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Shortly before he turned 15, his father died from a stroke. The family moved back to Chicago and then to Bristow, Oklahoma.

He first heard “Shenandoah” from the Fred Waring singers Even in that “dressed-up” version, it drove straight to his core. He liked all kinds of music, but folk music became his favorite early on. One night a rancher paid a visit and sang a cowboy song “Tying a Knot in the Devil’s Tail.” It was “one more step” in his growing love for folk music. He got good enough to win a blue ribbon at a rodeo. Every day after school and all day on weekends, he got to ride horses. When his dad’s health began to fail, for his convalescence, the family moved to Wickenberg, Arizona, a locus for dude ranches. Tom’s father was a chemist who owned a factory that made hydraulic brake fluid. When most of us were young, many of us had dreams of being firemen, soldiers and… cowboys. The only symbolism we can find in that might lie in his first big adventure.

Tom was born on Halloween in 1937 in Chicago. We can’t possibly include the myriad of experiences he relates or capture the range of wry humor, but will hit some of the high points. Between the covers of his songbook, Tom Paxton, The Honor of Your Company, is a treasure trove of stories and photographs from his childhood and his career.

We’d normally cover the artist’s life story in an interview, but Tom has put it all down in print. If you were to dream about an American everyman… someone with the ability to verbalize every quality needed to uphold the ideals of democracy, then demonstrate it to the masses, this would be your guy. If there were a college for folk singers, Tom Paxton would be its Dean. I’ve had my favorites among the more contemporary performing songwriters - Greg Brown comes most readily to mind - but, for sheer longevity and ability to cover the big three in subject matter - social commentary, satire, and personal relationships - there just isn’t anyone in his league. It’s difficult to imagine a more perfect folk singer than Tom Paxton.