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Bill Staines
There is something about Bill Staines’ songs that makes them instant classics and it’s not surprising that so many of them slide so easily into the folk music canon. He writes lovely, infectious melodies, and his story-filled lyrics recall with compassion and depth the landscapes and characters he’s known. His songs evoke a remarkably strong sense of emotional and physical place, and in the words of the Austin American Statesman, they have the “ability to translate the common details of common lives into songs of uncommon eloquence and beauty.”
Bill Staines has spent over four decades on the road singing his songs and entertaining audiences. A New England native, Staines became involved in the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960s and, for a time, emceed the Sunday hootenanny at the renowned Club 47 in Cambridge. He quickly became very popular in the Boston area. In 1971, after one of his shows, a reviewer for the Boston Phoenix insisted that Staines was “simply Boston’s best performer.” A decade later (in 1980 and 1981) the annual Reader’s Poll of the Boston Globe named him one of Boston’s favorite artists. In the meantime, his reputation as a songwriter and troubadour grew across North America. Staines also made his mark yodeling. He learned the traditional art by studying the recordings of great yodelers such as Jimmie Rodgers and Montana Slim. He won the National Yodeling Championship at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas in 1975, and has become a perennial instructor of yodeling workshops.
With his wonderful songs, his warm, smooth baritone, his prowess on guitar, his charm and his gentle humor, Staines is consistently one of the most popular singers on the folk music circuit today. He’s also a favorite of other folk singers and a significant influence on many. His songs have been recorded by other musicians, including Peter, Paul & Mary, Nanci Griffith, Makem & Clancy, Grandpa Jones, Priscilla Herdman and Jerry Jeff Walker. Over eighty of Staines’ songs have been published in three songbooks: If I Were a Word, Then I’d Be a Song,' Music to Me: The Songs of Bill Staines; and All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir. His radio and television appearances have included A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, The Good Evening Show, and he has hosted local programs on PBS and network television.
Staines has recorded 26 solo albums (4 of them on Mineral River Records, his own independent label). Many have been critical favorites. He has recorded two children’s recordings, an obvious step for someone who had been a favorite family performer for decades. The Happy Wanderer topped Pulse’s yearly Children’s Music and Folk Top Ten lists in 1993, and was honored with a Parents Magazine Parents Prize as well. One More River (1998) followed in the same vein. October’s Hill (2000) included a collection of Staines originals and well-loved favorites, and with his latest release. On his 2004 release Journey Home Bill assembled a collection of songs (originals and covers) that took him back to the “places” he has called home throughout his rich and full career. A more literal retrospective followed with his 2005 collection The Second Million Miles. On his 2008 Red House release, Old Dogs, Bill Staines produces a fresh batch of new and cover songs written by such Americana notables as Guy Clark, Norman Blake and Elizabeth Cotten.
A veteran performer, Staines can be considered a model for artistic longevity and vitality. He continues to satisfy his huge nationwide fan base with great new albums and performances (he plays over 200 road dates every year), while continuing to write the classic songs that have always won him praise.
Bill's website
Tour schedule
Bill's albums
Old Dogs The Second Million Miles Journey Home October's Hill One More River Looking for the Wind Going to the West The Happy Wanderer Bridges © 2009 Red House Records, Inc. • All rights reserved
