Died On This Date (November 27, 2009) Bess Lomax Hawes / Folk Musician & Folklorist

themusicsover November 27, 2009 0 Comments

Bess Lomax Hawes
January 21, 1921 – November 27, 2009

Bess Lomax Hawes was a folk musician, educator and folklorist.  As the daughter and sister of noted folk historians, John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, Hawes was never far from the American folk music that she would eventually build her life around.  After graduating from college during the ’40s, Dawes moved to New York City where she immersed herself in the thriving folk scene.  She became a guitarist and singer for the politically charged Almanac Singers, a folk group that included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and future husband, Butch Hawes.  During WWII, Hawes worked as a radio programmer for the United States Office of War Information.  During the ’50s, she moved to the Los Angeles area where she continued to play local clubs and began teaching at a college that would later become California State University, Northridge.  In later years, Hawes worked for the Smithsonian Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts.  As a songwriter, her most famous song was 1948’s “M.T.A.,” co-written with Jacqueline Steiner.  It later became a hit for the Kingston Trio.   Bess Lomax Hawes was 88 when she died following a stroke on November 27, 2009.