Artist:Tom Paxton
Song:Jennifer's Rabbit/I Give You The Morning
Album:The Best Of Tom Paxton:I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
Folksinger Tom Paxton probably wasn't as successful as some of his contemporaries in the 60s. But he's written a wide variety of songs and is still around today. He was born Oct. 31, 1937 in Chicago and moved to Bristow, OK at age ten. He majored in drama at the University Of Oklahoma but became interested in songwriting. After graduating he was stationed in the Army Reserve at Fort Dix, NJ and started performing at clubs in Greenwich Village in New York City. His big break came in 1962. He auditioned to become a member of the Chad Mitchell Trio. He didn't get the job but veteran folk music producer/publisher Milt Okun liked him and signed him to a publishing deal. His songs started being performed by others. Pete Seeger had a hit with Ramblin' Boy in 1963. Paxton's performance at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival earned him a contract with Elektra in 1964. Paxton's songs are a mix of whimsical humour, children's songs & social commentary. But he's always been more successful as a songwriter. His song Bottle Of Wine was a huge rock hit for The Fireballs in 1967. This Rhino comp covers his Elektra years and Jennifer's Rabbit/I Give You The Morning is from the 1971 live album The Compleat Tom Paxton. That was his final recording for Elektra. In recent years, Paxton has been very successful writing and recording children's songs. He currently records for Appleseed Records and his latest CD Comedians & Angels was released last month. Paxton has been married for 40 years and lives in Alexandria, VA. He's still a great but underrated performer. Here's Tom Paxton performing The Last Thing On My Mind in 1966.
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