TOM WINSLOW

'Tom Winslow' (born 1940) is a prominent American folk singer and writer, who is best known as a "disciple" of Reverend Gary Davis and a former member of Pete Seeger's band. He has performed with his family as 'The Winslows' and recorded with 'Al Polito'. His career as a performing artist has lasted over forty years. However, he is most notable as the author of ''Hey Looka Yonder'' (It's The Clear Water) (It's the Clearwater), a now-classic folk song that has been the anthem of the ''Sloop Clearwater''. While he has toured throughout the United States, he continues to perform in Upstate New York into his 60's.
Tom Winslow is also the father of two other notable performing artists, Thomasina Winslow and 'Gary Winslow'.

Contents

Early career

''Hey Looka Yonder'' (It's the Clearwater)

Folk music circuit

Recent career

Discography

References

See also

Early career

Winslow was a band member - or "disciple" - of the Reverend Gary Davis, a legendary country-folk musician from the first half of the 20th century. He toured throughout the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, sometimes as a solo act, as well as with his family act, 'The Winslows'. In the 1960s, he worked off-season as a construction worker at Albany, New York's Empire State Plaza.

''Hey Looka Yonder'' (It's the Clearwater)

Winslow's great enduring fame comes from penning and performing the now-classic ballad, ''Hey Looka Yonder'', which is know also as ''It's the Clearwater'' and ''It's the Clear Water''. This song, recorded by Biograph Records in 1969, is about the fundraising for the sloop Clearwater, and in particular how "black and white" got together to create a floating environmental education school. Its mission was to clean up the water of then-polluted Hudson River. ^{[1] [2] [3]}
This song is significant and historic in several ways:

★ It was the first environmental song by an African-american song-writer, predating ''Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)'' by two full years.

★ It was Peter Seeger's and Tom Winslow's major collaboration.

★ It was first recording by the 'The Winslows' -- which included Tom's entire family, including toddler Thomasina Winslow, now a notable blues singer in her own right, singing and playing instruments in the background.
A huge hit for a musical tradition outside of the popular music mainstream, the LP and single of ''It's the Clearwater'' are coveted still by collectors of old-time folk music. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Folk music circuit

Winslow has been part of the folk music circuit for four decades. His music has been described as "classic blues and spirituals" by "a seasoned craftsman". ^[8]

Recent career

In recent years, Tom has not travelled far from his home in New Baltimore, New York, due to care-taking for his wife, Edral, who passed away in January 2007. ^[9] Often, he could be seen busking at street fairs in Albany, New York or the surrounding towns.
Winslow played frequently at the 'People's Voices Cafe' on 33rd St. in New York City in the 1980s. ^{[10] [11]} He has also performed at the 'Towne Crier Cafe' in Beekman, New York. ^[12]
He was featured on WFMU's program, ''Shrunken Planet'', for a full show. ^[13]
In 2001, he performed at a 'Lincoln Center Out of Doors' Reverend Gary Davis tribute show, performing with an all-star line-up. ^[14]
Winslow has performed frequently at Caffe Lena, the folk and blues venue in Saratoga Springs, New York. ^[15] His next show, as of this date, will be September 16, 2007. ^[16]
He plays regularly in Troy, New York at Washington Park ^{[17] [18] [19]} and the Troy Farmer's Market. ^{[20] [21] [22]} Tom has been called an "Edu-tainer Par Excellence!" ^[23] His shows at the Troy Farmer's Market helped earn it the "Best Farmer's Market - Best Goods" awards from ''Metroland'', the Capital District weekly newspaper, and his performance was lauded specifically. ^[24] He also shared in a "Best live regional entertainment" award. ^[25]

Discography

''Tom Winslow'' (Biograph 1969)

★ Includes ''Bring Them Home'' (a Peter Seeger tune). ^{[26] [27]}
''Its the Clear Water'' (Biograph 1969, re-released 1992) BLP-12018

★ Available at many places on line. ^{[28] [29] [30] [31] [32]}

★ This is still sold on Vinyl in 2nd hand stores. ^[7]

★ This is available on MP3 format. ^[34]

★ This is featured on the Clearwater site. ^[35]
''Sunday Morning in Exile'' (compilation)

★ Tom Winslow performs "I The Living". ^[36]
''Al Polito''

★ Played with Al Polito (guest guitarist). ^{[37] [38] [39]}
''PBS documentary, 'Til the River Runs Clear'' (soundtrack)

★ Anthem or theme music. ^[40]
With 'Gary Winslow':

★ See Gary Winslow on CD Baby.

References

1. History of Biograph records web page
2. Seeger Sessions
3. Clearwater Music web page
4. sample of autographed LP for sale
5. Go Antiques web site Winslow listing
6. Go Antiques web site search results
7. Last Vestige web site
8. Caffe Lena Web site
9. See Serach engine for deaths
10. People's Voice's Cafe web site
11. Voice's Cafe history web page
12. Town Crier web site
13. WFMU Programming list of artists web page
14. Lincoln Center Out of Doors web page
15. caffe Lena write-up
16. Caffe Lena web site calendar page
17. Washington Park Association official web site
18. Public web calendar
19. Washington Park Association newsletter 'pdf format'
20. RPI Blog
21. Capital Region Living Magazine
22. ''Troy Record'' web site
23. City of Troy official web site
24. Metroland Best of 2007 article
25. Read Media web site
26. Seeger Sessions notes
27. Democratic Underground web site
28. records by mail web site
29. MCN.com Music web site
30. I-Biblio web site
31. Earth Platform web site about Pete Seeger/Tom Winslow's collaboration
32. Biograph Records music history web site
33. Last Vestige web site
34. MP3 web site
35. Clearwater official web site Music page
36. Digital Podcast of Sunday Morning in Exile
37. Al Polito official web site
38. Indie 911 directory
39. Broad Jam web site
40. Shop PBS official web site

See also

★ Reverend Gary Davis

★ Peter Seeger

★ Thomasina Winslow