Biographical Note
Michael Cooney is a musician, writer, and key contributor to the the American folk revival. He was born in Carmel, California, in 1943, and was raised in Tucson, Arizona. Soon after high school, he traveled the country and his interest in folk and blues music grew. In 1963, he participated in a Young Folksinger's Contest at the Monterey Folk Festival and began performing regularly. By 1964, he began traveling the country and performing in and organizing performances in numerous halls, clubs, coffee shops, and folk festivals throughout U.S., Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, and Europe. He served on several boards including the National Folk Festival and the Newport Folk Festival. As a performer, he participated at most of the major North American folk festivals held in Washington, D.C., Newport, Philadelphia, Mariposa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Monterey, Berkeley, and San Diego, among many others. He is a longtime contributor and columnist for Sing Out! and has several albums including The Cheese Stands Alone (1968), Singer of Old Songs (1976), Still Cooney After All These Years (1979), Pure Unsweetened (1982), and Together Again (2002).