Eric Von Schmidt

Painter, illustrator, singer/songwriter and folk singer Eric Von Schmidt was a spearhead of the folk revival that swept through Cambridge, Massachusetts' Harvard Square in the early 1960s. When he wasn't hosting late-night jam sessions at his apartment/studio, Von Schmidt was performing Leadbelly-influenced songs in coffeehouses and inspiring several generations of folk-rooted singer/songwriters. As the third generation of painters in his family, Von Schmidt is the son of famed illustrator Harold Von Schmidt, best known for his serial, "Tugboat Annie." Von Schmidt was the first in his family to become involved with music. Although his mother read music and played piano at Christmas, his father and brother were unable to carry a tune. Determined that their children be given a grounding in music, Von Schmidt's parents purchased a collection of records including tunes by Johnny Noble and His Royal Hawaiians, Burl Ives, Segovia, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, Hoagy Carmichael and Duke Ellington. Von Schmidt stumbled onto folk music by chance when he heard a live broadcast by Leadbelly on radio station WNYC. The theme song was "Goodnight Irene." "I was going out with a girl called Irene, " Von Schmidt explained in 1992. "I thought, 'Boy, there's a song that I've got to learn.'" Leadbelly's performance inspired Von Schmidt to teach himself to play guitar. In addition to learning songs from the records that he bought at a local store, he learned songs from the few music books that he could find. Much to his surprise, Von Schmidt found other high school students in awe of folk music. Together they would travel to New York where they would sit around playing our guitars and banjos in taverns. Among the first New York-based folk singers that Von Schmidt befriended was...