Fred Small | |
---|---|
Birth name | Frederick Emerson Small |
Born | United States | November 6, 1952
Genres | American folk music, Protest music |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, lawyer, Unitarian minister |
Instrument | guitar |
Years active | 1981–present |
Labels | Aquifer, Rounder Records, Flying Fish Records |
Frederick Emerson Small (born November 6, 1952), known publicly as Fred Small, is an American singer-songwriter. He began his career as a lawyer and later became a Unitarian Universalist minister.
Small graduated from Yale University and the University of Michigan, from which he earned both a J.D. [1] degree and a master's in environmental policy. His first position was as staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation. [2]
His songs often make a political or ethical statement. Among his best-known songs are "Heart of the Appaloosa", "Everything Possible", "Peace Is", and "Cranes Over Hiroshima".[ citation needed ]
His debut album, Love's Gonna Carry Us (1981), featured Small singing and accompanying himself on guitar. As his fame and success increased, so too did the production level of his albums, as he included more instrumentation, and appearances by other artists, including instrumental and vocal backing by popular New England folk artists. Famous fiddlers, guitarists, and mandolin players alike became a part of Small's discography and helped Small increase his popularity. [3]
After graduating from Harvard Divinity School, he became the minister of First Church Unitarian in Littleton, Massachusetts in 1996. On April 20, 2008, he was called as Senior Minister at First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Small resigned in September 2015 to devote his energies to climate advocacy. He is currently Minister for Climate Justice at the Arlington Street Church, Boston, and Director of Faith Outreach for Climate XChange, which advocates for carbon pricing legislation in Massachusetts.
His 1983 song "Everything Possible" was adapted into a picture book, illustrated by Alison Brown and published in 2023. [4] [5] [6]
Al Kooper is a retired American songwriter, record producer, and musician, known for joining and naming Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale". Kooper produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. Kooper was selected for induction for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
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