) — Delta
- 1999 I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound: The Best of Tom Paxton — Rhino
- 1999 Tom Paxton Tribute — Road Goes on Forever
- 2000 Tom Paxton: Best of the Vanguard Years — Vanguard
- 2001 Live From Mountain Stage — Blue Plate
- 2001 Under American Skies — Appleseed and Koch International
- 2002 Ramblin' Boy/Ain't That News — Warner Strategic Marketing
- 2002 Looking For The Moon — Appleseed
- 2002 Your Shoes, My Shoes — Red House
- 2002 American Troubador — Music Club
- 2004 Best of Friends — Appleseed Recordings
- 2004 Outward Bound/Morning Again — Wea/Rhino
- 2004 The Compleat Tom Paxton (Even Compleater) — Rhino Handmade
- 2005 Live in the UK — Pax
- 2006 Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop — Shout Factory
[edit] Music Books
- 1965 Ramblin' Boy and Other Songs by Tom Paxton (music book) — Oak Publications
- 1971 Tom Paxton Anthology (music book) — United Artists Music Co.
- 1972 Tom Paxton Folio of Songs (music book) — United Artists Music Co.
- 1975 Tom Paxton Easy Guitar (music book) — United Artists Music Co.
- 1989 Politics (music book) — Cherry Lane Music
- 1989 I Can Read Now (sheet music) — Pax Records / Cherry Lane Music
- 1989 The Authentic Guitar Style of Tom Paxton (music book) — Cherry Lane Music
- 1990 Tom Paxton's Children's Songbook (music book) — Cherry Lane Music
- 1991 A Car Full of Songs (music Book) — Cherry Lane Music
- 1994 Wearing the Time (music book) — Cherry Lane Music
- 1997 Ramblin' Boy and Other Songs — Music Sales Corporation
- 2000 The Honor of Your Company (music book) — Cherry Lane Music Company
[edit] Non-Music Books
- 1988 Aesop's Fables — William Morrow & Co
- 1990 Belling the Cat and Other Aesop's Fables — William Morrow & Co
- 1990 Engelbert the Elephant — William Morrow & Co
- 1991 Androcles and the Lion: And Other Aesop's Fables — William Morrow & Co
- 1993 Birds of a Feather and Other Aesop's Fables — William Morrow & Co
- 1993 The Animals' Lullaby (Let Me Read, Level 3) — William Morrow & Co
- 1993 Where's the Baby? — HarperCollins
- 1995 Engelbert Moves the House (Let Me Read, Level 3) — Good Year Books
- 1995 The Story of Santa Claus — HarperCollins
- 1996 The Story of the Tooth Fairy (non-music book by Tom Paxton) — William Morrow & Company
- 1996 Going to the Zoo (non-music book by Tom Paxton) — William Morrow & Company
- 1996 Meet Tom Paxton - An Interview With Tom Paxton: Level 3 Reader — Good Year Books
- 1997 Engelbert Joins the Circus — HarperCollins
- 1999 The Jungle Baseball Game — Morrow Junior
- 2001 Jennifer's Rabbit — HarperCollins
[edit] Videos
- 1965 Tom Paxton appears on an episode of Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest TV Show — Shanachie DVD
- 1992 Tom Paxton In Concert (video) — Shanachie Records
