John McCutcheon

Biography

14 August 1952, Wisconsin, USA. McCutcheon, whose family background encompasses farmers and shoemakers, started playing guitar in the early 60s. He picked up a great number of traditional American songs and tunes from the Appalachians, and learned a wealth of instruments, including fiddle, banjo, autoharp and, most notably, the hammer-dulcimer. His playing of the latter encompasses folk, classical, jazz and many other elements. McCutcheon’s extensive recording legacy has attracted a string of awards, and also five Grammy nominations. He has recorded exclusively for Rounder Records since the early 80s. Howjadoo was the first of several children’s albums that have established McCutcheon as arguably the leading artist within the genre. In the 90s his children’s recordings included the Grammy-nominated Four Seasons series, which featured many compositions co-written with long-time friend and collaborator, Si Kahn. McCutcheon has also collected and...

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