Carolyn Hester - Biography
By J Poet
Carolyn Hester, known in the 1960s at “The Texas Songbird”, was one of the original folksingers and guitarists of the early Greenwich Village folk scene. She was instrumental in getting Dylan signed to Columbia Records, and was briefly married to Richard Fariña in the 60s. Her determination to sing only traditional material made her a minor figure as the singer/songwriter movement started. And she stopped performing for a while in the late 60s. Since 1972, she has played frequently at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas and served on the Festivals board of directors.
Hester was born in Texas in 1937. Her family moved to Lubbock in the 50s, where she leaned to play guitar and fell in love with folk music. In 1955 she cut Scarlet Ribbons (Coral) with producer Norman Petty, and met Buddy Holly. She made an album with Holly and members of The Crickets backing her up, perhaps the first folk rock album ever, but it was never released.
In 1959 she moved to New York and met Paddy Clancy who was running Tradition Records with Diane Hamilton. She made Carolyn Hester (1961 Tradition), a collection of traditional ballads that did well enough to bring her to the attention of Columbia A&R legend John Hammond, Sr. He signed her and produced Carolyn Hester (1962 Columbia, 1994 Columbia). Hester brought along her new friend Bob Dylan to play harmonica on her album, and Hammond was so impressed with him that he signed Dylan to Columbia. Around the same time she met, married and divorced Richard Fariña, another young songwriter. When This Life I'm Living (1963 Columbia) went nowhere, the label dropped her.
She didn’t write songs and at first refused to sing material by the new generation of songwriters, and her career faltered. She allegedly turned down an offer to sing in a trio with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, just before they signed up Mary Travers for the job. She made another album with Petty, That's My Song (1964 Dot). The record had a gentle Tex-Mex/folk rock sound and Petty convinced Hester to do a few contemporary songs by Tom Paxton and one of her own originals, but the album failed. After making a live album Carolyn Hester at Town Hall (1964 Dot), Hammond signed her again, but their folk rock sessions were never released, save a few singles.
In 1969 she tried her hand a psychedelic folk rock with her band The Carolyn Hester Coalition. The made two albums The Carolyn Hester Coalition (1969 Metromedia) and Magazine (1970 Metromedia) before moving to RCA for Carolyn Hester (1973 RCA) a blend of pop, folk/rock and country.
In 1969, Hester married David Blume, the songwriter/producer who wrote “Turn Down Day” for The Cyrkle. They started a label, Outpost, and an ethnic music and dance club. She made Music Medicine (1984 Outpost cassette) and Warriors of the Rainbow (1986 Outpost) recording many of her own tunes and backed by her daughters Karla and Amy Blume. In the 90s she made Texas Songbird (1996 Road Goes On Forever), From These Hills (1996 Road Goes On Forever), and Tom Paxton Tribute (1999 Road Goes On Forever). She continues to tour and perform with her daughters. In 2010 She released We Dream Forever.
Carolyn Hester at Town Hall (1994 Bear Family) includes her entire Town Hall concert of 1964 while the two CD, 58 track Dear Companion (1995 Bear Family) has a good overview of her early career.
