Biography
Although primarily recalled for traveling alongside Woody Guthrie and supplying harmony vocals, Cisco Houston exerted comparable influence through his independent work as a folksinger. His acoustic guitar supported plain baritone singing that gave expression to the experiences of America’s marginalized populations—cowboys, miners, union activists, railroad workers, and hobos—whose stories later echoed through the urban folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
Born the second of four children in Delaware, Houston absorbed North Carolina musical traditions from his sheet-metal-worker father and the folk repertoire of the Virginia Appalachians, where his mother and grandmother had learned many traditional songs. At age two he relocated with his family to Southern California. Nearly blind because of nystagmus, he initially pursued theater and art, taking part in numerous school productions at Rockdale Elementary School in the Eagle Rock Valley between Pasadena and Glendale. He further honed his acting technique through classes at L.A. City College and appearances with Hollywood theater ensembles and the Pasadena Playhouse.
After his father abandoned the family in 1932, two years following their move to Bakersfield, Houston left home at sixteen and, with one of his brothers, roamed the country in search of employment. That journey initiated more than thirty subsequent crossings of the United States; during it he adopted the name Cisco after the small California town situated between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada.
Back in Hollywood he rejoined local theater circles, where he met and formed a friendship with actor Will Geer. In 1938 the pair heard a KFVD radio broadcast from Hollywood featuring Woody Guthrie. Impressed, they sought out the performer, an encounter that began a lasting association. Houston soon joined Guthrie’s radio program, contributing tenor harmonies beneath Guthrie’s lead vocals, and the two later performed together at migrant camps, sometimes accompanied by Burl Ives, with Geer covering their costs. When Guthrie headed to New York in 1939 he urged Houston to follow; Houston eventually returned to the city independently and worked briefly as a street barker outside a 42nd Street burlesque theater.
Houston enlisted in the merchant marines in 1940. Although most of the ensuing years were spent at sea, he performed with Guthrie and the Almanac Singers whenever possible. After the United States entered World War II, Guthrie joined him aboard ship; together they survived torpedo attacks on two vessels. Following his discharge Houston moved repeatedly between New York—where he often stayed with Leadbelly and his wife, Martha—and various parts of the country, taking occasional jobs as a cowboy, lumberjack, and potato picker while also securing small film roles.
Once Guthrie secured a recording contract with Folkways, Houston supplied high-tenor vocals on those sessions and simultaneously cut his own debut solo recordings for the label. In 1948 he appeared in the successful Broadway production The Cradle Will Rock, yet he returned to Hollywood the next year for additional minor film parts. By 1950 he was again traveling with Guthrie.
Early in the 1950s Houston recorded several numbers for Decca, some of which remained unreleased until later decades, and he made television appearances in Tucson, Arizona. His most significant opportunity came with a contract to host his own program, The Gil Houston Show, three days each week on the International Network; by January 1955 the Mutual Broadcasting System was carrying the show on more than 550 stations. He achieved his first songwriting success when “Crazy Heart,” written with Lewis Allen, became a minor hit for Jackie Paris.
During the McCarthy-era investigations, however, his prospects declined. Although no records confirm that blacklisting ended his radio program, the network dismissed him because of his leftist political stance, prompting a return to California for concert work.
In 1959 Houston joined Marilyn Child, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee on a twelve-week tour of India organized by the Indo-American Society and the United States Information Service. Upon his return he served as narrator and performer for the CBS television special Folk Sound, U.S.A., broadcast on 16 June 1960—the first full-length network program devoted to folk music. That summer he also performed at the Newport Folk Festival and made recordings for Vanguard.
Just as his career appeared to accelerate, Houston received a cancer diagnosis. His death in spring 1961 prompted widespread tributes within the folk community, including memorial songs by Tom Paxton (“Fare Thee Well, Cisco”), Peter LaFarge (“Cisco Houston Passed This Way”), and Tom McGrath (“Blues for Cisco Houston”).
