My philosophy is that music is for everyone; it is not an elitist club. It’s something that people can do especially better together than they can separately.
—Frank Hamilton
Frank Hamilton, the prolific folk singer, musician, teacher and co-founder of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music is a legend in his own time.
A group of professional filmmakers have produced a documentary Frank Hamilton and the Folk Revival: From Woody Guthrie To ‘We Shall Overcome’ about Frank and his influence on music, culture and his times. The documentary was initially screened in Atlanta for a standing-room-only audience in January 2023 and was first aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting on April 17, 2023 (re-aired on July 10). Stay tuned for further developments.
Frank is the last living copyright author of the civil rights anthem We Shall Overcome. Frank joined the ranks of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Guy Carawan, The Weavers and others to voice concerns and carry the message that if people can play music and sing together, then they will talk as well, and tear down any walls of indifference, both socially and politically.
Frank Hamilton may not be a household name, but his influence can be felt across a breadth of American musical culture.
We are pleased to announce the launch of the film Frank Hamilton and the Folk Revival, which was first aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting on Monday, April 17th, 2023.
We’ll be submitting the film to film festivals and traveling to viewings for panel discussions. Sometimes our expenses are covered, but not always. Most importantly, the film is being considered for national distribution. There are always entry and presentation fees in promotion.
We thank our patrons and supporters thus far and with your continued support it is our aim to get the film out to the masses.
After clicking the button below, please designate your donation toward the Frank Hamilton Documentary Project. Thank You!
Frank Hamilton grew up in Los Angeles, the son of a classical piano teacher. Looking for his own musical path, Frank quickly fell in with LA’s growing folk music scene, and was on stage by the age of 16 with the Sierra Folksingers, who had brought the hootenanny to California from New York City.
Frank met Will Geer, the Hollywood actor who introduced Frank to his friend, Woody Guthrie, with whom he played, and to Pete Seeger, the Weavers, and Bess Lomax Hawes, who was deeply committed to American folk music. Bess taught Frank “Group Teaching”, which was not only efficient, but socially beneficial. Frank was impassioned to share the music with as many people as possible.
Frank became friends with rising Chicago-based folksinger Bob Gibson who invited him to come sing with him at the Gate of Horn. There he met Win Stracke, with whom he co-founded the Old Town School of Folk Music in 1957. Students of Frank’s included Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, Linda Ronstadt, Karla Bonoff, Don McLean, Odetta and many others. The Old Town School of Folk Music is still thriving over a half-century later.
Based on his teaching methods from the Old Town School, Frank co-founded the Frank Hamilton School in Atlanta in 2015. Now, at the age of 89, Frank remains a revered leader of Atlanta’s folk music community.
Chris Moser, Producer/Writer
Chris is an accomplished public television producer/writer/director, a former news writer for CNN-USA, and Assistant Professor Emeritus of Communications at Georgia Perimeter College. Chris is a 1994 recipient of the Governor’s Award in the Humanities for his career achievements using media in service to that field. His Georgia Public Television documentary THE DAY ATLANTA STOOD STILL won a 2002 Green Eyeshade Award and was widely seen throughout the United States via distribution by PBS-Plus. A long-time performer and non-profit promoter of folk music, he has been president of Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music for more than 30 years.
Robert Judson, Director/Editor
During the course of his career, Bob has produced over 500 programs for various television and digital distribution platforms, directing many of them. During his tenure as Managing Director of GSUTV, that department won honors including five Southeast Emmy Awards, 18 International Telly Awards, and two first-place awards in the Cobb International Film Festival. At Crawford Communications (1984-2000) Bob helped produce the Peabody Award-winning MAKING OF A LEGEND for TNT, the Emmy-winning 10-part series LOST CIVILIZATIONS for NBC and Time/Life Television, six seasons of INVENTION for the Discovery Channel, and ROME – THE POWER AND THE GLORY for The Learning Channel. He co-created and executive produced THE TREASURE SEEKERS for National Geographic. He helped produce three seasons of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT for MGM Television and 10 seasons of live production of NFL football for Channel 4-London.
RoBert Garrison Elliott, Sound Designer/Editor
Bert Elliott brings to the project his many years in film and video production and musical experience from the stage to the studio with the ability to bring together musicians and ideas. Some of his most inspiring work includes three Grammy-nominated album projects with legendary jazz guitarist Earl Klugh. Corporate clients have included Delta Air Lines, US Airways, America West Airlines, IBM, Georgia Lottery, River Blue Media, Image Quest Films, Shadow Productions, Malachi House, Turner Broadcasting, US Air, McGraw-Hill Publishing, and ABC, CBS, and NBC Sports.
This project is supported by Georgia Humanities, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, through funding from the Georgia General Assembly. To learn more about Georgia Humanities and its initiatives, please visit georgiahumanities.org
Frank is one of the most creative musicians in the country.
—Pete Seeger
I LOVE Frank Hamilton….[Frank] was really kind of the ‘Zelig’ of the Folk Music Revival. He was everywhere in an almost unperceived way.
—John McCutcheon
