47 Facts About Tom Paxton

Thomas Richard Paxton was born on October 31,1937 and is an American folk singer-songwriter who has had a music career spanning more than sixty years.

Tom Paxton is a music educator as well as an advocate for folk singers to combine traditional songs with new compositions.

Tom Paxton was born on October 31,1937, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, to Burt and Esther Tom Paxton.

Tom Paxton's father was "a chemist, mostly self-educated", and as his health began to fail him, the family moved to Wickenburg, Arizona.

In 1948, the family moved to Bristow, Oklahoma, which Tom Paxton considers to be his hometown.

Tom Paxton was about 15 when he received his first stringed instrument, a ukulele.

Tom Paxton was given a guitar by his aunt when he was sixteen, and he soon began to immerse himself in the music of Burl Ives and Harry Belafonte.

In 1955, Tom Paxton enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, where he studied in the drama school.

Shortly after his honorable discharge from the Army, Tom Paxton auditioned for the Chad Mitchell Trio via publisher Milt Okun in 1960.

Tom Paxton initially received the part, but his voice did not blend well enough with those of the group members.

Tom Paxton soon began performing at The Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village, where he became a mainstay.

Tom Paxton met his future wife, Margaret Ann Cummings, at the Gaslight one night in January 1963 after being introduced to her by David Blue.

Tom Paxton began traveling the country on the coffeehouse and small-venue circuit before returning to New York.

Tom Paxton became involved with causes that promoted human rights, civil rights and labor rights.

Tom Paxton would go on to record seven albums for Elektra.

Dylan had not yet showed up when this was happening, and by the time Bobby came on the set, with at most two or three songs he had written, Tom Paxton was already singing at least 50 percent his own material.

In 1965, Tom Paxton made his first tour of the United Kingdom.

Tom Paxton met Bruce Woodley, one of the founding members of the Australian folk group The Seekers and they collaborated on the song "Angeline " which The Seekers recorded and featured in their concerts, TV shows and a DVD.

Not too fazed by the success of some of his songs, Tom Paxton continued writing and performing.

Tom Paxton was not interested in jumping on the folk rock bandwagon though, and continued his folk singer-songwriter style on albums like Outward Bound and Morning Again.

Tom Paxton decided to try some more elaborate recording techniques, including neo-chamber music with string sections, flutes, horns, piano, various session musicians, as well as his acoustic guitar and vocals, similar to what his labelmate Judy Collins and his friend Phil Ochs were experimenting with around this time.

Tom Paxton's song "Whose Garden Was This", an environmentalist anthem written for the first Earth Day, was later recorded by John Denver and became the title track of Denver's 1970 album.

The diverse "Baroque Folk" experimentation on Tom Paxton's recordings was basically short-lived though, and he tended to think that the music was becoming too overproduced and away from the more natural acoustic roots that he loved best.

Tom Paxton soon returned to New York City and the Long Island town of East Hampton before moving to the Washington, DC area around 1977.

Tom Paxton has performed at the Clearwater Festival, an annual event, started by Pete Seeger, dedicated to environmentalism and cleaning up the Hudson River.

In July 1994, Tom Paxton was invited to perform at a folk festival in Israel, "Jacob's Ladder", and he played there and a series of concerts around Israel accompanied by folk guitarist and harmonica player Shay Tochner.

Tom Paxton recorded a live album in 1996 with his good friend Jim Rooney, and it contained some new comical songs about current events.

In 2000, Tom Paxton began to write more of the topical songs that had been prominent during his early career.

At the time of its release, Tom Paxton was quoted saying that it might be his best album so far.

Around this time, Tom Paxton began writing and releasing his "Short Shelf Life Songs" about current events for free download on his website.

Tom Paxton wrote a number of topical protest songs that were critical of the Bush administration's actions.

In 2007, Tom Paxton became one of the founding members of the Copyright Alliance, whose purpose is to promote the cultural and economic benefits of copyrights.

Tom Paxton continues to perform yearly tours of the United States and UK.

In March 2015, Tom Paxton released the studio album Redemption Road.

In January 2017, Tom Paxton released Boat in the Water, his sixty-third album.

Tom Paxton is in "semi-retirement", though he still performs occasional shows and did a ten-venue UK tour in 2017.

Tom Paxton toured the UK in 2018 and 2019, accompanied by The Don Juans.

Tom Paxton's shows featured his 2011 song "What if, no matter".

Midge Tom Paxton died June 1,2014 after a long illness.

In February 2002, Tom Paxton was honored with the ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award in Folk Music.

Tom Paxton has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards, all since 2002.

Tom Paxton was first nominated in 2002 for his children's album, Your Shoes, My Shoes.

Tom Paxton was honored with a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy, and the formal announcement was made during the 51st Annual Grammy Awards telecast, which aired on February 8,2009.

In 2005, Tom Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards at London's Brewery Arts Centre.

In 2006, Tom Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance.

On January 22,2007, Tom Paxton was honored with an official Parliamentary tribute at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the start of his 2007 UK tour.

On May 3,2008, Paxton was honored with a special lifetime tribute from the World Folk Music Association, and a concert was held at the Rachel M Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, in Alexandria, Virginia.