Biography
Although her abilities remained somewhat limited, Carolyn Hester played a notable though peripheral role in the folk revival of the early 1960s, delivering traditional songs in a high register reminiscent of Joan Baez and Judy Collins yet lacking their assurance. She is also recalled through her short-lived ties to Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, and Richard Fariña, together with the involvement of Norman Petty (Holly’s own producer), Tom Clancy, John Hammond, and John Simon on her initial LPs. A few of her mid-1960s sides gestured, however tentatively, toward the folk-rock style that soon emerged. Hester herself never succeeded as a folk-rock performer despite an attempt, instead veering unpredictably into psychedelic territory for a pair of albums before largely withdrawing during the 1970s and 1980s. In the following decade she guided the emerging Nanci Griffith, whose singing has been likened to Hester’s, and contributed to Griffith’s album Other Voices, Other Rooms.
Originally from Texas, Hester relocated to New York in 1955 in pursuit of opportunities in music and theater. Her first recordings nevertheless took place at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico, near Lubbock where her parents resided in the late 1950s. Petty produced her debut LP, Scarlet Ribbons, issued by Coral Records in 1957. In 1958 she participated in an unreleased Clovis session alongside Holly, Jerry Allison of the Crickets, and bassist George Atwood—an encounter of folk and rock musicians rare for the era. A close friend of Holly, she returned repeatedly to his composition “Lonesome Tears.” Tradition, the Clancy Brothers’ label, released her second album, Carolyn Hester, in 1960, placing her squarely within the revival through renditions of “The House of the Rising Sun” and “She Moves Through the Fair” delivered in her characteristically elevated, slightly tremulous voice.
Briefly wed to writer and performer Richard Fariña, who soon befriended Dylan upon the latter’s arrival in New York, Hester invited the still-obscure singer to play harmonica during the September 1961 Columbia sessions for her third album (likewise titled Carolyn Hester), produced by John Hammond. Dylan’s participation helped attract Hammond’s attention, leading to Dylan’s own Columbia contract. While contemporaries such as Dylan, Baez, and Collins advanced rapidly in popularity, Hester stayed comparatively little known. She declined manager Albert Grossman’s proposal to join Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey in a trio that ultimately became Peter, Paul & Mary with Mary Travers. Retrospectively, her Columbia recordings hinted at folk musicians working with ensembles through contributions from bassist Bill Lee, guitarist Bruce Langhorne (later a Dylan sideman), and understated drums on an eventually released 1995 version of “Lonesome Tears.” Yet her exclusive reliance on traditional repertoire left her behind the evolving scene.
After leaving Columbia she signed with Dot and resumed work with Petty in Clovis. The 1964–1965 dates, featuring guitarist George Tomsco of the Fireballs, edged closer to folk-rock while incorporating songs by contemporary writers Tom Paxton and Mark Spoelstra. Through Hester, Petty artist Jimmy Gilmer—who had scored a 1963 number-one hit with “Sugar Shack”—met Paxton and included his material on the 1965 album Folkbeat; the Fireballs later revived Paxton’s “Bottle of Wine” for their final major success in 1968. The Tex-Mex folk-rock approach associated with Petty, Gilmer, the Fireballs, and Hester never achieved wide resonance.
Hammond brought Hester back to Columbia in 1966. Although numerous tracks were cut with producer John Simon, celebrated for his work with the Band and Big Brother & the Holding Company, only two singles appeared. One, “Early Morning,” offered a polished pop-folk-rock vehicle, yet electric settings did not suit her well. Additional Columbia material, gathered on the 1995 anthology Dear Companion, reveals her exploring songs by Tim Hardin, Jackson Frank, and Cat Stevens, attempting the Beatles’ “Penny Lane,” and delivering an eccentric, near-psychedelic reading of Ravi Shankar’s “Majhires.”
