Biography
With roots in American folk traditions, the French musician Steve Waring sings, writes songs, and plays banjo while maintaining an extensive catalog built across multiple decades. He entered the world in France during 1943 and first appeared on record in 1966. Throughout the 1970s he issued several projects for Le Chant du Monde that delved into traditional American folk repertoire. One such release, Les Grenouilles (1975), presented French-language versions of material by Tom Paxton and Woody Guthrie together with original pieces including “Les Grenouilles” and “Le Matou Reviente,” all rendered by an ensemble featuring banjo, guitar, Celtic flute, harp, Jew’s harp, and spoons. In subsequent years Waring became widely known as a children’s-music artist. Later albums issued by Le Chant du Monde in the compact-disc period encompass L’Ogresse (1990), Histoires à Musique (1994), Le Colporteur (1994), Rond Pays (1999), La Baleine Bleue (2000), Les Grenouilles (2000), Le Ramoneur Rouge (2000), Les Animaux des Poètes (2005), and En Sortant de l’École (2006); because many of these titles were repeatedly reissued, their release dates sometimes differ. Outside that catalog he also recorded for Rym Musique, delivering 5 Frères Dans le Puits (1998), Il Était une Chanson (2000), Chnoques (2001), and Les Vacances de Woody (2003). His association with Victorie Music began with the 2008 album Le Retour du Matou.