Folk Music during the period of The American Folk Music Revival is a subject very near and dear to my heart. I grew up playing guitar and listening to Peter, Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and many other prominent folk guitarists from the late 50s through mid-60s. Each of these artists had a lot to say about war, peace love and “the establishment”. They were not afraid to put themselves and their music out there to be scrutinized in those tumultuous times.

Their music was thoughtful, provocative, timely and beautiful. For me, there was nothing better than to sit down with my guitar, a bottle of tab (one of the original diet colas) and my 33 rpm albums and carefully guide the stylus on my record player to the exact (or sometimes the approximate groove) of a song that I wanted to learn and listen to a passage over and over again until I had mastered it.

I learned many songs this way while growing up in Columbus, OH all the while developing my guitar playing techniques which I would come to refer to as Classic Folk Guitar.

Eventually, I hooked up with like-minded singers and musicians. We wrote the lyrics to our favorite songs out by hand unless we could get our hands on a typewriter. We wrote out our set lists, then (usually on a Friday or Saturday night) we would pile into a Volkswagen Beetle with our instruments sticking out of the windows and headed out to one of the local coffee houses. These establishments were often part of a church outreach program or were sponsored by a local college.

Playing at coffee houses was a "trip" in the vernacular of the times performing in front of an audience who actually came to listen. They were all inspired if not by our talent, but at least by the passion with which we played. I recall that the crowds were always attentive. Quiet, yet enthusiastic and applauded after each song.

There wasn't much money in it; maybe some free pop and snacks or some gas money but we were always gratified by the experience and were continually searching for another coffee house to play.