Steve Waring

Born in Arlington, Pennsylvania, in 1943, American singer Steve Waring settled in France, where he spread his folk music before moving on to children's songs. A blues musician in his teens, he played acoustic guitar and banjo and moved to France in 1965, following in the footsteps of his friend Roger Mason, with whom he frequently collaborated. Recognized for his technique, in 1970 he recorded his first untitled French-language album for the folk label Le Chant du Monde, winning the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros. The following year, he introduced primitive folk and bluegrass with the album Le Banjo Américain, a pedagogical manual for beginners, followed by his first instrumental collaboration with Roger Mason for Guitare Américaine (1972), accompanied by scores and tablatures, then solo Ring Dingue Dongue (1973), a humorous and virtuoso collection where folk and blues meet free jazz, with the participation of American saxophonist Steve Potts. While the French musician by adoption continued to perform in the folk world and record for the same label, the following decade saw him turn his attention to children's songs, with the albums Le Sac à Grimaces (1982), 20 Chansons (1987), L'Ogresse (1989) and Pouce ! (1991). Ever prolific, he has published some twenty albums for various labels, including La Baleine Bleue (1995), Chnoques (2001), Mâcheur de Mots (2004), Le Retour du Matou (2008), La Sorcière (2013), Anaé (2015) and 15 Little Songs (15 Comptines en Anglais) (2017). After receiving the Prix Honorem from the Académie Charles-Cros in 2008 for his body of work, Steve Waring celebrates his five-decade career with 50 Ans de Scène, awarded the Coup de cœur jeune public by the same institution.