Biography
Gil Turner embodied the versatility of a 20th-century renaissance figure through simultaneous roles as preacher, actor, talent scout, and folksinger. He wrote the Civil Rights anthem "Carry It On" and became the first artist to commit Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice" to record. Turner performed on the five-string banjo and 12-string guitar while frequently boasting of his yodeling skill. Although he stood at the center of the early-1960s American folk revival, his most lasting impact came through behind-the-scenes organizing.
Born Gilbert Strunk on May 6, 1933, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he was the son of a German immigrant machinist who sang with a Bridgeport ensemble that twice toured the United States. His mother performed in the local church choir, and Turner absorbed both parents' musical devotion along with a strong religious outlook. As a teenager he served as a lay preacher in his hometown. After high school he studied at the University of Bridgeport and later at the Columbia School of Social Work, preparing to assist autistic children, while also investigating possible treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, the disease that eventually paralyzed the left side of his body.
During the early 1960s Turner exerted his greatest influence on the New York folk scene as master of ceremonies at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village. From that post he assembled Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Bonnie Dobson, and Mark Spoelstra to supply material for Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen's Broadside magazine, which concentrated on topical issues such as war and civil rights in contrast to the wider focus of Sing Out!. With Turner's guidance many of these artists also made their first recordings for the Broadside label.
One memorable Monday night at the club, Turner descended to the basement where a young Bob Dylan declared, "I got a song you should hear, man," and then performed "Blowin' in the Wind." Impressed, Turner asked for instruction on the lyrics and chords before presenting the song to that evening's audience. He soon recorded it with the New World Singers; the track appeared on Broadside Ballads Vol. 1 in 1962, a year before Dylan released his own version.
Throughout the remainder of the 1960s Turner toured and performed across the United States and overseas. He returned to Carnegie Hall seven times, documented material for the Library of Congress, and appeared on radio and television. Judy Collins, Joan Baez, and Len Chandler all recorded his compositions, while he himself released albums on Columbia, Atlantic, and Folkways. He also participated in the civil rights movement through membership in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the War Resisters League. In the early 1970s he had been developing several projects, one of which involved an acting role in a segment of the television series The Waltons, when he died on September 23, 1974.
Born Gilbert Strunk on May 6, 1933, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he was the son of a German immigrant machinist who sang with a Bridgeport ensemble that twice toured the United States. His mother performed in the local church choir, and Turner absorbed both parents' musical devotion along with a strong religious outlook. As a teenager he served as a lay preacher in his hometown. After high school he studied at the University of Bridgeport and later at the Columbia School of Social Work, preparing to assist autistic children, while also investigating possible treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, the disease that eventually paralyzed the left side of his body.
During the early 1960s Turner exerted his greatest influence on the New York folk scene as master of ceremonies at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village. From that post he assembled Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Bonnie Dobson, and Mark Spoelstra to supply material for Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen's Broadside magazine, which concentrated on topical issues such as war and civil rights in contrast to the wider focus of Sing Out!. With Turner's guidance many of these artists also made their first recordings for the Broadside label.
One memorable Monday night at the club, Turner descended to the basement where a young Bob Dylan declared, "I got a song you should hear, man," and then performed "Blowin' in the Wind." Impressed, Turner asked for instruction on the lyrics and chords before presenting the song to that evening's audience. He soon recorded it with the New World Singers; the track appeared on Broadside Ballads Vol. 1 in 1962, a year before Dylan released his own version.
Throughout the remainder of the 1960s Turner toured and performed across the United States and overseas. He returned to Carnegie Hall seven times, documented material for the Library of Congress, and appeared on radio and television. Judy Collins, Joan Baez, and Len Chandler all recorded his compositions, while he himself released albums on Columbia, Atlantic, and Folkways. He also participated in the civil rights movement through membership in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the War Resisters League. In the early 1970s he had been developing several projects, one of which involved an acting role in a segment of the television series The Waltons, when he died on September 23, 1974.