In the late 1960s Hester unexpectedly embraced psychedelia with the Carolyn Hester Coalition, releasing two obscure Metromedia albums that mixed updated traditionals such as “East Virginia” and Ed McCurdy’s “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream” with atmospheric, fuzz-toned folk-rock numbers. She also recorded for Decca, RCA, and Capitol, and with husband David Blume—jazz pianist, producer, and songwriter—established the Outpost label while operating an ethnic dance club in Los Angeles. She remained sporadically active on record and stage, duetting with Griffith on Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” during a nationally televised tribute at Madison Square Garden in the 1990s. Into the new century she continued performing and issued We Dream Forever in 2009, with its U.S. release following a year later; the intimate set featured daughters Karla and Amy Blume as co-producers, writers, and performers alongside their mother.
Originally from Texas, Hester relocated to New York in 1955 in pursuit of opportunities in music and theater. Her first recordings nevertheless took place at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico, near Lubbock where her parents resided in the late 1950s. Petty produced her debut LP, Scarlet Ribbons, issued by Coral Records in 1957. In 1958 she participated in an unreleased Clovis session alongside Holly, Jerry Allison of the Crickets, and bassist George Atwood—an encounter of folk and rock musicians rare for the era. A close friend of Holly, she returned repeatedly to his composition “Lonesome Tears.” Tradition, the Clancy Brothers’ label, released her second album, Carolyn Hester, in 1960, placing her squarely within the revival through renditions of “The House of the Rising Sun” and “She Moves Through the Fair” delivered in her characteristically elevated, slightly tremulous voice.
Briefly wed to writer and performer Richard Fariña, who soon befriended Dylan upon the latter’s arrival in New York, Hester invited the still-obscure singer to play harmonica during the September 1961 Columbia sessions for her third album (likewise titled Carolyn Hester), produced by John Hammond. Dylan’s participation helped attract Hammond’s attention, leading to Dylan’s own Columbia contract. While contemporaries such as Dylan, Baez, and Collins advanced rapidly in popularity, Hester stayed comparatively little known. She declined manager Albert Grossman’s proposal to join Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey in a trio that ultimately became Peter, Paul & Mary with Mary Travers. Retrospectively, her Columbia recordings hinted at folk musicians working with ensembles through contributions from bassist Bill Lee, guitarist Bruce Langhorne (later a Dylan sideman), and understated drums on an eventually released 1995 version of “Lonesome Tears.” Yet her exclusive reliance on traditional repertoire left her behind the evolving scene.
After leaving Columbia she signed with Dot and resumed work with Petty in Clovis. The 1964–1965 dates, featuring guitarist George Tomsco of the Fireballs, edged closer to folk-rock while incorporating songs by contemporary writers Tom Paxton and Mark Spoelstra. Through Hester, Petty artist Jimmy Gilmer—who had scored a 1963 number-one hit with “Sugar Shack”—met Paxton and included his material on the 1965 album Folkbeat; the Fireballs later revived Paxton’s “Bottle of Wine” for their final major success in 1968. The Tex-Mex folk-rock approach associated with Petty, Gilmer, the Fireballs, and Hester never achieved wide resonance.
Hammond brought Hester back to Columbia in 1966. Although numerous tracks were cut with producer John Simon, celebrated for his work with the Band and Big Brother & the Holding Company, only two singles appeared. One, “Early Morning,” offered a polished pop-folk-rock vehicle, yet electric settings did not suit her well. Additional Columbia material, gathered on the 1995 anthology Dear Companion, reveals her exploring songs by Tim Hardin, Jackson Frank, and Cat Stevens, attempting the Beatles’ “Penny Lane,” and delivering an eccentric, near-psychedelic reading of Ravi Shankar’s “Majhires.”
In the late 1960s Hester unexpectedly embraced psychedelia with the Carolyn Hester Coalition, releasing two obscure Metromedia albums that mixed updated traditionals such as “East Virginia” and Ed McCurdy’s “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream” with atmospheric, fuzz-toned folk-rock numbers. She also recorded for Decca, RCA, and Capitol, and with husband David Blume—jazz pianist, producer, and songwriter—established the Outpost label while operating an ethnic dance club in Los Angeles. She remained sporadically active on record and stage, duetting with Griffith on Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” during a nationally televised tribute at Madison Square Garden in the 1990s. Into the new century she continued performing and issued We Dream Forever in 2009, with its U.S. release following a year later; the intimate set featured daughters Karla and Amy Blume as co-producers, writers, and performers alongside their mother.
Albums
