Sam Hinton

Sam Duffie Hinton March 31 1917 – September 10 2009 Was An American Folk Singer And Marine Biologist. He Has Had A Quite Diverse Career. He Is Most Famous For His Music Especially His Harmonica Playing But Has Also Taught At The University Of California San Diego Published Books And Magazine Articles On Marine Biology And Worked As A Calligrapher And Artist. He Has Been Described As "maybe The Only Man Alive That Knows More Songs Than Utah Phillips". Sam Not Samuel Just Plain Sam Duffy Hinton Was Born March 31 1917 In Tulsa Oklahoma. He Was Raised Largely In Crockett Texas 1 And After Graduating High School He Studied Zoology For Two Years At Texas A&M 2 Helping To Finance His Education Via Singing Appearances. Leaving College He Moved To Washington D.C. To Stay With His Parents Where He Worked As A Window Decorator For A Department Store And Did Scientific Illustration For The Smithsonian In The Evenings. While In Washington He And His Two Sisters Ann And Nell Formed A Semi-Professional Singing Group Called "The Texas Trio " And Performed Locally. In 1937 The Group Visited New York City To Win A Major Bowes' Amateur Hour Competition At Which Time He Was Invited To Join The Travelling Bowes Troupe As A Single Act. 3 Hinton Left School To Tour The Country With The Troupe Finally Settling In Los Angeles Three Years Later Where He Enrolled At UCLA To Study Marine Biology And Met His Wife Leslie. During His Stay In Los Angeles He Landed A Role In The Musical Comedy Meet The People Alongside Then-Unknowns Including Virginia O'Brien Nanette Fabray And Doodles Weaver. 4 After Graduating From UCLA In 1940 Hinton Was Appointed Director Of The Desert Museum In Nearby Palm Springs Where He Served From 1942 To 1944 5 Moving On To San Diego California In 1944 As Editor Of Illustration At The University Of California Division Of War Research UCDWR A University Of California-Wide Wartime Laboratory That Was Located At Point Loma. In 1946 He Was Appointed Curator Of The Of The Thomas Wayland Vaughan Aquarium Museum At Scripps Institution Of Oceanography At The University Of California At San Diego And Served There Until 1964. 6 In 1965 Hinton Moved To The Upper Campus And Became UCSD's Assistant Director Relations With Schools And In 1967 He Became Associate Director. Despite His Professional Duties He Has Continued Performing Throughout His Life. In 1947 Hinton Recorded The Album Buffalo Boy And The Barnyard Song For The Library Of Congress. 7 His First Commercial Recording "Old Man Atom " Followed On Columbia In 1950. 8 Over The Next Several Years He Also Made A Number Of Singles For Decca's Children's Series And In 1952 Issued His First LP Folk Songs Of California. After Three More Efforts For Decca — 1955's Singing Across The Land 1956's A Family Tree Of Folk Songs And 1957's The Real McCoy — He Moved To Folkways 9 For 1961's Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts And 1967's The Wandering Folksong. None Of Hinton's Musical Projects Distracted Him From His Academic Duties However And From 1948 Onward He Taught UCSD Courses In Biology And Folklore For The National Education Television Network He Also Hosted A 13-Part Series On Folk Music And For Several Years Even Wrote A Regular Newspaper Column "The Ocean World " For The San Diego Union. Hinton Additionally Co-Wrote Two Books On Marine Research Exploring Under The Sea And Common Seashore Animals Of Southern California. 10 In 1957 Sam Hinton Founded The San Diego Folk Song Society. 11 He Made What Many Contend Was His Final Public Appearance At The May 11 2002 San Diego Folk Heritage Festival And The Daylong Event At The Children's School In La Jolla Was Permanently Renamed The Sam Hinton Folk Heritage Festival. read less