Stefan Grossman is an American singer born in Brooklyn,
New York on April 16,1945. Grossman described his upbringing in Queens, New
York, as "lower middle-class", and his parents as "very
leftist", valuing education and the arts. He began playing acoustic guitar
at the age of nine, when his father bought him an archtop-style (f-hole) acoustic
guitar made by Harmony. Later he moved on to a Gibson archtop guitar which he
played between the ages of nine and eleven, taking lessons and learning to read
music. For a few years, he gave up playing but resumed again at the age of 15.
He then took guitar lessons for several years from Rev. Gary Davis,
In 1964, Grossman and a group of friends formed “The Even
Dozen Jug Band”. Although they only recorded one LP on the Elektra Records
label, other members were also to have successful musical careers, including
David Grisman, Steve Katz (Blood, Sweat & Tears), John Sebastian (The
Lovin' Spoonful), Joshua Rifkin and Maria Muldaur (then Maria D'Amato). In the
early summer of 1966, there was an effort by Elektra's Paul Rothchild to put
together a folk-rock group (like The Mamas & the Papas) with Grossman, Taj
Mahal, guitarist Steve Mann and a recently returned folk singer from Texas
named Janis Joplin. They had a rehearsal in Berkeley, sometime in June.
However, Joplin would not abandon her new band “Big Brother and the Holding
Company” and the deal was scuttled. Subsequently, Grossman spent about three
months with “The Fugs” and a further four months with a band called “Chicago
Loop”.
In 1967, Grossman travelled to Europe, as a first step on
a planned journey to India which was not completed. In London he stayed at
first with Eric Clapton whom he had met whilst in “Chicago Loop”. He began
playing in folk clubs around the country and made his first solo recordings for
the Philips/Fontana label. He also traveled widely in Europe and eventually
settled in Italy, where he lived for seven years. Travelling around Europe,
Grossman saw a niche in the market for solo acoustic guitar records which were
accompanied by a tablature book to allow the buyer to try playing the
arrangements and, with his friend Ed Denson taking care of the US side of
business, founded Kicking Mule Records.Over the next few years KM released
several albums. During these years Grossman was also touring as a solo artist
and in partnership with John Renbourn and continuing to write and publish
instructional books, often accompanied by the then new technology of cassette
tapes.
In 1971, Grossman composed and played the soundtrack to
Swedish director Bo Widerberg's bio-pic Joe Hill. The love theme from the movie
was released a single the same year.
In 1987, Grossman returned to live in the US. He toured
much less – at least partly due to a painful back problem – and began to
consolidate his various teaching and instructional materials under the roof of
one company, Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop, working at first in cooperation
with the Shanachie Records company.
Grossman resumed touring in 2006, and has appeared in
Europe and Japan as well as the U.S. He is a frequent visitor to England (where
he has family) and conducts well-attended guitar workshops as well as giving
concerts.
GROSSMAN, Stefan [4/16/1945, Brooklyn, New York,
U.S.A. - ] – producer, author,
singer, songwriter, musician (guitar), co-founded Kicking Mule Records.
A Man Called Sledge – 1970 [sings: “Other Men’s Gold”]
The Ballad of Ben and Charlie – 1971 [sings: “Let it
Rain, Let it Pour”]