In 1965 Folkways owner Moses Asch and Sing Out! publisher Irwin Silber compiled 900 Miles and Other Railroad Ballads, a collection of Houston’s songs issued by Oak Publications.
Born the second of four children in Delaware, Houston absorbed North Carolina musical traditions from his sheet-metal-worker father and the folk repertoire of the Virginia Appalachians, where his mother and grandmother had learned many traditional songs. At age two he relocated with his family to Southern California. Nearly blind because of nystagmus, he initially pursued theater and art, taking part in numerous school productions at Rockdale Elementary School in the Eagle Rock Valley between Pasadena and Glendale. He further honed his acting technique through classes at L.A. City College and appearances with Hollywood theater ensembles and the Pasadena Playhouse.
After his father abandoned the family in 1932, two years following their move to Bakersfield, Houston left home at sixteen and, with one of his brothers, roamed the country in search of employment. That journey initiated more than thirty subsequent crossings of the United States; during it he adopted the name Cisco after the small California town situated between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada.
Back in Hollywood he rejoined local theater circles, where he met and formed a friendship with actor Will Geer. In 1938 the pair heard a KFVD radio broadcast from Hollywood featuring Woody Guthrie. Impressed, they sought out the performer, an encounter that began a lasting association. Houston soon joined Guthrie’s radio program, contributing tenor harmonies beneath Guthrie’s lead vocals, and the two later performed together at migrant camps, sometimes accompanied by Burl Ives, with Geer covering their costs. When Guthrie headed to New York in 1939 he urged Houston to follow; Houston eventually returned to the city independently and worked briefly as a street barker outside a 42nd Street burlesque theater.
Houston enlisted in the merchant marines in 1940. Although most of the ensuing years were spent at sea, he performed with Guthrie and the Almanac Singers whenever possible. After the United States entered World War II, Guthrie joined him aboard ship; together they survived torpedo attacks on two vessels. Following his discharge Houston moved repeatedly between New York—where he often stayed with Leadbelly and his wife, Martha—and various parts of the country, taking occasional jobs as a cowboy, lumberjack, and potato picker while also securing small film roles.
Once Guthrie secured a recording contract with Folkways, Houston supplied high-tenor vocals on those sessions and simultaneously cut his own debut solo recordings for the label. In 1948 he appeared in the successful Broadway production The Cradle Will Rock, yet he returned to Hollywood the next year for additional minor film parts. By 1950 he was again traveling with Guthrie.
Early in the 1950s Houston recorded several numbers for Decca, some of which remained unreleased until later decades, and he made television appearances in Tucson, Arizona. His most significant opportunity came with a contract to host his own program, The Gil Houston Show, three days each week on the International Network; by January 1955 the Mutual Broadcasting System was carrying the show on more than 550 stations. He achieved his first songwriting success when “Crazy Heart,” written with Lewis Allen, became a minor hit for Jackie Paris.
During the McCarthy-era investigations, however, his prospects declined. Although no records confirm that blacklisting ended his radio program, the network dismissed him because of his leftist political stance, prompting a return to California for concert work.
In 1959 Houston joined Marilyn Child, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee on a twelve-week tour of India organized by the Indo-American Society and the United States Information Service. Upon his return he served as narrator and performer for the CBS television special Folk Sound, U.S.A., broadcast on 16 June 1960—the first full-length network program devoted to folk music. That summer he also performed at the Newport Folk Festival and made recordings for Vanguard.
Just as his career appeared to accelerate, Houston received a cancer diagnosis. His death in spring 1961 prompted widespread tributes within the folk community, including memorial songs by Tom Paxton (“Fare Thee Well, Cisco”), Peter LaFarge (“Cisco Houston Passed This Way”), and Tom McGrath (“Blues for Cisco Houston”).
In 1965 Folkways owner Moses Asch and Sing Out! publisher Irwin Silber compiled 900 Miles and Other Railroad Ballads, a collection of Houston’s songs issued by Oak Publications.
Albums
