Kate Wolf ( January 27, 1942 – December 10, 1986) was an American folk singer and songwriter. Though her career was relatively short, she had a significant impact on the folk music scene.
Kate Wolf was born Kathryn Louise Allen in San Francisco to John Fred Allen and Ernestine Ruth Allen, née Endicott . She began studying piano at 4 but quit at 16 because of her shyness. She spent her early childhood in Oregon and Michigan, before returning home to Berkeley. During their senior year (1959–60) at Berkeley High School, Kathy Allen and her friend Marian Auerbach (now Shapiro) sang folk songs at the Berkeley High School Talent Shows (1957 and 1960). At age 19 she first met Saul Wolf, an architecture student at UC Berkeley; they married two years later. They had two children, born in 1964 and 1967.
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| The Wildwood Flower |
In 1969 she became part of the Big Sur music community and developed rapidly as a guitarist and songwriter, influenced by such friends as Gil "Jellyroll" Turner and George Schroder. In 1971, she parted from Saul Wolf on good terms and moved to Sonoma County. There she formed her first band, The Wildwood Flower, with Don Coffin, whom she later married. The Wildwood Flower played all sorts of community benefits, and Kate became interested in radio. She began a show on KVRE called Uncommon Country, and later moved to KSRO and hosted the Sonoma County Singers Circle. These County music shows brought her new recognition, and she was offered funding for an album.
Her first album, Back Roads, released in 1976 on her own label, Owl Records, was recorded in a living room with the band Wildwood Flower, and was "remarkably well done." Kate's national touring began in 1977 with trips throughout the Midwest and Northwest. Her long- time friend Bruce "Utah" Phillips helped plan a tour back East where she played concerts and performed at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Kate's love for Canadian folk music brought her even greater recognition as she performed at the popular festivals in Calgary, Winnepeg, and Vancouver. Closer to home, Kate organized the successful Santa Rosa Folk Festival.
Here's “Early Morning Melody” from above LP
In 1979, she separated from Don Coffin, and the Wildwood Flower folded, but guitarist and mandolin player Nina Gerber became her accompanist for the rest of her career. Her best-known compositions include "Here in California", "Love Still Remains", "Across the Great Divide", "Unfinished Life", “Green Eyes” and "Give Yourself to Love". She recorded six albums as a solo artist.In the Eighties, Kate continued to tour throughout the United States. Although her popularity grew, her concerts never lost their intimacy.
Kate's fourth album, Close to You, was released in 1981. This record like Safe at Anchor, featured only original compositions. In 1982 Kate married again, this time to Terry Fowler, the owner of a natural foods distribution company. She continued to perform both at concerts and at benefits for groups such as SEVA, No Nukes, and Big Mountain. In 1983 she toured the Southwest with the Academy Award winning documentary film The Four Corners: A National Sacrifice Area? As her popularity grew, so did critical recognition, and twice she was nominated for best folk singer at the San Francisco Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies)
Late in 1983, following the release of Give Yourself to Love, Kate decided to take a year off from performing to spend more time with her family, but itt wasn’t long before she began performing again. She appeared on American Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion in late 1984, and made frequent trips to the East Coast, especially the Washington D.C. area. After touring the Northwest in early 1985, she began working on her next album, Poet's Heart. Mid-1985 saw her back on A Prairie Home Companion, this time in San Francisco.
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In the fall, Kate embarked on her final tour. She spent two weeks on the East Coast playing from Boston to Florida, and then flew to the Midwest and toured through Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. After performing around Texas, Kate came home and played the last leg of her tour through Southern California. Poet's Heart, also co-produced and arranged by Bill Griffin, was released the following January, and was awarded NAIRD's "Best Folk Album of 1986."
It was during April that Kate was diagnosed with acute leukemia and underwent chemotherapy. In September, she had a bone marrow transplant, but complications from the operation destroyed her immune system and she never recovered.
She died in December 1986, at age 44. She is buried at a small church cemetery in Goodyears Bar, California. In 1987, she was elected to the NAIRD Independent Music Hall of Fame, also the World Folk Music Association established the Kate Wolf Award to honor her memory.
(Edited from Wikipedia & Kate Wolf Songbook)