Stereo Embers The Podcast 0496: Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon

“Together Again”

When it comes to the Wisconsin-born John McCutcheon and the Chicago-born Tom Paxton, there’s no way to condense their amazing careers into a three-minute introduction, but that’s the challenge I have before me, so I’m going to do the best I can. Putting it simply, McCutcheon and Paxton are two of the most towering figures in the history of folk music. Let’s start with McCutcheon. He’s recorded close to fifty albums, he’s got six Grammy nominations, he’s written three children’s books and he’s played shows all over the world. McCutcheon is a master of the hammered dulcimer and he also plays banjo, jaw harp, and the fiddle. As for Mr. Paxton, he’s recorded close to seventy albums, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, authored close to 20 books, had one of his songs used in a Monty Python episode and toured around the world. He even played a show with Black Sabbath. More on that in a minute. McCutcheon and Paxton’s friendship is a glorious thing and their musical partnership has yielded two albums, including their latest effort, the absolutely marvelous Together Again. I think of Paxton and McCutcheon as the Steve Martin and Martin Short of folk music and here’s why. Their creative partnership has ignited them both in new and rejuvenating ways. And Together Again offers great evidence of this–filled with lyrical economy and precision as well as musical finesse played with dexterity and grace, this is an album of tremendous depth and sensitivity. And this conversation is one of my recent favorites–it goes everywhere and yet it comes right back. This was so much fun-

www.tompaxton.com (http://www.tompaxton.com)
https://tompaxton.bandcamp.com/album/together-again
https://www.folkmusic.com/store/p492/Together_Again_-_Digital.html

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