Hamilton Camp

The Old School of Chicago served as the backdrop for Hamilton Camp's early musical career. Whether performing solo or in a duo with Bob Gibson, Camp served as one of the crossroads between the Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger folk music of the 1940s and the singer/songwriter school of Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs in the 1960s. Camp's tune "Pride of Man" was covered by Quicksilver Messenger Service in 1967, while his and Gibson's collaboration "Well, Well, Well" was recorded by Simon and Garfunkel on their debut album, Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. in 1966. In the early 1960s, Camp and Gibson played in clubs, coffeehouses and festivals throughout their United States. Their most influential album, At the Gate of Horn, was recorded in 1961 at the famed Chicago folk club. When the duo separated, Camp continued to perform as a soloist. His debut solo album was a live recording at the same club in 1963. Camp's subsequent albums included Paths of Victory in 1964, which featured his original version of "Pride of Man" and renditions of seven Dylan tunes, including the rarely heard "Guess I'm Doin' Fine," "Walkin' Down the Line," "Long Time Gone" and the title track. Here's to You, released in 1967, was produced by Felix Pappalardi and featured musical accompaniment by Van Dyke Parks, Earl C. Palmer, Jr., Bud Shank, Glen Hardin, Hal Blaine and Larry Knechtel. Camp's musical career has been dwarfed by his success as an actor. First attracting attention for his skills in improvisation as a member of Second City in Chicago and the Committee in San Francisco, Camp played recurring roles in such TV series as He & She in 1967, Too Close for Comfort in 1980, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Lois & Clark :The New Adventures Of Superman in 1993. In addition to appearing in such films as...