JOHN MCCUTCHEON

By any normal measure, John McCutcheon, at age seventy-two, should be retired. He’s punched the clock in the international folk music world for over half a century. He’s been a respected archivist of Appalachian music. He was in the forefront of popularizing the hammer dulcimer and is considered a world master on the instrument. He helped revolutionize children’s and family music with five consecutive Grammy-nominated albums. He co-founded and led the fastest-growing Local in the Musicians' Union. His songwriting is hailed around the globe and his instruction books introduced thousands to the joys of their own music-making. He recorded and released tribute albums to Woody Guthrie, labor musician Joe Hill, and his friend and mentor, Pete Seeger. He even starred in a one- man musical, Joe Hill's Last Will, which toured nationally and internationally. And he has consistently been one of the most popular touring musicians in the folk world. Yes, by any normal standard, he could proudly hang up the banjo and retire. But John McCutcheon is just getting started.