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Steve Gillette

In a musical age created by the singer-songwriter, Steve Gillette has long been considered to be one of the finest. His music has inspired glowing reviews from the critics and the deep loyalty of his fans. Since Ian and Sylvia first recorded Darcy Farrow in 1965, Steve's songs have been sung by dozens of major artists including Garth Brooks, John Denver, Nanci Griffith, Waylon Jennings, Anne Murray, Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Spanky and Our Gang, Don Williams, and Tammy Wynette.

Steve's first album, STEVE GILLETTE (Vanguard Records), was released in the Spring of 1968. The album includes guest performances by Buffy Saint Marie, Bruce Langhorne and Dick Rosmini. His next album, BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN (Outpost Records), was produced by John Ware, with help from Spanky McFarland and Emmy Lou Harris' Hot Band. A third album, ALONE...DIRECT (solo voice and guitar), was recorded direct-to-disc and produced by John DelGatto on Sierra Records. Graham Nash produced Steve's fourth album, A LITTLE WARMTH (Flying Fish) in 1979. Appearing on this album were Johnny Barbatta, Graham Nash, David Lindley, Pete Sears, and Jennifer Warnes.

Since their marriage in 1989, Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen have been traveling, performing and recording together. Their album LIVE IN CONCERT, recorded at the Ark in Ann Arbor in 1991, is available from their own company, Compass Rose Music. A second duet album, THE LIGHT OF THE DAY, was named Top Folk Album of 1996 by Rich Warren (WFMT) and Matt Watroba (WDET). Their third recording, A SENSE OF PLACE (Redwing Music), was released in 2001, followed by BEING THERE (Compass Rose, 2006) and HOME BY DARK (Compass Rose, 2012). Their most recent duet album, BERRYMANIA (Compass Rose, December 2013), is a tribute to the songs of Lou & Peter Berryman. Steve and Cindy also collaborated with Anne Hills and Michael Smith on a quartet recording of story-songs, FOURTOLD (Appleseed Records, 2003).

Steve's solo CD THE WAYS OF THE WORLD (Compass Rose, 1992), a recording of 12 original songs produced by Jim Rooney, features studio back-up by Stuart Duncan, Mark Howard, Roy Huskey Jr., and Mark Schatz. In 1998, Steve released TEXAS AND TENNESSEE (Redwing Music), with Charles Cochran, Mark Schatz, Pete Sutherland, Pete Wasner, and others. The album was named one of the year's Top Ten Folk Albums by Tower Records. Steve's newest release is THE MAN (2010), a CD featuring music from (or reminiscent of) 1920s and '30s jazz and roots music, accompanied by a narrative Steve created, blending fact and fiction from that vibrant era. Featured prominently on the album is George Gillette, Steve's dad, playing stride piano in the style he grew up with.

In addition to performing in 31 countries, Steve has performed on over 100 college campuses and has taught numerous workshops and seminars on songwriting, guitar theory, and record production. Steve is the author of the book SONGWRITING AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS, published by The Sing Out Press (1995). His film credits include writing and singing the main title theme for M.G.M.'s The Outfit, Walt Disney's The Pond, The Grass Is Greener, Summer Run, and Door To Door. Steve has also written songs for the Walt Disney characters Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh.

Steve traveled to Japan with the "Day Of The Dolphin" concert series in Tokyo in 1976, and has been active in the anti nuclear movement and other social causes. He has recieved ASCAP and BMI performance awards, and was honored by the World Folk Music Association as a 1988 nominee for the Kate Wolf Award. He has been a featured performer at many festivals, including Clearwater's Hudson River Revival, Fox Hollow, International Songwriter's Festival at Frutigen (Switzerland), The Mariposa Folk Festival, The Old Songs Festival, Owen Sound Summerfolk Festival, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, The Vancouver Folk Festival, The Walnut Valley Festival, The Winnipeg Folk Festival, and has been a long-time participant in The Kerrville Folk Festival.

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